IMechE West Cumbria Newsletter: Issue 3, Autumn/Winter 2011

Newsletter

Improving the world through engineering

North Western Region

West Cumbria Area

www.imechewestcumbria.org.uk

SUPERSONIC FINALE TO YET

ANOTHER RECORD BREAKING SEASON

l

Following the great success of yet another

ground breaking IMechE West Cumbria Annual

Dinner, I would like to personally our generous

sponsors for their tremendous support. With their

help the dinner most definitely took our dinner to

another level – an all day event including:

During the day, two coincidental schools events

took place, one involving some 200 Primary

Students and the Bloodhound SSC Education Team

and another, a Girls in Engineering event for 75

female secondary students, mentored by female

young engineers also involving the IMechE President

-elect Isobel Pollock, who will be only the second

female President of the IMechE in its history. Then at

the dinner itself, not only were we graced with some

fantastic food and after dinner entertainment,

including a key note speech from Isobel on the

healthy state of our Institution, but we were

enthralled by Richard Noble OBE who gave a most

inspirational address about his fascinating

Bloodhound SSC project – an engineering

adventure.

Read more on the dinner in our centre page

feature article inside.

As well has enabling to continue to expand our

prestigious Annual Dinner, the sponsorship we have

secured has enabled us to allocate the necessary

funds to continue and develop our engineering

educational initiatives throughout the coming year,

which is as always one of our key objectives.

We continue to build and strengthen our schools

contacts across the area, with 10 Secondary Schools

representatives attending the dinner to help build

more company-school networking opportunities.

With the generosity of those who attended the

dinner, we were also able to raise over £2,000 for

our three local charities: Great North Air Ambulance,

Cockermouth Mountain Rescue and Macmillan

Cancer. Our largest donations yet.

The whole day was simply unforgettable, in fact

our incumbent President Prof Rod Smith, at his

second IMechE West Cumbria Dinner, described the

event as “Undoubtedly, the best Institution Dinner

outside of London ....”

And it didn‟t stop there. The following day, a

Presidential visit took place for the Annual Dinner

guests of honour to the Thorp Plants at Sellafield.

Read more about the dinner, the Presidential Visit

and all the other activities we been up to inside this

jam-packed newsletter!

I look forward to see you soon.

Tom Pritt CEng FIMechE BEng (Hons) Chairman – IMechE (West Cumbria)[email protected]

NEWSLETTER AUTUMN/WINTER 2011 1

I M E C H E W E S T C U M B R I A E D I T I O N A U T U M N / W I N T E R 2 0 1 1

EVENTS

A look back at the talks and visits

which were held in West Cumbria

during 2011.

ANNUAL DINNER Highlights from this year‟s Annual

Dinner and Engineering Schools

events at Energus.

YOUNG MEMBERS A look at what the Young Members

of IMechE West Cumbria have been

up to this year.

P2-P3

P4-P5

P6

EDUCATION Review of IMechE West Cumbria

Schools and Further Education

activities for 2011.

P7

NEXT SEASON Take a look at what‟s in store from

IMechE West Cumbria this Autumn

and Winter.

P8

I S S U E 3 / S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1

EVENTS Write-up from our Spring/Summer 2011 Events Calendar

RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES IN CUMBRIA

kerbside collections, i.e. paper, plastics,

garden waste etc, and home composting etc..

Each one of these initiatives encouraged the

public to consider what they were throwing

away and how to make better use of it.

Future Developments was a subject Martin

was particularly enthused about, he explained

there were 2 major options:

Energy from Waste (EfW) this involves

incinerating the waste to heat water to steam

then drive turbines to create

electricity, the emissions are “scrubbed” so no

harmful gases were released into the

atmosphere.

Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT) the

dry and screen waste to produce a refuse

derived fuel which could be sold as fuel to

power generating company, PLUS a

compostable element for gardens or

agriculture.

