Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851’s Post

Reflecting on My Journey as an International Student in the UK As I approach the one-year mark since graduating from De Montfort University with an MSc in Product Design, I've been reflecting on the incredible journey I've had as an international student here in the UK. This past year has been a whirlwind of challenges, growth, and learning, and I want to share some thoughts and experiences with you all. Challenges and Concerns: 🎓 Adapting to a New Academic Environment: The transition from my home country to the UK education system was both exciting and challenging. Adapting to new teaching methods, academic expectations, and even the way assessments were conducted required a significant shift in my approach. 🌍 Cultural Adjustments: Being away from home, adjusting to a new culture, and making new connections can be daunting. However, these experiences have enriched my perspective, making me more resilient and adaptable. 💼 Job Market Realities: Navigating the UK job market as an international student comes with its own set of challenges. Understanding the nuances of job applications, visa regulations, and networking opportunities has been a learning curve, but one that has made me stronger and more determined. Achievements and Growth: Despite these challenges, I've had the privilege of working on some incredible projects during my time at university. From contributing to sustainable design initiatives to leading teams in product development, each experience has been a stepping stone towards my professional goals. Looking ahead, I'm excited to continue applying the skills I've developed in CAD design, mechanical engineering, and project management to new opportunities in the manufacturing and product design sectors. I’m eager to connect with professionals in the industry, share knowledge, and continue growing in this ever-evolving field. To all the international students out there facing similar challenges, know that you're not alone. Every hurdle is an opportunity to learn and grow. Let's connect and support each other in this journey! #InternationalStudent #ProductDesign #CAD #MechanicalEngineering #UK #CareerGrowth #Resilience #Manufacturing

Ability and Interest Over Grades I currently teach Interior Design and Decoration at both a technical and vocational institute (diploma level) and a university (bachelor’s level). The contrast between these two groups of students is often stark in terms of how they are perceived: institute students usually enter with lower grades, while university students need much higher grades to enroll. In our community, academic performance tends to shape how students are judged, with higher grades often seen as an indicator of greater intelligence or potential. However, through my experience in both settings, I’ve realized that grades don’t necessarily tell the full story. A student’s ability to engage with a subject and succeed is far more influenced by their interest, motivation, and willingness to learn than by their past academic records. What I find particularly interesting is when students share the same interest, they achieve similar results. The difference often comes from teaching methods, not ability. My goal is to explore this further by testing different methods of instruction across both groups. I believe that with the right support, both institute and university students can reach the same level of understanding and success. I’ll continue to examine this idea and look forward to sharing more insights as I gather results. #Education #Teaching #InteriorDesign #LearningMethods #EqualOpportunities #HigherEducation #Motivation #StudentPotential #LifelongLearning

The School of Engineering at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is currently inviting industry partners to submit capstone design project proposals for the upcoming spring semester. This initiative provides an excellent opportunity to collaborate with senior students. Each capstone design team, composed of 4-5 students, will approach the project holistically, leveraging their interdisciplinary skills to develop innovative solutions. The teams will work on these industry challenges throughout the semester, culminating in a formal presentation of their solutions by Spring 2025. The School of Engineering welcomes proposals from industry partners seeking fresh, creative solutions to engineering challenges. For full details, visit: https://lnkd.in/ezUF_w9y

The Engineering Design Division Department would like to wish you all a happy last week of classes and a huge congratulations to all seniors graduating soon!! As for today’s post, we would like to give you some last week of classes as well as final exam tips. 1. Don’t procrastinate 2. Find a good study spot:  a. Options: Bartle, Science library. Innovation lab, Watson Commons, Psychology Building, or even outdoors by the Spine or the Peace Quad, with the nice weather b. For Bartle and Science Library, remember you can reserve rooms for quiet studies by looking up: GROUP STUDY ROOMS AND STUDY SPACES.   2. Get enough sleep 3. Eat properly and hydrate 4. Don’t overwork yourself, be confident in yourself and your abilities  5. Set yourself up for success by preparing a good study guide and planning out your study week 6. Be respectful of quiet hours  7. Make sure you get all your projects and presentations done in time  8. Go to last office hours to check your grade projection or ask for grade corrections  9. Don’t be afraid to ask for help 10. Check out the Stress Free Bing activities Some other reminders, as the semester comes to an end and you will most likely not have the same people in your classes in the future, make sure you get your friends’ contacts and numbers so you can stay in touch with them, and say a warm goodbye to all your senior friends! Lastly, and most importantly, remember: YOU ARE NOT YOUR GRADES!! 

