Inspire Girls Course at University of Sheffield

University of Sheffield
Engineering the future

What is it all about?
Engineering is the development of creative problem solving; thinking outside the box and making ideas become a reality.

We are all surrounded by structures, such as bridges, buildings, car and aeroplane chassis or even a tower crane! In these real-world applications, the structures must not fail. However, to prevent failure, an engineer must understand where and how the weakest parts of the structure will be and what the likely failure modes are.

In this interactive and practical course you will explore the engineering science to predict structural failure and build some structures to demonstrate these principles. We will try and see how close we can get to the limit of the structure, without it breaking. This forces us to understand the behaviour structures and be more clever with our design. In teams your aim will be to support an 18 kg block of metal on a bridge made from plywood that still allows the block to pass underneath (175x100mm gap). To give you an idea of how far the boundaries can be pushed, so far the lightest design has been about 13g!
Will you be able to beat this? Join us at the University of Sheffield's Inspire Engineering course 2020 to take on this challenge!

What will I be doing?
This Inspire Summer School at Sheffield will provide you with an opportunity to experience the process of researching and designing, with some examples of implementation. You will be provided with a wide variety of sessions to develop the following skills:

Team work
Time management and working toward deadlines
Project management and organisational skills
Enhance your research techniques using computational resources
Improve your problem solving, analytical and mathematical skills
Develop your writing techniques and presentation abilities

These skills will be developed through working in teams, engaging in exciting practical sessions and university-style lectures. At the end of the course, you will have an opportunity, as a member of a group, to pitch your design using visual models to a panel of academic experts. View the video from the 2018 course https://youtu.be/1yMcw8HxdTE

Would this course suit me?
This course will suit you if you are planning to study Maths and Chemistry or Physics at A Level.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year for our vision, our values and our determination to stand by what we believe in. This is a University where world class and down to earth go hand-in-hand. Come and experience our academic community and remarkable city.

There is a fee to attend this course, but some bursaries are available.

Applications need to be made by student.