Martin did warn however, every increase in

infrastructure requires investment and planning

permission and therefore is not without its

sensitivities, as a nation of NIMBY‟s (Not In My

2 NEWSLETTER AUTUMN/WINTER 2011

DEVELOPING AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

On Wednesday 19th January, over 30

people attended a talk on Waste Management

and Recycling at the appropriate venue of the

Eco Centre at Cockermouth School. The

speaker was Martin Allman, Waste Prevention

Manager for Cumbria County Council, who

gave a fascinating insight on how our

household rubbish is currently disposed of

plans for the future.

Martin explained how a series of local

initiatives were put into place to promote the

philosophy of recycling. These included,

Household waste recycling centers HWRC‟s),

Over 25 attendees were given an insight

into the steps required to produce the EIA for

the redevelopment of the site of the Bunsfield

Oil Depot explosion, including the depths

required to demonstrate that the lessons

learned from the disaster back in the early

hours of Sunday 11th December 2005.

Using the HSE investigation into the

accident as the reference, Kelvin explained

what happened to cause the explosion and

outline some of the root causes identified by

the HSE‟s investigation. Kelvin then went on to

explain how the EIA for the re-use of the site

will address those root causes to prevent this

type of incident ever happening again at the

site.

The excellently delivered talk by Kelvin

stimulated some interesting discussions and

debates in the Q&A part of the evening, and

everyone clearly went away with a much

greater understanding of what an EIA is and

how vitally important it is to get it right to help

the planning approval process to run smoothly.

David Williamson, Hons Sec, IMechE WC

On Wednesday 16th March, the

Samuel Lindow Foundation was the venue for

a fascinating talk by Kelvin Hughes of

ARCADIS UK, about the production of

Environmental Impact Assessments.

On Friday 24th June, the day after the 7th

IMechE West Cumbria Annual Dinner, a

Presidential Visit took place to the Sellafield

site. The Guests of honour from the dinner

Prof Rod Smith, Isobel Pollock and Richard

Noble OBE, were accompanied on this

fascinating, informative tour of the Thorp

Receipt and Storage, and Head End Plants

by IMechE NW Region Chairman David Ball,

IMechE West Cumbria Chairman Tom Pritt

and IMechE NW Region Business Manager

David Barrett.

The Tour Provided the visiting party a

fascinating insight into the state of the art

engineering solutions adopted in this cutting

edge nuclear reprocessing facility, as well as

providing an understanding of the safety

systems deployed in strength to ensure plant

operations remain safe at all times.

Following lunch, Prof Rod Smith was able

to fulfil a personal dream of his - to ride on the

foot plate of the “La‟al Ratty”. Rod, who has

Back Yard) are created. Martin emphasised our

roles as individuals when it comes to the war

against waste, and cited the The 3Rs – reduce,

reuse and recycle.

Smarter Shopping – refusing over

packaged goods, refusing plastic carrier bags,

lobbying retailers.

Shift to Thrift – rediscovering the practices

of our parents i.e. reusing, hire, share and

repair.

Glocalism – buy local, farmers markets,

commuting less, Grow Your Own, Home

Composting, use local recycling facilities, Buy

Recycled!

In short, we all have a part to play when it

comes to Waste Management. This was

evident with the quantity and quality of

questions asked at the end of the presentation

and to end, what was a very informative and

well received talk Martin gave a summary of

the 2008 Audit commission report “a Four Star

(significantly improved) service.

Paul Johnson, IMechE West Cumbria

achieved much in his career in the Railway

industry World Wide refused to let the

inclement West Cumbrian Weather deter him

and spent an hour soaking up the experience

and said afterwards that it was a real highlight

of what had been a most enjoyable visit to

West Cumbria!

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TAKES IN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

For all the latest news, features and

upcoming events visit our

areas website:

www.imechewestcumbria.org.uk

You can also sign up to receive our regular email updates. Simply forward your email to: [email protected]

1 IN 1000 YEAR FLOOD - THE LESSONS LEARNED


The talk went onto describe the process of

beginning to consider where and how to do

something about flooding, based on

fundamental risk analysis. The presentation

showed that the aim of any engineering works

is to reduce the probability to 'once in 50

years', but Mike made the point that it is

impossible to fully engineer against all weather

conditions generated in the rivers and seas,

and that no two floods are ever identical.

