The hosting of TENZ 2015 at WinTec – one of the six Metropolitan Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (Metro ITPs) in New Zealand signalled a strong Engineering E2E presence at the conference.

Shelley Wilson and Trudy Harris talk with some TENZ delegates before the opening keynote

The Metro ITP presence at the conference was coordinated through Shelley Wilson the Head of the School of Engineering at WinTec. The six Metro ITPs – Unitec, Manukau Institute of Technology, WinTec, WelTec, Canterbury Institute of Technology and Polytechnic (CPIT) and Otago Polytechnic – combined for an engineering display which was staffed by WinTec on the Monday, WelTec on the Tuesday and Otago Polytechnic on the Wednesday. Tom Vuong from Manukau Institute of Technology (MiT) also provided additional support on the Wednesday.

On the Monday, Miranda Satterthwaite, the STEM coordinator at CPIT, gave a practice presentation titled CPIT: Upskilling in STEM level 6 Diploma and Level 7 Degree. This outlined the structure of the diploma and degree programmes, and how CPIT was supporting interested high schools and intermediates in the Canterbury region by identifying gaps in their programmes and developing additional courses to fill the gaps. Specific mention was made of the success of ‘taster initiatives’ such as VEX Robotics, Ecobots, IT Gals, Liquidity, EVolocity and the Aerodynamics programmes in growing student interest and increasing the diversity of entrants to CPIT engineering programmes.

On Tuesday there were three further presentations:

Aiden Bigham (Weltec): Student centred learning and assessment.
Aiden focused on the new WinTec educational campus at Rotokauri – with its emphasis on open, shared facilitation spaces. He underlined the need for staff to redevelop their teaching and learning to mimic 21st-century learning paradigms – with the aim of utilising space to its full potential to enable students the greatest possibility of success. He explored engineering philosophy and how the building design aids learning, and explained the curriculum development model they are using. Examples of student centred activities and assessments were considered.

 Glynn McGregor and Shelley Wilson (WinTec) : The secondary / tertiary interface – The competence |capability divide.
Glynn introduced the topic with the statement that engineers are critical to New Zealand’s future success but we are facing an engineering shortage. He talked about the shortage of enrolments – particularly in Level 6 and Level 7 programmes – and the progression from the Techlink Pathways Project in 2013 to the start of the Engineering E2E initiative in 2014.The challenge of the ‘Work ready – plus’ graduate was introduced with the link to newer programmes being developed in the degree and diploma programmes at the Metro ITPs emphasised by Shelley. The idea of student entry profiles for these courses was discussed, with Shelley explaining how the evolving E2E ‘Pathways’ programme was designed to form mutually beneficial links between secondary and tertiary institutions.

Gareth Gretton (WelTec): Marine energy development.
Gareth has been involved in tidal energy research since starting his PhD in 2004. He focused on his personal area of expertise and outlined the current situation in wave energy development by considering where we are at in terms of wind and marine energy. He looked at the possibilities of ITPs supporting practical project work in schools by considering the practicalities of developing school-based solutions and discussed how school students could be encouraged and supported in their work.

These presentations were followed by the opportunity to visit the new WinTec engineering teaching facilities at their Rotokauri Campus on the Northern outskirts of Hamilton. This visit focused on the delivery of the Level 6 NZ Diploma of Engineering and the Level 7 BEngTech degree programmes at the recently opened facility. Those attending were welcomed on the visit by Shelley Wilson who started by talking about how they structured the facilities to cater for the typical 21st-century student now entering the programmes. The facility has built-in wifi to encourage the use of BYODs and flexible teaching spaces with easy changes of equipment to suit the nature of the material being delivered. The two-hour visit was well structured to show key learning areas within the programmes, with opportunities given to talk with some of the engineering students while they were at work.

The Engineering E2E schools programme is being piloted in Waikato, Wellington and Dunedin over the second half of this year and, following evaluation, will be opened up in 2016 to interested schools nationwide. Schools interested in participating in the Engineering E2E programme should contact [email protected]