• Through the Engineering Education Scheme, we give Year 12 pupils the opportunity to work on real engineering problems.
• The in-depth experience helps students make informed decisions about their future.
• Students also get the chance to come into our offices to tackle an engineering challenge and meet Arup engineers.

The Engineering Education Scheme (EES) in England and Scotland is an Engineering Development Trust (EDT) programme that links teams of four Year 12 or S5/S6 students and their teacher with local companies like Arup to work on real scientific engineering and technological problems.

The scheme provides students with in-depth experience in science, engineering and technology that will enable them to make an informed decision about their future studies and career. For Arup, this is an opportunity to help develop the engineers of the future.

As a strategic partner of the EDT, we work with local schools to set an engineering problem for the students and help them work through it. Our volunteers visit pupils at their schools as well as providing support by phone and email. We also invite them to visit our offices to tackle an engineering problem.

The challenges we set for the students have included real-life projects such as the new training academy for Manchester City Football Club. The students had to plan the location, consider issues like transport and security and begin costing different proposals.

Another project looked at new designs for gantries to carry overhead lines for railways. Their design hadn’t changed for a long time, so the students looked at how to balance aesthetics and costs, considering different materials.

Arup’s offices in Solihull, London and Liverpool are among those who have supported the EES scheme – with over 40 staff taking part. Our volunteers match the time covered by the firm with donations of their own time.

We also host EES family challenges, which see 20 families from a school visit our office to take part in an engineering activity and talk to our experts about what it’s like to work in different engineering disciplines.

I now know how to tackle projects in an organised and logical manner, as well as being given an insight into engineering as a career. EES student