Conference Presentations and Posters

Delegates attending the Engineering the Future Conference heard from speakers from the Scottish Government Schools Directorate, industry, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority and the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow. View the speakers' PowerPoint presentations to find out why engineering matters and the need for an integrated approach to promoting engineering.

• An Industry Perspective: The Appliance of Science - Dave Clark, Thales Optronics
• World Class Engineering research: Making a Difference - Mark Claydon-Smith, EPSRC
• Promoting Engineering in the STEM Agenda - Professor John Coggins, University of Glasgow

The school-university partnerships produced PowerPoint posters illustrating the engineering activities they developed that promote understanding, awareness and experience of engineering as science and technology in action.

• Balfron High School University Partnership - Bat Monitoring and Pimp My Trolley
• Belmont Academy and Lanark Grammar School Partnerships - Advanced Higher Investigations
• Belmont Academy Partnership - LEDs and Photodiodes
• Dollar Academy Partnership - The sun'll come out tomorrow and I need water
• Dumfries Academy and Carnoustie High School Partnerships - Wind Turbines and Engineering the Wind
• Holy Cross High School Partnership - Wheatstone Bridge and Ultrasound
• St. Aloysius' College Partnership - Mars Rover, Nuclear Power Debate and Wii Sports
• Williamwood High School Partnership - Security Unit and Black Box Investigations
• Woodfarm High School Partnership - Hot Potatoes and Light and Dark
• Tarbert Academy and Lanark Grammar School Partnerships - Fun with Bridges and K'Nex
• Milne's High School and St Joseph's College Partnerships - Easy Radio 123
• Strathclyde University Wireless Devices - Incorporating the wireless device into classroom practice

Engineering the Future Teaching Activities

These materials were developed by school-university partnerships; collaborative networks of school and university staff in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) created by the Engineering the Future project. The partnerships enabled staff and students from schools and universities to work together to create exciting and innovative programmes for school pupils, supported by world leading engineering research groups. These materials have already been trialled successfully in secondary schools across Scotland.

In the words of pupils involved: 'It's more fun, so you want to know more about physics.' - 'A lot of work: challenging but you've accomplished something, it 'clicks' and you remember it.' - '... instead of being told step by step what to do you get to vary it yourself.' - '... it just made you feel really smart once you'd done it.'

There is an urgent economic need to embed and highlight engineering in the school curriculum. Engineering, the application of scientific and mathematical knowledge to practical issues, needs and problems, is fundamental to the creation of new technologies and sustainable industries. Engineering requires and supports the development of high levels of scientific and mathematical competence in the service of useful design, creativity, innovative thinking and problem-solving. It requires and fosters the confidence, drive, determination to succeed, teamwork and business acumen necessary to promote economic enterprise. There is an economic need for a larger number of engineers, high level engineering graduates and very capable technician engineers, with such skills to build a strong indigenous high-tech economic base.

We hope that you find these materials useful.

• EtF bat monitoring s1s2
• EtF building a lighthouse s1
• EtF carnoustie wind project s1s2
• EtF fun with bridges s1
• EtF hot potato s2s3
• EtF LEDs and photodiodes
• EtF light and dark s2s3
• EtF mars rover s1s2
• EtF nuclear debate s4
• EtF pimp my trolley engineering s3s4
• EtF security unit s1s2
• EtF solar power s3s4
• EtF ultrasound s3s4
• EtF wheatstone bridge s5s6
• EtF Wii sports unit s5s6
• EtF wind turbines s1