Partnership project gives Engineering students opportunity to put learnings into real-life practice
11 April 2024
One of the main objectives of Developing the Young Workforce Inverness and Central Highland (DYWICH) is to bring together employers and educators to enhance learning experiences for young people, so that when its time to leave school they have a better understanding of the world of work.
A shining example of this is a project called Decarbonising Millburn Academy which has been delivered in partnership with RYBKA, a leading building services and sustainability engineering company based in Scotland.
How it started
Back in October last year (2023), DYWICH held a showcase event at Millburn Academy to share some of the positive ways employers have successfully enriched and influenced the curriculum and contributed positively to the learning experiences of young people. The event gave teachers the opportunity to meet and speak to employers who wanted to work with the school.
At the showcase, Greg Tillman, a teacher at the school, met Martin Bell, Regional Director at RYBKA and, together with the support of DYWICH, went on to develop ‘Decarbonising Millburn Academy’.
About the project
The project was aimed at S5 pupils studying Higher Engineering Science. Mr Tillman and the team at RYBKA joined forces to share topics and create a programme of activity which allowed the student to apply their learning in the context of a real life setting.
Millburn Academy’s boiler room was used to set the scene and provided RYBKA with the ideal environment to talk about the types of tasks an Engineer would undertake.
Students were set the challenge of decarbonising Millburn Academy, which incorporated investigating a ground source heat pump, investigating mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and integrating further renewable energy systems into Millburn Academy.
What’s next?
In the coming weeks, the class is planning a visit to one of RYBKA’s sites to reinforce the types of projects that are undertaken by Engineers. The students will then present their ideas on how they plan to decarbonise Millburn Academy.
The Milburn Academy pupils are looking forward to sharing their ideas and we collectively want to thank Martin Bell from RYBKA for giving his time and energy to the Millburn Academy pupils.
Feedback on the partnership
DYW Milburn Academy School Coordinator, Nel Rogers said: “This type of activity is like gold for our young people, who may be considering a career in this field. Taking part in these types of interactions with employers brings the curriculum to life. It encourages young people to put into practice which they’ve been learning in class and helps to further foster skills such as problem solving, teamwork and overcoming challenges. These are all skills that are highly sought after and needed for the world of work.”
Martin Bell, Regional Director at RYBKA, added: “Being involved in Engineering in the construction industry is a hugely rewarding profession and getting the chance to support future generations of engineers with some real world STEM activities has been great fun. The students at Millburn were really engaged and did some fantastic research into how they could decarbonise their school.”
Millburn Academy Teacher, Mr Greg Tillman explained: “We were extremely fortunate to have an industry professional like Martin come in and explain in great detail the exciting and innovative projects that RYBKA are involved in and the career opportunities they can offer to young people interested in a career in engineering.
“He engaged with the pupils using a relevant and curriculum-linked project, which involved teamwork to research, and made recommendations on how the school could be retrofitted to be more efficient and carbon neutral.
“This linked perfectly with the challenges and context unit of the course which explores the environmental, economic and social impacts of engineering projects. Through conversations with Martin, the pupils gained a valuable insight to the day-to-day jobs a mechanical and electrical engineer would have and the challenges they would face. They gained knowledge and an understanding of how heat pumps, mechanical recovery ventilation and many other carbon saving technologies work.”
About RYBKA
RYBKA has been bringing buildings to life since the 1930s by creating mechanical and electrical engineering design solutions for a wide range of sectors across the built environment. In recent years, it’s driven sustainability to the core of all of our projects and has built up a strong track record in delivering environmentally friendly and cost-effective engineering solutions.
