Peter Rowlett

Developing employability in engineering education: a systematic review of the literature

ABSTRACT In this systematic review of the research literature on engineering employability, curricular and pedagogical arrangements that prepare graduates for work in the twenty-first century were identified. The research question guiding the review was: Which curricular and pedagogical arrangements promote engineering students’ employability? The particular focus of the study was on how authors prioritised engineering knowledge and professional skills. The review drew on a theoretical framework that differentiated between engineering knowledge and professional skills to explain how employability could be included in engineering programmes. Data was obtained from research studies over the period 2007–2017. We found an interdependent relationship between engineering knowledge and professional skills that enabled engineering graduates to attain employability. The com of engineering problems require students to master engineering knowledge, while the ability to work with others across contexts requires professional skills. Both are necessary for deep understanding of engineering principles and a focus on real world problems.

The role of informal learning spaces in enhancing student engagement with mathematical sciences

ABSTRACT By helping create a shared, supportive, learning community, the creative use of custom-designed spaces outside the classroom has a major impact on student engagement. The intention is to create spaces that promote peer interaction within and across year groups, encourage closer working relationships between staff and students and support specific coursework activities – particularly group work. Such spaces make better use of time since students are motivated to stay and work during long gaps in their timetable, can provide a sense of ‘home’ within the institution and can lead to a cohesive community of practice. In this paper, we describe how this has been achieved and currently delivered in Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam University and provide some detailed analysis of the student usage of the space.

‘The unplanned impact of mathematics’ and its implications for research funding: a discussion-led educational activity

‘The unplanned impact of mathematics’ refers to mathematics which has an impact that was not planned by its originator, either as pure maths that finds an application or applied maths that finds an unexpected one. This aspect of mathematics has serious implications when increasingly researchers are asked to predict the impact of their research before it is funded and research quality is measured partly by its short term impact. A session on this topic has been used in a UK undergraduate mathematics module that aims to consider topics in the history of mathematics and examine how maths interacts with wider society. First, this introduced the ‘unplanned impact’ concept through historical examples. Second, it provoked discussion of the concept through a fictionalized blog comments discussion thread giving different views on the development and utility of mathematics. Finally, a mock research funding activity encouraged a pragmatic view of how research funding is planned and funded. The unplanned impact concept and the structure and content of the taught session are described.

Brass for Brain: Lord Kelvin and tide prediction

tion in establishing the authority of the discipline of geography that was emerging in the mid-nineteenth century, studying a collection of instruments associated with the Royal Geographical Society, London. After giving an overview of the relevant historical disciplines, the speaker described the archives, including the instruments, and findings so far. The speaker also identified suitable research questions, and set out an intended approach to her future research. The final research student talk of the day was given by François Lê from Universit e Paris VI, who spoke on ‘Geometrical equations’: An intuitive understanding of substitution theory (1847 1896). In this talk the speaker presented a class of algebraic equations known as ‘Geometrische Gleichungen’ that are associated to geometrical configurations such as the nine inflection points of cubic curves, and the twenty-seven lines upon cubic surfaces. These ‘geometrical equations’ have historical significance as intuitive examples that contribute to the understanding and development of substitution theory, and in his talk the speaker focused on the way mathematicians conceived and resolved geometrical equations. The meeting ended with a keynote address given by Jackie Stedall of the University of Oxford. Stedall attended her first Research in Progress eighteen years ago as an Open University PhD student studying the algebra of John Wallis. In her talk, titled Eighteen Years of Research in Progress: Working on the Manuscripts of Thomas Harriot, the speaker described her ongoing work on the notoriously muddled, unpublished mathematical manuscripts of Thomas Harriot. The speaker demonstrated the digital edition of the manuscripts that she has worked on recently, which not only digitizes the manuscripts, but also allows organization of the material, and makes it possible to provide transcripts, translations, commentaries and cross-references for the works. The digital edition is freely available online, maintained by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, and hosted by European Cultural Heritage Online, making the work of Thomas Harriot accessible to all. The URL is http://echo.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/content/scientific_revolution/harriot. Altogether, this year’s Research in Progress meeting was a lovely day that showcased some of the outstanding work that current research students are doing through a series of well-presented, interesting and inspiring talks, and demonstrated how both traditional and modern methods are being used to transform the study of the history of mathematics. The day also provided plenty of opportunity for discussion, and finished with a fantastic keynote talk from Jackie Stedall. Many thanks are due to Rosie Cretney, Peter Neumann and Jackie Stedall for organizing such a wonderful event.

Recent ELMS talks - Summer 2007

43 E-Learning in Mathematical Subjects (ELMS) talks take place regularly at Nottingham Trent University. ELMS aims to appeal to a wide range of subject areas and allow discussion on issues in mathematical e-learning that are shared over diverse disciplines. There was one talk in the Summer 2007 period, detailed below. This and previous ELMS talks are available to view online at: http://www.elms.org.uk