UK-wide assembly to showcase engineers on a mission
Published: 07 September, 2018
Nine in ten (90%) of young people dream of a career that tackles social issues according to data from Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and plans for the Week in 2018 (5-9 November 2018) provide fresh impetus to the drive to encourage more young people to consider a career in engineering.
This year, plans include the first Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly, offering schools across the UK the chance to take part in the same assembly at the same time.
The Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly is a live video stream, featuring a panel of inspiring engineers who will discuss their careers and the positive impact engineering has on the issues young people care about most.
Researchers found almost half of young people wanted careers that would help animals (47%), two-fifths want to save peoples’ lives (37%) and a third want to help tackle homelessness (29%), all of which will be covered in the Big Assembly along with protecting the environment, safety and entertainment.
Thousands of students are expected to take part and will be able to ask questions to the panel and careers experts live via social media. The Big Assembly will also be available on demand after the live broadcast has finished.
When Tomorrow’s Engineers Week researchers asked what message engineers would like to share with young people to inspire them about a career in engineering, three quarters of engineers questioned (74%) wanted to let young people know that engineers make the world a better place.
Around seven in ten felt young people should know that engineers help find innovative solutions (71%) and shape the way we live (69%).
Engineers taking part in the survey described their careers as having many different positive effects on the world. These ‘engineers on a mission’ work on a range of projects from “making water safe to drink” to “repairing machines that improve the quality of life” to “helping people have safe and enjoyable holidays.”
Last year Tomorrow’s Engineers Week also focussed on ‘engineers on a mission’ and saw 60,000 young people view films of inspiring engineers. Stars of these films included Simon Crowther, director of flood protection solutions, who will be on the Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly panel.
He commented:
“I’ve seen first-hand how engineers can make a huge difference in the world. I was inspired to become an engineer after my family home was flooded. From that day on, I was on a mission to ensure that no other family needed to suffer like ours did.
“My engineering career really makes a difference to people’s lives and I’m passionate about inspiring more young people to see how they can do likewise. I’d urge all schools to sign up to be part of the Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly.”
In addition to the Big Assembly, Tomorrow’s Engineers Week will use social media, films and events to demonstrate how young people can take their ideas, passions and dreams and turn them into engineering careers.
Now in its sixth year, Tomorrow’s Engineers Week takes place from 5-9 November and provides a unique opportunity for engineers, employers, universities and schools to drive interest in engineering careers, showing young people the ways in which engineers are on a mission to make the world a better place, find innovative solutions and shape the way we live.
Employers, schools, colleges and universities are invited to get involved to help inspire the next generation of engineers by downloading a toolkit of ideas, which also includes more information on the Big Assembly.
The Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly is sponsored by BCS, ICE, IET, IMechE and Year of Engineering and is supported by other professional institutions.
Beth Elgood, director of communications at EngineeringUK, said:
“Engineers shape the world we live in and use their skills to solve some of the issues that young people care about most. Hundreds of individual engineers and employers are expected to be part of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and the announcement of the Big Assembly today means more young people than ever before will be inspired by what engineers can achieve.
“It’s really easy for schools to be part of the Big Assembly and for students to understand more about the role of engineers and engineering in shaping our world and of the wide range of routes they can take into such an extraordinary career.“
More information on how to get involved is available at tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek. Schools can sign up to be part of the Big Assembly at www.bigassembly.org.