The absolutely catastrophic floods in

Carlisle on January 2005 and more recently in

Cockermouth November 2009 were discussed

in detail. Perhaps the most telling image on the

night was that of a map drawn in 1811, clearly

showing the Sands and the river systems

around as flood plains, now of course fully built

over, and always liable to flood.

The scale of the Carlisle and Cockermouth

events has necessitated huge expenditure to

reduce the risk of repetition. Major earthworks,

telemetry, sluice and flood gates are in the

process of installation at major sites plus many

others across Carlisle and Cockermouth area

to ensure that any future build-up of dangerous

waters can be predicted and managed.

This work is on schedule for completion in

Carlisle where in the Cockermouth area this

work is still ongoing including dredging of the

river in critical locations and build up of river

retaining walls and flood break out plains to

absorb some of the volume of waters when

floods occur.

The evening concluded with a look round

the Incident Room where monitoring telemetry

is received completed.

Adrian Norendal, IMechE West Cumbria

A unique visit and talk took place at the

Environmental Agency HQ at Penrith on 19th

May, where attendees were treated to a

fascinating insight into flood risk management

and the engineering considerations arising was

provided by the Environment Agencies Asset

Management Team Leader, Craig

Cowperthwaite at a recent IMechE West

Cumbria event.

The presentation was delivered at the EA's

impressive headquarters in Penrith to an

excellent turnout, and included some startling

photos and to remind everyone of just how

devastating flood impact can be, particularly on

domestic dwellings.

A very unique insight into how water

comes from Ennerdale to our taps took place

on 28th April, when a highly informative visit to

United Utilities water treatment plant at

Ennerdale! Ennerdale Water provides up to 68

million litres of water per day to a population

of approximately 80,000 in Whitehaven and

villages in the surrounding area of Copeland.

The tour of the plant was preceded by a

fascinating talk about the construction of the

works. Construction of tunnels, 800 metres

long was undertaken using boring machinery

to avoid damaging the natural vegetation. The

new works became operational in April 1994,

a modern and fully automated treatment

works replacing an older site near to the lake

shore.

The visit around the plant elaborated on

the treatment process utilised at Ennerdale,

including; First stage: Microstrainer Process:

Raw water is strained through three

conventional, rotating drum microstrainers,

ENNERDALE WATER which remove all solids greater than 30

microns, and Second Stage: Microfiltration

Process: The membrane plant filters water to

sub-micron level and provides a barrier to

cryptosporidium.

As there is neither a watercourse, suitable

for discharge of “un-natural” wastes, nor a

sewer local to the site, all wastes produced on

the site have to be removed from site by a

road tanker. The membrane plant produces

large amounts of dilute effluent. A waste

treatment plant is provided to recover as much

water from the effluent as possible, by

chemical coagulation and gravity

thickening, for recycling to the membrane

plant.

Residual sludge is stored on site until it

can removed by tanker. Chemical wastes on

site are collected in the chemical waste tank

located in the courtyard.

Ian Lupton, IMechE West Cumbria

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A Girls in Engineering event, exclusively

for secondary school girls, was held on the

same day as the annual dinner for over 75 girls

and their teachers from West Cumbria schools

to draw on their creative talents and apply their

scientific skills at a workshop held at Energus,

Lillyhall. The event, organised by Claire Jones

and Jen Corbett, gave 15-16 year old girls the

chance to discover more about what

engineering is really like, and how they can

apply what they learn to the real world.

Claire Jones, event co-organiser said: “We

women professional engineers about their

engineering roles and how they got there.

We would like to thank those who attended

and helped out, as well as Nuclear

Management Partners for sponsoring the event,

West Cumbria IMechE Young Members for their

help and support and local companies and

charities; The React Foundation, STEMNET,

Sellafield Ltd, and Jacobs.

Claire Jones, YM Chair, IMechE West Cumbria

really wanted to get the girls thinking about

what they enjoy at school and how applying

this to engineering can be genuinely fun and

interesting”.

