insight4me Engineering: Exploring & Utilising (Outer) Space With The University of Sheffield & University of Surrey

insight4me is a series of subject specific webinars for current Year 12 & 13 students. The sessions support students’ current studies by giving an insight into particular curriculum areas whilst affording students the opportunity to talk to different universities and make informed comparisons about how, in this case, Engineering is taught.

In this insight4me Engineering webinar for schools and colleges, The University of Sheffield and University of Surrey, will each have roughly 30 minutes to deliver a punchy, topic based ‘micro’ talk. Within an overall session theme of Utilising Space, the universities have the freedom to choose their own topic and use the time to convey the key points of the case studies for the students. The theme relates to (Outer) Space and focuses on Engineering research and applications that further space exploration and the ability to use new knowledge and, possibly, resources from Space (e.g. Mars, Moon, ….) to benefit human society.

Through the discussion, the universities are encouraged to provide an insight into the teaching and learning experience of this topic at university, and compare and contrast how other subject areas across the Engineering spectrum might be treated. Students will gain an insight into how these subjects continue beyond A-levels, T-levels, IB, BTEC and equivalent qualifications.

By hearing from 2 unis, students will also appreciate how the further study of Engineering can vary between institutions, contributing to the depth of their HE research and assisting informed decision making.

Full details of the universities and their talks will appear below when available. 

• The University of Sheffield: Dr Jonathan Aitken is a University Teacher in Robotics and is the Admissions Tutor for the Automatic Control and Systems Engineering Department at the University of Sheffield. His research interests mainly focus on autonomous reconfiguration of robotic systems, especially on quadcopter platforms. Jonathan also supports many students at the University of Sheffield to take part in extra curricular projects to do with our Sheffield Space Initiative, such as Project SunSat and Project SunByte. In this session, Jonathan will be joined by Mark and Yun, team members of projects within the Sheffield Space Initiative, who will talk about their fantastic projects and where this can lead students and research in the future.
• The University of Surrey: Professor Craig Underwood presents Space Engineering at Surrey: Our Journey into New Space. Craig is Emeritus Professor of Spacecraft Engineering at the Surrey Space Centre and teaches Spacecraft Systems Design in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Surrey. He has over 35 years’ experience in space systems engineering and has worked on numerous small satellite missions, specialising in sensors and instrumentation for radiation detection, optical and radar remote sensing. In this session, Craig will talk about how he became involved in space, and how Surrey pioneered small satellite technology – the technology behind the “New Space” revolution. He will focus on Surrey’s recent missions aimed at demonstrating the technologies needed to help clean up space, showing how students get involved, and the importance of having strong links to industry to ensure that courses are relevant and are at the cutting edge of research.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Engineering and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the 2 topics and discuss some of the key elements in advance. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Engineering at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: