Sebastian Ellis, Julian Hewitt and Sam Mitchell, students from Tiffin School, recently attended a Marine Technology course from the 6th to 9th July at the University of Southampton. The course provided nearly one hundred 13/14 year old students with a jam-packed timetable of educational and fun activities giving them an unique insight into the marine industry and the diverse and rewarding careers that it can offer.

The four-day residential programme was generously financially supported by The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust. Working alongside facilitators from Babcock Marine and the University’s School of Engineering Sciences, students were set to work on the main hands-on design and make project to build their own ship against set criteria and strict specifications. On the final morning students tested their ships in the university swimming pool. Students taking part in the course expanded their core life skills in team building, communication, time management, problem solving and presentations.

As part of the course, students were taken on a visit to BAE Systems which gave them an insight into engineering on a commercial scale. They also had the opportunity to go on-board HMS Warrior, located at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard, and took part in a cruise around Southampton’s harbour to demonstrate the importance of marine transportation to the nation and to the prosperity of the region.

The exciting mix of theoretical and practical activities was enjoyed by all the students who showcased their designs and projects to senior representatives from major companies in an exhibition and formal dinner on the final night in a grand finale to the four-day event.

Michael Franklin, Director of The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust commented, ''Ensuring that we have the right supply and quality of skilled engineering people is vitally important. It’s only through practical engineering activities like this that young people will be encouraged to embark on a career in the marine technology sector. All credit to the students on the course as they embraced the opportunity and showed extreme dedication and enthusiasm to their projects and to the course as a whole.”

Dr. Andrew Cave, Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust said, “Thanks to our sponsor, The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust, we are able to give students a first taste of what it is like to work in the field of marine engineering. Marine Technology is an incredibly interesting course as it opens doors to exciting careers in an industry that operates all over the world. The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust also sponsors our second popular annual marine course at the University of Strathclyde.”

The Marine Technology course is run by the independent educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust, as part of an ongoing programme to help young people aged 10 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 15,630 students across the UK in the past year.