The day focused on workshops and

activities run by female engineers from Jacobs,

NNL and Sellafield. These had been set up to

expose the girls to learning in a group

environment, allowing them a hands on

practical engineering experience that they

might not normally get at school.

IMechE Deputy President Professor Isobel

Pollock, who helped run the afternoon

workshops, said “It is important for the students

of today to understand what goes into the

engineering of tomorrow. Today has opened

their eyes into the exciting career opportunities

available to them”

The event also gave the girls an

opportunity to ask questions about engineering

specific course, but also a chance to quiz

ANNUAL DINNER 2011 Key Note Lectures and Visits held during 2010


“THE BEST INSTITUTION DINNER

arrival before entering the impressive Energus

facility.

West Cumbria Area Chairman Tom Pritt

launched proceedings and explained how this

event had grown on the back of securing

Richard, the Bloodhound Education Team and

the full-size model. The sponsors were warmly

thanked, as their support had not only made

this event possible, but was also being used to

fund a series of educational engineering

projects throughout the year.

Claire Jones, outgoing West Cumbria YM

Chair and newly elected Chair of the

international YM Board, implored all attending

to support the development and the inspiration

of young engineers in their companies and

schools.

Before an excellent meal, IMechE

The ovation said it all. Richard Noble OBE

had just completed a mesmerising explanation

of the engineering adventure that is

Bloodhound SSC, his latest venture to shatter

the world land speed record, winning a strong,

heartfelt response from the privileged

attendees to IMechE West Cumbria‟s 7th

Annual Dinner, held recently at Energus,

Lillyhall.

From his earliest recollection of John

Cobb‟s Crusader that set a 5 year old Noble on

a lifelong quest for ultimate speed, Richard

fully confirmed his web site description:

„challenger, entrepreneur, record breaker and

motivational speaker‟, brilliantly explaining not

only the engineering challenges to be

overcome in designing and building a car to go

faster than 1,000 mph, but also how the use of

this iconic project is already inspiring a whole

new generation of children, from primary key

stage 1 upwards. This tied in excellently with

the presence at the Dinner of several head

teachers and staff members from schools

across the area.

This was one of the highlights of a

memorable evening, organised with the

exceptional help and support of the team at

Energus, and supported by over 200

professional engineers from across West

Cumbria.

Attendees were able to view the

stunning full-scale Bloodhound SSC model on

GIRLS IN ENGINEERING


After the meal, the audience were invited

into the lecture theatre to see Richard‟s

presentation, which included photo-realistic

„breaking news video‟ type coverage of how

they hope Bloodhound will succeed in breaking

the 1,000 mph barrier. So realistic, in fact, that

Fox News from the US contacted Richard to

find out when the record had been broken…

Isobel Pollock gave a very positive report

on the current state of IMechE, reporting better

finances and increasing membership, and

complimenting West Cumbria on it‟s

enthusiasm and activity levels, before George

Beveridge, Deputy MD of Sellafield Ltd,

presented certificates to the two outstanding

mechanical engineering students of the year

from Lakes College, Chris Lister (HNC) and

Lee Mitchell (NC).

The evening was rounded off by a fine

While the girls were enjoying programming

Logo Mindstorm Robots and building Hydrogen

Fuel Cell model cars as part of the Girls In

Engineering event, over 150 year 6 students

for six local West Cumbrian Primary Schools

were having their own fun courtesy of the

BLOODHOUND Educational Team, again at

the impressive Energus facilities at Lillyhall,

Workington.

The students were able to learning about

the astonishing facts associated with the

BLOODHOUND SSC Project; length – 13.4m,

height – 2.8m, wheel diameter – 0.9m, turning

circle 240m, mass 6.422Te, top speed 1050

mph (mach 1.4), 0 – 1000mph in 42 secs; as

well as being able to build their own model

rocket cars and trying their hand on the

career in engineering, and going by the

reception that was received on the day, the

team is making great in-roads in delivering that

mission.

All in all, to have two coincidental schools

events and a top-draw annual dinner under the

same roof on the same day is testament to

IMechE West Cumbria‟s aim to deliver

outstanding value for money for the

membership in the area, as well as the

meticulous organisational skills of the GENII

team at Energus. How on earth do we better

this next year…….

