Supporting engineering & science in Further Education

Through its Industrial Fellowship Programme, the New Engineering Foundation offers grants of up to £12,000 to FE colleges. This helps fund the secondment of three science, engineering, construction and technology lecturers to local businesses or technical/scientific research centres in Universities in order to raise the lecturers' skills and knowledge, modernise the curriculum and bring industrial relevance and context to SET courses. Over 100 colleges, 250 lecturers and 300 companies have participated in this innovative programme.

The aim of the Masterclass Programme is to help lecturers gain up to date knowledge and experience first hand the changes that have occurred in industry in recent years. Each Masterclass is run at a company or an industrial centre, and will bring lecturers face to face with latest technologies and processes in a variety of areas. Masterclasses are held on subjects such as photo voltaics, nuclear energy, digital broadcasting, acoustics, clean and sustainable power, building management systems and lean manufacturing.

This flagship programme is in its 19th year and is entering a new phase of development and heading for a permanent home at the National STEM Centre in York. Its aim is to enhance and enrich technology and engineering education and its current focus is supporting the Engineering Diploma. It has a membership of over 2000 schools and colleges and is working closely with the Engineering Diploma consortia to provide curriculum support, innovative teaching materials and resources. In partnership with the RAeng it offers a national programme of CPD for those delivering the diploma.

With support from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, NEF is working with educators, entrepreneurs and policy makers to expand KTT in FE. Following its seminal report published in 2005 on KTT in FE colleges, NEF developed a national framework for KTT and has established pilots in the nine regions in England to implement Knowledge and Technology Exchange Node (K/TEN) Projects. These K/TENs enable FE colleges to develop and grow their knowledge and technology exchange activities in their regions through collaboration and partnership. This work is having a major impact on government policy making in this area.

With the rapid expansion of NEF's portfolio of activities, Gatsby has funded a new post to oversee the management and direction of NEF's post-16 STEM programmes, to undertake research for new studies and programmes and to support NEF's relationship with its stakeholders.