Support scheme puts engineering students on the right track

A new educational support scheme has been launched to provide mechanical engineering students with real-world experience and give them a head start in their careers.

More than 200 students from Aston and Brunel universities will take part in the inaugural Engineering Insight initiative this year, where they will be set real-world design challenges based on actual products and applications. With projects, guidelines and support provided by UK engineering firm Midland-ACS, students will be formed into teams of four and asked to come up with new product design concepts for specific flow control applications. Members of the team at each university that create the best design solution will each receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, courtesy of PC World. Spot prizes for each university will also be provided, to reward outstanding individual contributions as noted by the university course tutors. "Our aim is to help give students the best possible start to their working careers, as well as have a little fun during the process," says scheme organiser Andy Sealey. "At the end of the project, every participant will be in a position to show prospective employers some real-world design experience in addition to their academic achievements." Engineering Insight is hoping to extend the scheme to more institutions across the UK during 2012. For more details visit www.engineeringinsight.co.uk.