- Answers on a post card to our exhausted

Chairman Tom Pritt please!

David Williamson, Hons Sec, IMechE WC

BLOODHOUND SSC Simulator.

The BLOODHOUND SSC engineering

adventure provides a once in a lifetime

opportunity to inspire the next generation of

scientists and engineers. To achieve this

ambitious goal, the BLOODHOUND Education

Programme is being made available to all

pupils in primary and secondary schools, and

to students in further and higher education.

Nearly 4,000 schools have registered in the

first 18 months of the project, plus numerous

presentations have been given to other groups

and professional institutions, taking the project

into the heart of the community and society.

The BLOODHOUND SSC project is unique

when compared to other ground breaking

engineering ventures in that all the information

about the research, design, build and testing of

the car is available to teachers and students,

and of course to anyone that wishes to visit the

website.

The BLOODHOUND SSC Mission

Statement is to confront the impossible and

overcome it using Science Engineering

Technology and Mathematics. The project‟s

mainstay is to enthuse young students to study

STEM subjects and consider an inspirational

comedy turn before the results of the Charity

raffle were announced, with over £2,000 raised

for local charities: Cockermouth Mountain

Rescue, Great North Air Ambulance and

Macmillan Cancer Support.

Outside, there was still light in the sky on

this wonderful mid-summer‟s evening. Inside,

Richard Noble was signing and selling

Bloodhound posters until well after midnight. It

had been the most splendid of evenings.

Once again this year, IMechE West

Cumbria were delighted to use the occasion of

the Annual Dinner to facilitate the presentation

of Lakes College West Cumbria Mechanical

Engineering Student Awards. On the night

George Beverage, Deputy MD of Sellafield Ltd

presented the Best HNC Award to Daniel

Williams and Best HND Award to Liam Irvine.

OUTSIDE OF LONDON...”

BLOODHOUND PRIMARY SCHOOL CHALLENGE

President, Professor Rod Smith gave an

amusing perspective on his engineering

background, with special reference to his

favourite subject – railways.


WEST CUMBRIA YOUNG MEMBERS Our growing and dynamic team of young engineers

YOUNG MEMBER SUCCESS

ambassador for; Formula Student Judge,

Our World in 2050, Network Career events,

Routes to Professional Development

seminar, Ambassador Conference. She

also initiated a Financial Management CPD

course for Sellafield graduates. Jen has

recently become the North Western Region

Representative on the Young Members

Board.

At the award ceremony in London,

Claire was presented with her award from

John Wood (the then President of IMechE)

and Ross Brawn (Mercedes GP

Petronas). She also received a free place

on the IMechE Engineering Management

Skills Course and a personal invitation to

visit Ross Brawn’s F1 facility.

Two of IMechE West Cumbria’s Young

Members Panel female engineers, Claire

Jones and Jen Corbett were recently

awarded with international recognition for

their outstanding contribution to the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The Young Member of the Year Awards

2010 consist of five categories; Key

themes, Member engagement, Education,

Raising the profile of IMechE, Raising the

Profile of the Profession and one overall

winner. Jen won the contribution to Key

Themes category while Claire attained the

overall winner “Young Member of the Year

2010” Award

Claire, who works for Babcock and at

Sellafield, is the Outgoing-Chair of the West

Cumbria Young Members Panel, member of

the West Cumbria Panel and STEM

Ambassador. The award was given in

recognition of the extensive range of

volunteering activities she undertakes to

promote engineering.

Jen works for Sellafield Ltd and is the

Outgoing-Secretary of the West Cumbria

Young Members Panel, STEM and IMechE

Gold Ambassador. Jen has been

recognised for her contribution to the key

themes of Education, Environment, Energy

and Transport. She has achieve this as an

which awards the Foundations own £3229

Bursary to cover the first year degree tuition

fee charges, which this year was awarded to

Richard Beck, from

St Benedict‟s 6th Form who

is going to Oxford to study a

Masters Degree in

Mechanical Engineering.

