Engineering Council

EngineeringGateways

Toolkit for Universities

A Background Research and Institutional Context 

Prompts

  • Are there IEng and/or CEng qualified staff who can help?
  • Are there any Professional Engineering Institution (PEI) nominated liaison officers on staff or in the region who could help?

Prompts

  • Understand the benefits of the Engineering Gateways programme
  • Map to university and departmental strategic aims and objectives
  • Check this list of participating PEIs to confirm which disciplines can be supported

Prompts

  • Does your university offer similar programmes that you can learn from?
  • What might be the critical success factors? Consider some of those put forward in the report about existing providers' views
  • Have you identified possible challenges? The report into challenges perceived by new adopters might be useful background

B Setting up an Engineering Gateways Programme 

Prompts

  • Who is your target audience?
  • Is this a student or employer-focused marketing campaign?
  • Are you aiming for company cohorts?

“Knowing our market helped us design an appropriate programme”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • Consider using existing employer contacts
  • Have the right people in the company been targeted?
  • Have the appropriate benefits been made clear?
  • Have you jointly explored what's needed?
  • Is the driving interest for engagement clear?
  • Different employers will have different needs

“Northumbria University found it useful to use its employer liaison boards to sound employers out, and made use of local branches of professional bodies and research from the university’s marketing people”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • Does your university have a template?
  • Consider including: target student profile, benefits to the institution, cohort size, discipline area(s), other spin-off opportunities (e.g. KTP), sustainability, costing models, employer engagement

Prompts

  • Aim for buy-in at an early stage
  • The Engineering Council's lead role lends status and credibility
  • The broad range of support across PEIs can attract wide disciplinary interest
  • The positive experience of others is a powerful tool

“Kingston University’s staff felt that industry links are a real positive, with the participants typically being more mature engineers, and their managers or mentors typically at a senior level.”

Kingston University

Prompts

  • Consider including employers in your validation meeting
  • Bear in mind impact of different methods of delivery, WBL elements, flexibility about credits, timetabling, entry and exit paths

Prompts

  • Consider whether to include an introductory professional skills or professional development module

“A key benefit to employers is that they can be involved on their terms.”

University of Greenwich

Prompts

  • Mechanisms are in place for regular dialogue between partners

Prompts

  • Have you checked the Protocol signed by the PEIs and the Engineering Council to understand any specific requirements?
  • Have you signed the HEI/College-Engineering Council Protocol?
  • What are the critical success factors from each employer's point of view?

“Advice and input from the relevant professional body was useful, particularly at the learning contract stage.”

Staffordshire University

Prompts

  • Can your university support you in managing these relationships?
  • Have you involved employers in all stages including programme design and delivery?
  • Can the involvement of learners and past learners assist in the partnership dialogue?

Prompts

  • Ensure employers understand their role and responsibilities
  • Confirm that work at appropriate Masters or Bachelors level will be available
  • Consider having a formal contract or agreement with an employer

C Marketing the Validated Programme 

Prompts

  • Are your approaches to marketing and communications properly coordinated?
  • Ensure that appropriate time and resources are allocated for staff to support employer partnerships
  • Marketing to employers may be as fruitful as to students!
  • Consider developing materials aimed at employers

“We also have this programme as a standing item on the industrial liaison boards that happen usually twice a year”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • Consider developing a programme brochure and specific webpage; placing adverts in engineering journals; promoting via your industrial liaison boards
  • Can your alumni networks help with promoting the programme?
  • Rolling recruitment might be attractive

“Advice and input from the relevant professional body was useful, particularly at the learning contract stage.”

Staffordshire University

Prompts

  • Early contact with the relevant PEI is recommended
  • Have you alerted the PEIs that you have degrees available?
  • Local or regional PEI groups may be able to assist

D Student Recruitment 

Prompts

  • Define entry requirements
  • Before recruiting students based outside the UK, think carefully about whether you can support them
  • Substantiate any claims for previous degrees
  • Check that the potential student actually needs this degree as graduates from some time ago may not
  • APEL is undertaken in line with university guidance

“We could recruit many more but we don’t as we want to ensure quality of participant.”

Staffordshire University

Prompts

  • Ensure that the student fully understands the commitment required for such a programme
  • Ensure that a student handbook is available
  • Are you able to support those returning to learning?
  • International students will require additional support
  • Student must be a PEI member

“Many participants found critical reflection and evaluation a challenging skill to develop.”

Kingston University

E Professional Development 

Prompts

  • Consider whether to provide training

“We have used experienced staff to support this programme and the modules.”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • Check the company will provide appropriate mentoring
  • Mentors must be able to advise students about UK-SPEC competence requirements for IEng or CEng and support them in their professional development
  • The relevant PEI may be able to assist with finding a mentor
  • Appropriate work-based mentors may be from the same or another company

F Legal and Ethical Considerations 

Prompts

  • These may include having an agreement with each employer outlining both parties' expectations
  • Are you and the student covered if the company fails?
  • Is the programme content compatible with the university's expectations and codes?

Prompts

  • Ensure that you have permission to share your students' data with employers and with PEIs so that progress can be tracked
  • Is the in-company activity commercially sensitive?
  • Might the confidential nature of the employees' work affect their ability to submit this for assessment?

“Students’ current role and employment must enable access to live projects that they could use for this programme.”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • Seek advice about your university's requirements

G Delivery 

Prompts

  • Agree who will undertake the initial audit
  • Appoint an academic supervisor and mentor
  • Forward the completed plans to the relevant PEI for review

The alignment of the learning outcomes to the UK-SPEC requirements was recognised as fundamental to these programmes. Report on providers' critical success factors includes steps taken.

“Flexibility includes e-learning, distance learning, workplace projects but although there can be some face-to-face meetings between students and staff, this is not insisted on”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • The mentoring aspect may require you to develop new systems and approaches
  • Agree arrangements with the company, including reporting
  • Can the student register on a PEI's professional development recording system?
  • Ensure the student knows who they can turn to, for what
  •  Consider cohort identity and the establishment of networks

Prompts

  • Their requirements are understood
  • Refer back to initial contact with the PEI
  • Make use of local/regional PEI representatives
  • Keep in mind students' progression to professional registration

Prompts

  • Existing learning pedagogy may require some refinement
  • Consider individual needs
  • Consider including an initial professional skills and/or research skills module

“The rate of progress in completing MSc module submissions is often slow initially, speeding up considerably towards completion.”

Kingston University

Prompts

  • The university is responsible for assessing the individual's
    assignments leading to the award of the degree
  • Consider whether you also require reports from the
    employer
  • Seek External Examiners with relevant experience
  • Report into providers' critical success factors

“Build on current employer links for repeat business.”

Northumbria University

Prompts

  • Is sufficient and flexible administrative support available?
  • Do you need help with developing distance or e-learning
    approaches?
  • Can the enterprise department help with employer links?

“For university staff, there is a clear and welcome benefit from interaction with engineers on current engineering projects. The opportunities for development of the relationships are considerable.”

Kingston University

H Where Next? 

Prompts

  • Track progression of Engineering Gateways alumni
  • Programme review and evaluation

Prompts

  • Develop further employer links
  • Plan for future cohorts
  • Build on successes and don't be afraid to publicise them!
  • Make use of Engineering Gateways alumni