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At UCL Engineering, we're committed to strengthening and diversifying the STEM workforce and inviting young people to discover modern engineering and fascinating, wide-ranging STEM career pathways.
Our aim is to engage, inform, and inspire a new generation of engineers and innovators from a diverse range of backgrounds, to want to make a difference through engineering. We work collectively with over 70 organisations, businesses, and government to maximise our impact and reach.
Through our 50.50 Engineering Engagement Strategy, we recognise the need for real change in the current systems, settings, and processes. We aim to positively challenge the systems in place, to create an inclusive and equitable culture in STEM education engagement that nurtures and supports, empowering young people to learn and thrive.
The 50.50 Engineering Engagement Strategy was created through the need to bring real change in the systems, settings, and processes in our STEM field. We aim to positively challenge the systems in place, to create an inclusive and equitable culture in STEM education engagement that nurtures and supports. To achieve this, we focus on six priority areas:
- Promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion
Taking an intersectional approach, our programmes are inclusive both in pupil participation and programme design, considering the diversity of young people and catering for a broad range of abilities and levels of understanding. Our approach includes: investment in tailored capacity building activities, raising awareness through multiple and diverse channels and points of contact, enabling the inclusion of groups who would otherwise be excluded, due to invisible social structures. We want young people of diverse and different backgrounds to feel that engineering is “for them” and to instil a sense of belonging in STEM.
- Inspiring through relatable engineering role models
Growing cohort of relatable role models in engineering, via our UCL Engineering undergraduate and postgraduate students from a wide range of backgrounds. Focusing on strong female role models through the representation of women in science and engineering at all levels of primary through to secondary education. Our students share their own experiences and differing personal pathways into engineering, acting as mentors and thinking about how they might instigate their passion for STEM in a younger person. Young pupils start establishing a network of social contacts with real engineers, meeting young people like themselves, and learning from role models they can relate to.
- Prioritising STEM interventions in primary education
Prioritising STEM interventions in primary education, to challenge stereotypical messages forming from a very young age holding girls back from achieving their full potential. We introduce children as young as 5 years old to the world of engineering, enabling them to learn from and work with real engineers in academia and industry through continuous and on-going interaction, while further developing their literacy and numeracy skills as well as their understanding and knowledge of science and engineering.
- Supporting teachers through professional development
Recognising that high-quality classroom education relies on excellent teachers and the learning they encourage. Offering teachers high quality continued professional development opportunities as well as supporting them in the classroom with curriculum-based resources and trained experts. We support teachers to be confident and innovative when teaching STEM, creating authentic learning experiences, and helping pupils develop skills they need to be successful in the 21st century and beyond.
- Showcasing STEM career pathways
Developing programmes and resources that engage, inform, and inspire a new generation of engineers and innovators from a diverse range of backgrounds, and for them to want to make a difference through engineering. Inviting young people to discover modern engineering and navigate through the wealth of fascinating, diverse and wide-ranging STEM career pathways. We encourage young people to study engineering, choose engineering as a career and achieve a better understanding of the important role of engineers in society. We want to change the stereotyped perceptions of suitable choices and careers for young people and their key influencers, by raising awareness of the exciting and wide-ranging careers in engineering. We work towards defying stereotypes and empowering young people by building their confidence, knowledge, skills, and resilience.
- Learning through experimental engineering
Enabling young people to actively participate in authentic, open-ended projects through an experimental approach, seeing how real-world engineering is applied, while also contributing to the process. Providing substance and meaning to theoretical, abstract concepts, while developing their knowledge, skills and understanding. Inviting young people to discover the creative, environmental, and humanitarian nature of engineering and its significance to society, through the cutting-edge research occurring in our labs. Encouraging young people to engage with the design-and-make process, problem-solve, and give voice to both their creativity and critical thinking.
