We are thrilled to announce that The Morson Maker Space Engineering Summer School, IGNITION, has been shortlisted for the Inclusion Programme of the Year at the prestigious Engineering Talent Awards 2023.

The IGNITION Summer School is in good company, sharing the shortlist with other high-profile community projects from the likes of University College London, The National Grid and Jacobs. The full shortlist for the Inclusion Programme of the Year 2023 category is as follows:

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering Module, Imperial College
• Everyone Belongs – Culture, Inclusion and Diversity at Wessex Water, Wessex Water
• Grid for Good, National Grid
• Jacobs / upReach Engineering Springboard Programme, Jacobs / upReach
• Morson Maker Space, Engineering Summer School, The University of Salford
• UCL x BADU “Bridging The Gap” programme, University College London

The purpose of the IGNITION engineering summer school is to bring together Year 12 students from across Greater Manchester to explore digital fabrication, engineering skills, and electronic design, as well as careers in the STEM fields. During the two-night residential programme, the students become part of a race team and construct their remote-controlled cars using digital fabrication equipment, 3D printers, laser cutters, electronic tools and other technology for the design and manufacturing of their cars available in the Morson Maker Space.

The key objective for IGNITION is to ensure attendees get an authentic experience of being Salford students by learning a range of new skills.

Dr Maria Stukoff, Morson Maker Space Director commented:

I’m thrilled that IGNITION has been nominated for Inclusion Programme of the Year. A huge thank you to everyone who made the summer school possible including Morson Projects for their continual support, including Morson Projects engineers Chris Summers and Jon Callahan for providing inspirational industry talks. Salford Racing Society for conducting the race car workshop, and of course Salford University’s Outreach and Morson Maker Space team for bringing everything together.

I am so looking forward to kicking off IGNITION 2023 this July, which is now part of the Morson STEM Foundation’s annual engineering programme of activity.

In addition to the hands-on activities, Morson Projects STEM Ambassadors and Principle Engineers, Chris Summers and Jon Callahan hosted industry sessions for the summer school attendees, speaking about how they got into engineering and the impact of STEM on their careers.

Chris and Jon shared their experiences of supporting the project:

Jon Callahan, Principal Engineer, Morson Projects

“Last year’s IGNITION Summer School 2022 was an amazing experience for all students involved. Over 3 days, engineers of the future were thrown into university life as real engineers taking on numerous design and build exercises.

The feedback from the students was extremely positive and I cannot wait to get back into the classroom this year to encourage more students into STEM careers.”

Chris Summers, Principal Engineer, Morson Projects

“It’s fantastic to hear that the IGNITION Summer School has been nomiated for Inclusion Programme of the Year, recognising its great work getting young people interested in engineering.  

We need more programs like this to give young people the opportunity to see how exciting and rewarding engineering careers can be. 

It was great to play a small part in IGNITION 2022 and I’m truly looking forward to supporting the programme again this year.” 

IGNITION will be back for another year in July 2023 and there are still places available for Year 12 students from across Greater Manchester. 2023 IGNITION engineering summer school – programme details:

• Date: 26 July – 28 July 2023
• Places: 30 available
• Location: Peel Park Campus, The University of Salford, 43 Crescent, Salford, M5 4WT
• Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e48bhHjb

The IGNITION engineering summer school is just part of the annual programme of events, networking, workshops and mentoring activities from The Morson STEM Foundation to support people from all backgrounds to explore and pursue, pathways into engineering-related careers.

To find out more about The Morson STEM Foundation, its initiatives, purpose and objectives, click here.