Inspiring tomorrow's engineers

The University of Nottingham has been inspiring the region's youngsters to embark on a career in one of the world's most important professions. The University hosted a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) themed week as part of 'Tomorrow's Engineers Week'. The focused week of outreach events supported the UK government's promotion of STEM subjects which are seen as critical to the UK's future prosperity and global competitiveness. Whilst the sciences, design and technology and maths are all studied at school, many pupils have misconceptions regarding engineering. So, throughout the week, activities were aimed at changing these perceptions among young people, their parents and teachers. The events were designed around recent technological advances and built on the students' science, mathematics, team work and communication skills. The week of activities also gave the pupils the chance to benefit from a university style of teaching, which culminated in a visit to the University at the end of the week where they were able to graduate.