Subject: Engineering & Technology
The University Centre at Yeovil College has designed this activity for students with a strong interest in engineering or those expressing an interest in exploring a career in H.M. Armed Forces as an Artificer at Higher Education Level. The activity is facilitated by a team of highly professional engineers from the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Museum and the Education Department at Yeovilton in Somerset, Europe’s largest Naval Aviation Museum.
The activity centres around a very challenging and somewhat demanding engineering design problem, typical of a ‘feasibility study’ graduate engineers would typically undertake at the start of their degree programme when studying courses such as Engineering Design or Design and Innovation. The challenge itself is a well-kept secret, but typical past challenges include:
- Design of a stable Aircraft Carrier flight that remains level when the Carrier pitches and rolls, from which an aircraft has to be launched remotely using electrical / electronic circuitry
- Design of an Aircraft which has to have moveable control surfaces, Ailerons, elevators, flaps and a rudder, all linked to a single joystick which when moved moves the control surfaces correctly. A system of indicator lights is needed to show the pilot the position of the flaps.
In both activities the students in teams of 6, need to communicate effectively, identify individual skills, manage the project and design and build a working model that demonstrates the feasibility of their design. The components from which the model is made have to be purchased and a sliding penalty is employed as costs build-up.
A team of engineer-judges assesses the design along with a presentation given by the students to ‘market’ their design. Normally the activity lasts for 6 hours and includes a tour of the museum to look at working designs associated with their activity. Each year four Engineering Challenge days are offered. Typically 80 - 90 students attend each day and the cost is normally around £1,000 per day.
The activity provides a very good understanding of what the ‘Project Year’ of a Higher Education engineering-design based course entails and how it might be structured. The engineers who run the day are either practicing engineers or have spent their careers in the Services as Artificers, they have a wealth of practical experience working for real on the design problems the students will face during the day.
Year 10 to 13 students. During the day students are assessed and where they achieve, awarded their British Science Association Bronze CREST (CReativity in Engineering, Science and Technology) Awards for technology, which can be included in personal records of achievement and used to enhance applications to universities, colleges and potential employers.
Have a look at the below report for further information:
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