Building new skillsets and developing a wider, more diverse workforce are central to the successful growth and futureproofing of UK construction and the offsite sector.
The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) has announced a £5,000 scholarship for every woman who will be joining their undergraduate master's degree in Integrated Engineering programme in September 2022.
NMITE's She/Her =Future Engineer scholarship aims to attract more women in to engineering by offering a competitive funding package specifically for specifically for females, or those who identify as female, wanting to further their education in engineering. "The engineering industry has told us time and again that there is desperate need for more diversity in the sector. NMITE has pledged to recruit a gender equal student population, and these scholarships will enable us to attract a wider diversity of undergraduate engineers with greater gender representation," said NMITE President and CEO Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon.
According to the Women's Engineering Society, women account for only 14% of the engineering workforce in the UK and only 15% of engineering undergraduates in the UK are female. Every student joining NMITE in September 2022, regardless of gender or background, will receive a £2,000 bursary with females receiving a further £3,000.
Natasha Tait, a member of NMITE's Pioneer Cohort, says: "I switched to NMITE after beginning my engineering degree at a different university which wasn't right for me. Moving university was a tough decision to make and I was concerned about finances, but I realised that NMITE was really the place I wanted to be. My experience so far has exceeded my expectations and I am excited to come in every day and learn. The scholarship funding will alleviate some of the worries about paying for Higher Education, as it did for me. I think any woman who wants to see a change in the world can find their chance to make that change at NMITE, so I encourage them to make the most of this opportunity."
NMITE is supported by engineering businesses, the Herefordshire community, Herefordshire Council, Olin College of Engineering (USA), professional engineering bodies and the UK Government, which awarded up to £23million in initial funding. £8million of this funding was awarded by the Marches LEP via its Growth Deal with Government with details provided in two separate announcements in October and November 2019 regarding our redesigned city centre location, Blackfriars, and the building of a new campus Centre on Hereford's Enterprise Zone, Skylon Park.
Also launched are two short courses in Timber Technology Engineering Design to help upskill and reskill UK built environment professionals. NMITE is now offering both a BEng and MEng in Integrated Engineering, is launching two new short CPD courses. Delivered in partnership with Timber Development UK and Edinburgh Napier University, the first course started in September 2022.
Timber Technology Engineering Design 1 (TED 1) is a 12-week blended course composed of online distance learning and three on-campus challenge sprints of one week each. The Timber Technology Engineering Design 2 (TED 2) 12-week course will begin in January 2023, for those who have completed TED 1.
Both courses aim to build a community of knowledge in timber as a building material, contribute to the UK's understanding of sustainable building, and provide a generation of timber professionals with an understanding of the principles of timber design construction and engineering methods within the context of the built environment. NMITE says, as well as in the UK it expects the courses to attract attention internationally in regions where timber construction is prevalent.
Associate Professor Aghlab Al-Attili, academic lead says: "We have developed the courses to appeal to a wide range of Built Environment Professionals, working full or part-time in architecture firms and construction companies including designers,architectural assistants or those involved in technical sales. There is currently no CPD course that directly addresses timber in construction on this scale of detail with the same degree of academic rigour and associated learning techniques which address the market need."
In time for September, NMITE's new Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT) building has been handed over. Prof. Robert Hairstans who was appointed as CATT's Founding Director in March 2021 to lead the development and delivery of the building and to help establish it as the leading national location in timber education said: "We are delighted to see how fast things have moved in the last year. These two new courses will reach new audiences, outside our Integrated Engineering BEng and MEng students, attracting attendees from the UK and internationally. It shows both the speed at which NMITE can move, the role it can play in delivering both degree programmes and short courses, and therefore the impact we will have in timber education."
With the number of women working in the construction industry rising – an estimated 37% of new entrants into construction coming from higher education being female – the number of courses, recruitment drives and initiatives to drive gender equality within the workplace, will hopefully help bring a fresh impetus torevitalising the built environment.
For more information visit: www.nmite.ac.uk
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