As well as in

conjunction with the IMechE

West Cumbria Area

Education Sub-Committee, selecting the

IMechE West Cumbria Bursary Award Winner,

who we are delighted to announce as being

Alexander Johnston (back

row, 4th from left), from

Nelson Tomlinson School,

who has been offered a

place at Imperial College,

London to study a Masters

Degree in Mechanical

Engineering.

In 2011, we are delighted to have joined

forces with the REACT Foundation to provide

a £1000 University Bursary Award to a top

West Cumbrian student who is successful in

taking up a place on a Masters Degree

Course in a Mechanical Engineering subject

area.

David Williamson, IMechE West Cumbria

Area Educational Initiatives Co-ordinator was

invited to be an honorary member of the

REACT Foundation Bursary selection panel,

On Saturday 30th October five members of the

West Cumbria Young Members panel travelled

to Colne to take part in the North West YM

panel annual go karting championship. The

competition took the form of an endurance

race with six stints per team of twenty minutes

each, with the winning team being that with the

most laps at the end. The event proved to be a

good way to meet the North West Committee

and catch up with old friends. The race proved

to be a close one with only four laps between

us and the team above at the end of the race.

The final result saw West Cumbria finish in fifth

place (out of seven) with no major crashes.

KARTING TEAM CHALLENGE

NEWS IN BRIEF

Thursday 30th September last year saw

Moonbuggy Ltd in Maryport open its doors to

the West Cumbria Young Members.

Moonbuggy Ltd is a manufacturer of versatile,

compact and multipurpose unmanned ground

vehicles (UGV). These amazing vehicles are

custom designed for specific applications such

as casualty recovery and radiation survey.

The vehicles can be supplemented with

various features such as cameras and robotic

arms. Two vehicles were shown during the

tour, one used for casualty recovery and the

second for carrying heavy loads. The first

could be controlled up to two miles away using

a dedicated wireless system and incorporated

the use of cameras to see where the vehicle

was going. The second was controlled at a

shorter range, by infrared.

VISIT TO MOONBUGGY LTD

Situated at the top of the Honister Pass

within the Borrowdale Valley, Honister Slate

Mine is lucky to be operating at all. West

Cumbria Young Members will always

remember this tour of the mine, as it one of the

last before the untimely death of the mines

enigmatic owner Mike Weir.

Mark Weir welcomed the party with a

recollection of the staggering highs and

emotional lows he had encountered during his

journey to bring the mine back to life, where it

now sits proud as one of the best attractions

HONISTER SLATE MINE TOUR

UNIVERSITY BURSARY AWARD

THE INSTITUTION YOUNG MEMBER AWARDS 2010

and enterprises in the Lake District. The mine

attracts thousands of visitors each year and

provides a unique location for the TV and film

industries - a fitting epitaph to such a

remarkable man.

The young members were enrolled on the

„Cathedral‟ tour (one of three that Honister

provide) giving a bespoke tour of the working

mine, where the humorous, emotional and

often saddening story of the past 12 years in

the mines history was told to the party by

Rowland, the parties guide for the evening.

Once inside, the group was shown around

various operating areas, drilling faces, tunnels

and transport routes, while tour guide Rowland

added to the adventure with stories of how it all

began, how the mine now operates and what

the future holds for Honister. The group was

truly mesmerized by sheer scale of the

caverns.

Leaving the relatively sheltered and

enclosed tunnel, gusts of 75mph met the

young members who cautiously made their

way back to their mine visitor centre, where

this fascinating tour was drawn to a close.

Students were given introductory

presentations by IMechE West Cumbria‟s

David Williamson on what the day was going to

be about, Environmentally Sustainable

Engineering Solutions being planned for the

Derwent Forest Development by Nigel

Catterson from DFDC, and Climate Change

presentations by Dean Atherton, Allerdale

Borough Council‟s Climate Change

Coordinator (at Stainburn), and Rachel Osborn,

Copeland Borough Council‟s Sustainability

Officer (at St Benedict‟s). Over twenty

engineers and engineering students from local

companies, Sellafield Limited, GENII, Atkins,

AMEC and Babcocks provided classroom

mentoring to the teams leading to the

classroom winners competing for the overall

winner‟s prize by presenting their concepts to

the whole school year and a panel of judges.