🪟 Inspiring the Next Generation: Bringing Timber Restoration Expertise to Universities – For Free! At Repair Care, we are proud to be market leaders in timber restoration and maintenance, delivering innovative and sustainable solutions that stand the test of time. But we believe our impact goes beyond today—it’s about shaping the future of our industry. We’re offering universities a free-of-charge opportunity to provide their Year 3 students with a RIBA-accredited CPD session. This is more than just a learning opportunity; it’s a chance for students to engage with real-world professional development before they graduate. 🎓 Why Invite Us In? Equip students with practical knowledge about timber restoration and maintenance—a vital skill for sustainable design. Help bridge the gap between academic learning and professional application, preparing students for their future careers. Inspire the next generation of architects and specifiers to embrace sustainable, long-lasting solutions that protect and preserve timber windows. This is a completely free service, designed to give back to the industry by nurturing future talent and encouraging sustainable practices. By partnering with universities, we aim to deliver impactful sessions that showcase the value of “doing it once, doing it right” with durable, guaranteed timber repairs. 📢 Are you a university lecturer interested in hosting a CPD session for your students? Get in touch—we’d love to collaborate! Repair Care International #RepairCare #TimberRestoration #Sustainability #StrongerTogether #CPD #FutureArchitects #EducationToIndustry

Engineering Future Generations. We are proud to share that we have completed a 3 year curriculum transformation project developing the emerging skillsets needed for future Art & Design practitioners. The vision of the 'Engineering Future Generations' project has been to develop a set of future-facing, real-world and socially responsible behaviours, mindsets and practices to enhance and focus the curriculum within Cardiff School of Art and Design. A core focus has been upon the development of communities of practice to ensure that the work has a legacy and continues beyond the 3 years of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) funded project. Our visiting professor, Robert Hopkins (AHR Architects), has helped to develop these communities working across the school with all 13 undergraduate programmes with our academic and technical teams resulting in the establishment of new research and practice communities, student facing projects and research projects. This collective work has informed the schools’ recent periodic review which has enabled us to capture the practices within dedicated spaces of a genuine Futures Generations Curriculum. Visit us at Cardiff School of Art & Design to learn more.

Architecture has long been a field where rigorous education and licensing requirements create significant barriers to entry. These challenges often limit access to those with the time and resources to pursue a traditional degree, contributing to a lack of professional diversity. However, the rise of alternative education pathways, supported by initiatives like NCARB's Pathways to Practice, is transforming the way aspiring architects can enter the industry. With options like apprenticeships, boot camps, certifications, and vocational training, the door to an architecture career opens for a broader and more diverse group of professionals. Our latest blog post dives into these nontraditional routes, their benefits, and actionable steps for those aspiring to design the built environment without following a traditional degree path. 📖 Read the full post to explore how these innovative pathways are reshaping the future of architecture. #ArchitectureCareers #DiversityInDesign #PathwaysToPractice #AlternativeEducation #ArchitecturalInnovation #NCARB #FutureOfArchitecture #ArchitectureJobs

We are delighted to announce a unique full-time studentship for the BIM4Regs Project, starting in October 2024 within the School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing @ Leeds Beckett University. Join us at the Construction Informatics and Digital Enterprise Lab (CIDEL), where we're leading cutting-edge initiatives in automating compliance diagnostics in Building Information Modelling (BIM) through our innovative BIM4Regs project. Project Focus: BIM4Regs The BIM4Regs project aims to revolutionize how the construction industry meets stringent building regulations. Following the successful implementation of our FireBIM project, BIM4Regs will develop a framework for automated building regulation compliance diagnostics using Building Regulations Approved Document B as a case study. This work will support our ongoing mission to harness digital technologies to enhance construction project efficiency, sustainability, productivity, and regulatory compliance, among others. Studentship Details: This studentship is ideal for candidates passionate about leveraging BIM to enhance productivity, profitability, sustainability, and safety in the construction industry. You will get the chance to work on developing a prototype for the BIM4Regs framework, employing state-of-the-art technology to create a decision support system that fundamentally changes building compliance processes. The ideal candidate would have a background in either built environment or information technology. Click the link below for further information about the funding opportunities and details about our BIM4Regs project. https://lnkd.in/eVgC_ZEa #digitalconstruction #BIM #researchanddevelopment #builtenvironment #compliance #FireSafety #machinelearning #AI #construction

I'm pleased to share that the updated report on Student Accommodation 'Challenging the norm' has now been published by University Design Forum. Led by John Ridgett from Atkins and Paul Conway from Architecture PLB, the initial report has now been updated with a literature review and key themes following interviews with student accommodation providers, both developers and universities. It is clear from the research that many in the sector acknowledge that the current purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) offer is failing to meet the full range of student needs. The paper includes the challenge to universities to take an active role in driving a more innovative and diverse student accommodation offer and to realize important opportunities that exist. https://lnkd.in/eGjVNfag

I have been fortunate to be involved in and to have read so many articles about why saving design and technology as a curriculum subject is so important, but this one https://bit.ly/3C32kC2, written by Laura Tuck, R&D team Lead at The Washing Machine Project, really nails it. Where learning is fun, it is often infectious. Where possible, it needs to be connected to students' real-world experience. In my opinion, there is no better way of delivering careers advice, information, and inspiration than through curriculum delivery. We also need to recognise that the purpose of school is to prepare young people to step confidently into a complex and fast-changing society. The use of the word 'snobbery' in this article is, in my opinion, genius. It nails why the subject is where it is; for too long, we have suffered from academic snobbery that refuses to position hands-on, kinesthetic learning as on a par with traditional academic education. This has to change. If we want more engineers, designers, problem solvers, and innovators to help shape our future, we need to support this subject now. Make UK, Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Royal Academy of Engineering, RIBA, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), The Careers & Enterprise Company, Design Business Association (DBA) #Engineering #design #manufacturing #innovation #problemsolving #realworldlearning #technology