Editor’s choice university
that work on 3.5 week rotations on aspects like operations; learning spaces and accommodation design; marketing and partnership; fundraising; diversity; and academic support. It is only when you talk to members of the Design Cohort that you realise what a massive undertaking setting up a new university actually is and the powerful influence that the Cohort has on future developments. When Instrumentation Monthly visited the Design Cohort, the operations team were busy resolving issues with NMiTE’s website - pushing for a move away from the animations that dominate the institution’s website towards a brand image that they think is more relevant to the students they are trying to attract. The operations team also work on obtaining student discounts - they have been busy contacting local businesses to get some additional benefits for those who choose Hereford as the city where they learn. As well as an attractive bonus for NMiTE students, student discounts also help to drum up local support for the university and will hopefully give businesses a bit of a boost. A second Design Cohort group, working on
learning spaces and accommodation design, were busy tweaking the layout of a student flat. Some of the Design Cohort already live in the accommodation so have been using their experiences to adapt its design to make it more comfortable for the first intake of students in September. They have been liaising with the project manager for the build to make their ideas viable. The marketing and partnerships group have been busy with a multi-pronged attack to promote the university. When Instrumentation Monthly visited, the team were working with a local museum to develop a LEGO exhibition - LEGO is regularly used in STEM activities to encourage younger generations to move into careers in engineering and the Design Cohort, not missing a trick, have tapped into this to promote NMiTE. In terms of partnerships, NMiTE has 100 founding donors. The HTET Founders’ Fund Fund invited 100 individuals, businesses and organisations with the foresight to understand the value that a new university will bring to Herefordshire, to make a minimum donation of £5,000 to realise the vision of a university in Hereford. The Design Cohort are kept busy updating the university’s stakeholders on the project’s progress. Local businesses, along with the Design Cohort, are having a big impact on the academic
One of NMiTE’s Ingenuity Studios
NMiTE is working with a Design Cohort of 25 young people who are undertaking a unique gap year experience to help design and create the complete student experience
programme and are helping to design the syllabus. With many engineering firms having bases in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, South Wales, Birmingham and Gloucestershire, getting local businesses on side is key to supporting learning at the university. The diversity group has a big challenge - how
to broaden participation at NMiTE. In an age where gender diversity in engineering is in the spotlight every day (only 12 per cent of people working in engineering are women), with movements to try and encourage more women to consider it for a career, the university is already making headways in terms of creating gender balance within its own faculty. The Design Cohort itself has a 50/50 female/male split in terms of its members. The team were busy considering the wording in their communication when Instrumentation Monthly visited - they recognise that as a new university, it is unhindered by generations of gender stigma and that it can be a true catalyst for change. The final team Instrumentation Monthly met on the day was the academic group working on the digital library and teaching support for NMiTE. One of the big projects the group has worked on was pulling together an alternative prospectus. As the members of the Design Cohort are either recent A-level students or graduates, they bring a fresh perspective on what students who enrol in NMiTE might be looking for from their university and the city. They also provide an honest portrayal of Hereford and Herefordshire.
EngagEmEnt programmE
The sprints are also reflected in the project’s Ingenuity Studio. NMiTE has two studios comprising renovated shipping containers. The portable studios act as an engagement programme, enabling educators, teachers and technicians to work with young people. The studios will tour the region, within a 40-mile radius of Hereford, visiting schools, colleges, sports centres and arts centres as well as key events like the Hay Festival and the Three
Instrumentation Monthly March 2019
Counties Show. They feature high-tech 3D scanners, 3D printers, laser cutters and digital routers that not only encourage participants to get creative but also give them hands-on experience with the sorts of technology they might encounter if they take up a career in engineering. Commenting at the launch of the first Ingenuity Studio, Professor Rodriguez- Falcon said: “It’s a space which reflects our mission, our learning spaces and our new approach to learning. Most of all it’s a space where we want young people to understand what being an engineer can be. “We all experience something in our daily
life that could do with modifying, improving, redesigning, reengineering. We want young people to feel engaged with the world around them, to be able to identify how improvements can be made, to harness technology to make things better. And we want them to brainstorm, to collaborate in teams, to design together.” When Instrumentation Monthly visited the
Ingenuity Studio, a group of school pupils were busy addressing a challenge that had been set by a local organisation. Following a similar learning outline to the main university, the studios conduct sprints covering areas like the Internet of Things (IoT) and electronics. In these sprints, participants are tasked with addressing challenges that are often real issues set by local businesses and organisations. For example, for the IoT challenge, the participants have to come up with a flood alert system that will alert local businesses to the rising waters of the River Wye. Engaging with young people is important to
the creation of NMiTE as can be seen through the Design Cohort and the Ingenuity Studio. Through these pioneering programmes, the institution’s innovative approach to learning is already evident. It will be exciting to see how these approaches develop when the first influx of students start learning later this year.
NMiTE
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