The Sheffield Engineering Leadership Academy
The Sheffield Engineering Leadership Academy works within the University of Sheffield, recruiting second-year students to boost their professional skills. The Academy was established in response to employers’ concerns about gaps in the skill sets of engineering graduates. By equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge at undergraduate level, the Academy seeks to prepare students for the workplace.
Students are enrolled in the Academy for two years, as part of which they undertake a number of projects, alongside their studies. One of these is to organise a Bootcamp for the incoming cohort of students to the Academy. This Bootcamp consists of a number of different workshops and lectures that build students’ leadership and negotiation skills, amongst others.
A grant of £450 from the Cutlers Company Grassroots Endowment Fund has helped the academy to organise its Bootcamp for the second cohort of SELA students. The grant went towards paying for resources and travel to and from the events which enabled the students to take part in the activities. Members gained invaluable experience during the Bootcamp, in addition to learning skills covering leadership,communication, team building, presentation and project management.
The boost we’ve had from the grant is actually helping us kick-start with the enthusiasm and the skills to go on and do the second year. The small grant has had a really big impact
Members organising the Bootcamp
Students who took part in Bootcamp came away with a positive impression of the Academy and organisers are pleased with the success of the Bootcamp, are already planning for the future. The second cohort of students will now go on to
The second cohort of students will now go on to organise a new project for the next members to take part in and this practice will continue. New members are selected each year who replace the members who are graduating, which although means that numbers will not increase, over the course of the years the quality of the academy experience and workshops will constantly improve.
The second project is looking at how to decarbonise the UK energy market in line with government targets for 2050. The aim of this will be to make a visual representation to present to the government on the next best steps to take in energy efficiency.
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