Faculty of Technology
Electronics masterclass for teenagers
Wed, Jun 29, 2011
Children aged 14 and 15 are being given a taste of how passion for electronics can be turned into an exciting career with the help of staff from GCHQ, QinetiQ and electronics experts from the university’s Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering. The residential summer school is run by educational charity The Smallpeice Trust.
The workshop gives the 60 pupils their first chance to visit a university electronics department and allows them to use specialist equipment and resources.
GCHQ – the government communications headquarters – is a key part of the UK's intelligence and security service. Along with MI5 and MI6, its role is to counter threats to British people and interests through gathering electronic and digital signals to help inform national security, military operations and law enforcement activities, and through protecting the government's communication and information systems from hackers, interference and disruption.
QinetiQ has expertise in defence, aerospace and security and specialises in advising government on technology and security.
In addition to meeting expert academics and trying the equipment on offer at university, the youngsters will be given presentations by electronics industry leaders GCHQ and QinetiQ about possible career paths.
Barbara Haward, Associate Dean from the university’s technology faculty, said: "We welcome these teenagers into the university to learn first-hand about some of the extraordinary things which can be achieved using electronics and engineering.
“We hope this small taste of advanced electronics will inspire some of them to consider studying the subject at university, especially when they realise the career paths are exciting and varied and that the country is calling out for people with highly developed skills such as those we teach on electronics courses.
“The University of Portsmouth has always been keen to help raise aspirations of young people who hadn’t previously considered going to university and we have a very successful Widening Participation programme. Helping run this summer school allows us to reach a wide range of young people and helps demystify the university experience.”
The main objective of the course is to inspire and encourage young students to consider a career in electronics. Innovative thinking, presentation skills and planning will be an integral part of the course because they are considered by the Smallpeice Trust to be key skills that students don’t often have a chance to explore fully in their school environment.
As well as working on the designing, building and testing electronics projects, the teenagers will be helped to develop skills such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, time management and finance. Social activities include a movie night, sports night, a formal dinner and a disco.
Smallpeice Trust spokesperson Gemma Murphy said: “Thanks to the University of Portsmouth, these students will be given a worthwhile insight into electronic engineering and the career paths that could be open to them. Through a fun-filled timetable of inspirational presentations and design-and-make projects, students will be able to develop a greater understanding and enthusiasm towards the subject.”
The electronic engineering summer school is run by the Trust, and is part of an on-going programme of residential courses to help young people aged 13 to 18 learn and develop skills in engineering, design, technology and manufacturing. Through running residential courses and STEM enrichment days, The Trust has reached out to 17,677 students across the UK in the past year.
The new course timetable for 2012 will be launched in the autumn school term. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. To find out more, visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk, or telephone The Smallpeice Trust on 01926 333200.