Following on from Next Engineers: Engineering Experience last summer, which saw TILG hosting 200 aspiring young engineers on-site in Stafford, the team are now busy engaging with even more young people as part of Next Engineers: Engineering Academy.
Engineering Academy enables aspiring engineers to learn engineering skills, preparing them for further education at university or training through an apprenticeship programme. This transformative learning experience is held outside of school hours and over 3 years, students participate in a series of immersive design challenges, career coaching and educational workshops to equip themselves with the skills required for a career within engineering.
TILG recently welcomed our newest students as part of Cohort 3 and we caught up with some of them to find out about their experience so far!
Was Next Engineers: Engineering Academy what you expected it to be like?
“It was better than expected and a much more relaxed and fun environment. The instructors are all friendly and we’re all treated as equals. It’s easy to share ideas and communicate even with new people in your class.”
– Niamh
“I didn’t really know what to expect of the course, I thought it may have been a bit too much like school where we just sat and learned but the activities have so far been interesting.”
– Maxwell
How did you feel when you found out you had been successful with your application?
“I felt really proud when I was selected and excited to see where my journey could take me, especially as I have such a passion for motorsport, I’m really confident that the Next Engineers Programme could take me to where I wanted and help me achieve my dreams!”
– Niamh
“I was really pleased that I had been selected because I had put effort into my application and wanted it to pay off. It will also act as a really important insight into the workings of a project: the problem solving, etc.”
– Maxwell
What is your favourite part of the experience so far?
“Even if your project fails, I enjoy meeting new team members and collaborating with them to create something. Working together to design and test something makes you feel really proud but it also helps you to reflect as a team and see where you can improve even if it’s just about improving communication or time management.”
– Niamh
“I would say my favourite part of the days so far has been the elastic boat race because it involved the most thought into the design and the workings of the boat, especially into the slow release of the tension in the elastic band.”
– Maxwell
What are you looking forward to the most across your Academy experience?
“I’m looking forward to when we can apply our skills to real life examples even in our jobs in the future, and being able to look back knowing how much this programme trained us. In the next 3 years I’m looking forward to being able to meet people in the careers we aspire to and seeing how we can achieve those careers and goals.”
– Niamh
“I’m most looking forward to the tours of the different facilities and what they are doing there. I hope there will be some really interesting projects going on as we visit the sites.”
– Maxwell
If you would like to discuss the Next Engineers initiative further with our team you can contact us directly at nextengineers@tilg.co.uk.
