NMITE joins forces with UCL to launch Safety Champions in Engineering Education programme

New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (@nmite_ac), an international player in engineering education, has announced the launch of the Safety Champions in Engineering Education programme in partnership with UCL, London’s leading multidisciplinary university.

The 10-week online programme, which is funded by Lloyds Register Foundation and the Royal Academy of Engineering through the Engineering X programme, will be delivered to international educators from Malaysia, the Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, will commence on 3rd May 2021. This is followed by a six-month mentoring phase in which participants develop proposals for educational innovation. The core aim of the programme is to support Engineering X’s ‘Skills Where They Are Most Needed’ mission, drawing on contemporary best practice in engineering education to support local educators in developing curriculum innovations that tackle the specific safety challenges engineering graduates in emerging economies face as critical infrastructure undergoes rapid expansion. 

NMITE and UCL will be working together to share the teaching and mentoring of the programme, led by Vice-Dean for Education (UCL Engineering) Professor John Mitchell, and NMITE’s Chief Academic Officer Professor Beverley Gibbs. They will be leading the learning activity, joined by members of their academic teams in online, synchronous and mentoring support roles.

NMITE’s Chief Academic Officer, Professor Beverley Gibbs said of the programme:

“We are excited at the prospect of working together to share our knowledge, experience and passion with engineering educators worldwide, and are thrilled to have partnered with UCL for this important programme. We’re confident that the programme will provide educators with the frameworks and tools they need to have an impact on safe practice in their local contexts.”

Professor John Mitchell, Vice-Dean for Education (UCL Engineering) added:

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to build capacity and share our vision of the future of engineering education with colleagues worldwide. The combination of UCL and NMITE gives a truly unique perspective of the challenges and opportunities of innovating in the curriculum.”

Although institutions with very different histories, UCL and NMITE share a common vision of engineering education and believe that fundamental knowledge of mathematics and science is necessary but not sufficient for engineers and that deep and meaningful learning comes about only through experience, practice and integration of skills. 

At their core, the innovations in both of their curricula are centred in an emphasis on developing skills alongside knowledge, design as a core element implemented through opportunities to learn-by-doing in immersive and authentic projects, and a pervading theme of the global and socially responsible engineer who integrates ethics, sustainability and safety in all their endeavours. 

The Safety Champions in Engineering Education programme is a unique programme reaching engineering educators around the world to relate contemporary practice in engineering education and discuss local safety practices and trends.  This continues NMITE’s 2021 Meeting of Minds programme, a series of events, which connects like-minded people in academia, industry and community to discuss and debate contemporary issues relating to higher education and engineering.