Innovation in Engineering Education
Professor Phil Withers and his team have won this year's prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering / Nexia Solutions prize for innovation in engineering education – only the second time that this Award has been made.
The Royal Academy of Engineering / Nexia Solutions Education Innovation Prize has been instituted to recognise both organisations and individuals who have made significant contributions in the whole field of Engineering Education.
Professor Withers and his team developed an exciting web-based 3D journey through a jet engine, which directly supports science and physics requirements of the National Curriculum.
Students, using 3D glasses, can watch an exhilarating interactive video that takes them on a tour of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 jet engine. The video shows the research, modern materials and novel manufacturing techniques and testing needed to create environmentally friendly aircraft.
Students can then put their new-found knowledge to the test by using a specially designed computer simulation programme to design their own jet engine. By selecting materials to build the engine and then running the simulation, students can see how far their plane would fly, calculate the cost and environmental friendliness of their engine and try to get to the top of the Leader Board to win a prize.
Professor Withers and his team tested 'Journey through a Jet Engine' on a special audience at last year's Science Day at Buckingham Palace. The display is now on show at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.