Big Assembly launched to showcase careers that make a difference

Nine in ten (90%) young people dream of a career that tackles social issues according to data from Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and plans for the Week in 2018 (5-9 November 2018) provide fresh impetus to the drive to encourage more young people to consider a career in engineering.

This year, plans include the first Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly, offering schools across the UK the chance to take part in the same assembly at the same time.

The Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly is a live video stream, featuring a panel of inspiring engineers who will discuss their careers and the positive impact engineering has on the issues young people care about most.

Thousands of students are expected to take part and will be able to ask questions to the panel and careers experts live via social media. The Big Assembly will also be available on demand after the live broadcast has finished.

When The Engineer asked its readers what message they would like to share with young people to inspire them about a career in engineering, 34 per cent agreed that engineers make the world a better place, followed by 32 per cent who believe engineers shape the way we live. Of the remaining vote, 15 per cent agree that engineers find innovative solutions and 14 per cent say engineering is a well-paid, rewarding career.

Engineers taking part in a separate Tomorrow’s Engineers Week survey described their careers as having many different positive effects on the world. These ‘engineers on a mission’ work on a range of projects from “making water safe to drink” to “repairing machines that improve the quality of life” to “helping people have safe and enjoyable holidays.”

Last year Tomorrow’s Engineers Week also focussed on ‘engineers on a mission’ and saw 60,000 young people view films of inspiring engineers. Stars of these films included Simon Crowther, Director of Flood Protection Solutions, who will be on the Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly panel.

He commented:

My engineering career really makes a difference to people’s lives and I’m passionate about inspiring more young people to see how they can do likewise. I’d urge all schools to sign up to be part of the Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly.

In addition to the Big Assembly, Tomorrow’s Engineers Week will use social media, films and events to demonstrate how young people can take their ideas, passions and dreams and turn them into engineering careers.

Now in its sixth year, Tomorrow’s Engineers Week takes place from 5-9 November and provides a unique opportunity for engineers, employers, universities and schools to drive interest in engineering careers, showing young people the ways in which engineers are on a mission to make the world a better place, find innovative solutions and shape the way we live.

Employers, schools, colleges and universities are invited to get involved to help inspire the next generation of engineers by downloading a toolkit of ideas, which also includes more information on the Big Assembly.

The Tomorrow’s Engineers Week Big Assembly is sponsored by BCS, ICE, IET, IMechE and Year of Engineering and is supported by other professional institutions.

Sarah Colombini, Campaign Collective Member, said:

Engineers shape the world we live in and use their skills to solve some of the issues that young people care about most. Hundreds of individual engineers and employers are expected to be part of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and the announcement of the Big Assembly today means more young people than ever before will be inspired by what engineers can achieve.

More information on how to get involved is available at tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek.

Schools can sign up to be part of the Big Assembly at bigassembly.org.