Each school‟s winning team received the

„2050‟ School Trophy and free entry passes to

Camelot Theme Park, courtesy of STORY

Group, Carlisle.

become the UK‟s next generation of

professional engineers. To this end, in common

with other engineering Institutions, we

organise, deliver and contribute to outreach

activities that use practical technical based

approaches to engender an interest in

engineering (such as building mechanical de-

vices, racing cars, robots etc.).

However, it has been observed that this

traditional approach can often alienate pupils

who are not Intrinsically motivated by such

activities yet might have the potential to

become excellent engineers in the future. In

response to this the „Our World in 2050‟

initiative was devised using a different

approach which focuses on the conceptual

stage of the engineering design process. The

idea (which worked with great success in the

pilot) is to tap into the environmental concerns

and creativity of young people. This engages a

more diverse range of pupils in thinking about

engineering as a career, dispels common

myths and stereotypes surrounding the term

„engineer‟, and thereby has the

potential to attract wider participation in STEM

subjects.

Thanks to the generosity of our

sponsors, we have been able to stage

two highly successful, prestigious IMechE

„Our World in 2050‟ schools events in

West Cumbria this year. On 25th March,

the second annual „2050‟ IMechE

Environmental schools event took place

at Stainburn School and Science College,

Workington, and the inaugural

St Benedict‟s Catholic High School and

Engineering College „2050‟ was held on

15th July. In total, 400 year 8 (12 – 13

year old) students, were given the

opportunity to show that their creativity and

innovation in a whole school year challenge to

come up with the best design concept for an

aspect of our life which will need to change to

adapt to the causes and effects of climate

change by the year 2050.

„Our World in 2050‟ is a one day

off-timetable cross-curricula STEM enrichment

activity focused on the topics of adaptation to

climate change and sustainability. This

innovative initiative is aimed at Year 8 (12-13

year olds) and has

been designed to meet

the new KS3 of the

National Curriculum

from 2008. It aims to

engage a more diverse

range of pupils in

thinking about

engineering careers at

a relatively early age in

their educational

development and thereby attract wider

participation in STEM subjects.

One of the key roles of the IMechE is to

engage with young people and inspire them to


OUR WORLD IN 2050

EDUCATION Promoting engineering as an exciting and rewarding career

ENGINEERING FUN DAY AT LAKES On 13th May IMechE West Cumbria held

another successful Engineering Fun Day at

Lakes College West Cumbria, in conjunction

with Cumbria STEM Centre.

Engineering Fun Days allows 10 – 11 year

old Primary School pupils to get involved in

fun, hands-on engineering activities such as

building simple battery powered cars,

hovercrafts, aeroplanes, etc to help re-enforce

basic engineering principles and hopefully

enthuse some of the pupils to continue to

have an interest in STEM subjects though

their school life and into their working careers.

Over 200 pupils took on the day from

eight local primary schools and feedback

continues to tell us that this event is very

much appreciated by both staff and pupils, as

a means of expanding the basics that are

taught via the curriculum in school.

The event was supported by eighteen

local science and engineering ambassadors

from many local companies such as; Sellafield

Ltd, Babcock, Atkins and Gen II. Each school

took away a Meccano Technology Kit as a gift

from IMechE West Cumbria to help reinforce

the learning back in the classroom.

Stainburn’s Winning Team

St Benedict’s Winning Team

8 NEWSLETTER SPRING/SUMMER 2011

EVENTS POSTER AUTUMN/WINTER 2011 A look at what’s coming up next season...

Our Events

Remember, you don‟t need to be a member of the Institution to take advantage of our events. Anyone of all ages can come along!

For more information on this seasons events visit our website: www.imechewestcumbria.org.uk/events

IMechE West Cumbria Newsletter: Issue 3, Autumn/Winter 2011

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Transcript of IMechE West Cumbria Newsletter: Issue 3, Autumn/Winter 2011