HMS Montrose recently welcomed pupils, mentored by the Royal Navy and Babcock, from University Technical College (UTC) Plymouth as they embark upon a brand new national engineering initiative.
HMS Montrose is a Type 23 frigate currently moored alongside Devonport Naval Base. There, the students toured the ship in service of their task – to produce a device able to conduct visual inspections of unlit and enclosed areas within the gas turbine engine uptakes of warships.
The UTC contingent is one of many teams taking part in the Engineering Education Scheme (EES), which runs throughout England and Scotland. Launched at HMS Raleigh, the competition puts Year 12 pupils and their teachers in touch with local contractors to solve real world scientific, engineering and technological quandaries.
In teams between four and six, each group has six months to complete the task set by their sponsor. This year, two such teams are being sponsored by the Royal Navy.
It’s a new experience for Lieutenant Commander Neil Sandle, lead mentor of the UTC team. He said: “I volunteered to become involved with the EES as I believe it is a great way to get students involved with industrial STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) issues and provide them with an insight into the role of an engineer.
“I’ve not been a mentor before, but I’m really looking forward to see how the students respond to the challenges we set them. From this initial visit to HMS Montrose we now plan on visiting UTC every two weeks to see how the project design and manufacture is progressing, and provide the students with on-going advice and guidance.”
Run by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), the scheme provides students with a clearer picture of their area of study, enabling them to make informed decisions about their future.
If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here.
The post HMS Montrose welcomes up-and-coming engineers from UTC Plymouth appeared first on Defence Online.
