Unveiling the Impact of Engineering Professionals on the Architecture of Young Londoners' Community Spaces
In an innovative educational initiative, the Hidden Engineering project is connecting under-represented secondary school pupils from London’s regeneration areas with engineers, aiming to broaden participation in the engineering field.
The project, a collaboration between the Royal Academy of Engineering and various engineers from London's regeneration areas, brings together professionals from organisations such as Islington Council, BeFirst, Aecom, Mott Mac Donald, and more. Secondary schools like City of London Academy Islington, Greatfields School, and the Phoenix Academy are also part of this exciting venture.
Through collaborative design activities and interactions, pupils are given the opportunity to explore how engineering improves everyday life and contributes to creating healthier, more sustainable, and welcoming neighbourhoods. For example, students analysed ways to redesign local places like Fiddler’s Green to enhance accessibility and health features in the built environment.
Nearly nine out of ten pupils (88%) felt the project gave them a better understanding of how engineering improves our lives. Half of the pupils were inspired to find out more about engineering as a career. This engagement aims to remove barriers and misconceptions about engineering in secondary education and demonstrate the tangible effects of engineering in urban regeneration.
The program also supports engineers to become more confident in communicating their work to the public, particularly to young people from diverse and under-represented backgrounds. One hundred percent of surveyed engineers found the experience enjoyable.
Students got hands-on with engineering, testing sustainable drainage systems, navigating public spaces in wheelchairs, and exploring the built environment in their own communities. Female and non-binary students showed strong interest in engineering careers, often leading the design workshops.
The project's goal is to bring together engineers and under-represented secondary school pupils for a shared learning experience. It provides learning opportunities that can be taken forward into future collaborations. Students with additional needs were among the most engaged, especially during hands-on activities.
One pupil described a healthy street in three words: sustainable, diverse, and welcoming. The project helps pupils to think again about the built environment and what can be done to make neighbourhoods more accessible and attractive places to live.
According to engineer Martina O'Malley involved in the project, the aim is to inspire engineers to incorporate lived experiences into their work, fostering a more inclusive and community-focused approach to urban regeneration.
The Hidden Engineering project is a significant step towards bridging the gap between engineers and the public, particularly young people, and inspiring the next generation of engineers.
1) The Hidden Engineering project, by facilitating a shared learning experience between engineers and under-represented secondary school pupils, emphasizes the importance of education-and-self-development, personal-growth, and learning in fostering a diverse and inclusive engineering field.
2) The collaborative design activities arranged by the Hidden Engineering project, such as redesigning Fiddler’s Green to improve accessibility and health features, promote engineering's role in enhancing personal-growth, learning opportunities, and the creation of more sustainable and welcoming neighbourhoods.
