Leeds City College teams up with global engineering organisations to inspire next generation of civil engineers

Leeds City College is partnering with leading global engineering organisations to deliver a live design and operation brief to students.

The project, in collaboration with Ahead Partnership, will give BTEC Level 3 and A Level Engineering students the opportunity to develop their skills using a real life scenario.

Working with construction company Carillion, and engineering firm Arup, the group of 12 students will put together recommendations for a weakened bridge at the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).

Kevin Charlesworth, Deputy Head of Engineering at Leeds City College, said: “The project is taking place from now until March, allowing students to work with experts in the sector and develop a range of technical civil engineering skills that puts their classroom theory into practice.”

The activity will also give students an insight into the various roles at Carillion and Arup, as well as valuable knowledge about the sector.

Stephanie Burras CBE, Chief Executive at Ahead Partnership, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Leeds City College, Carillion and Arup to provide this unique and exciting challenge for the students.

“Engineering and construction is a huge growth sector for this region, so working with these employers to inspire students with a hands-on experience like this shows their commitment to tackling this future demand. This challenge will really consolidate the students’ learning and help them understand how their courses at college will shape their future career paths.”

Nicola Talbot, Civil Engineer at Arup, said: “We prepared a tailored design brief and presented this at the college. We have challenged the students to solve a relatively complex problem using design techniques that we apply in our team.

“They will need to identify constraints, carry out desk-top research and produce engineering design sketches. We really enjoyed the briefing day and were really pleased to meet the students who have volunteered to take part. Their enthusiasm for engineering is very commendable.”