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A new academic study, conducted by Robert Gordon University (RGU), which is looking at the mental health of engineering students is seeking volunteers to take part in the research.

The work is being led by Jo-Anne Tait, academic strategic lead in the School of Engineering at RGU, who is halfway through her PhD on the mental wellbeing of engineering students.

“I’ve worked with engineering students for 15 years in a teaching and pastoral role and I had noticed that engineering students rarely sought advice for mental health and wellbeing issues from their personal tutors or the student support departments,” Jo-Anne commented.

“This is despite the majority of engineering students being in potentially higher risk groups.

“Having done an initial scoping review of literature in this area I discovered that engineering students don’t really appear much, other than as a comparator for other subjects.

“I decided to develop a survey focusing on engineering students because it seems to me the main question is: are engineering students suffering in silence?”

The purpose of the survey is to gather information about the mental health and wellbeing of engineering students in the UK.

Jo-Anne believes the work could help uncover some of the strains that modern engineering is placing on the next generation of engineers.

“There are calls for engineering education reform to meet the needs of industry 4.0, but we appear to be missing personal development and resilience from our curricula or rely on group projects to enhance ‘soft skills’.

“In the future our engineers will need to be more agile than ever and for this we need them to be far more self-aware.”

Those who decide to take part in the study can do so via an online questionnaire that should take about 20 minutes to complete. The survey closes on January 20, 2020.

The survey is anonymous, but some personal information is asked for, including age, year of study and type of engineering course. All information provided will be anonymised and held securely within Robert Gordon University servers in a project file only accessible by the research team.

Additional information on the survey can be found here.

Vreden, 12 December 2019 - KEMPER GmbH is intensifying its activities in the OEM sector.

As the new Head of Sales OEM, Carsten Trentau is now responsible for the Automation sector at the extraction technology specialist from Germany. The industry expert is pursuing the goal of establishing hazardous substance extraction as an integral part of automated welding and cutting applications. "In general, the field of extraction is often pushed into the background compared to expensive software and lasers," says Trentau. "No matter whether plasma, laser or robot manufacturers are involved, we have the right solution for the necessary extraction - for all performance classes and different budgets.” In addition to the expansion of the project business, the focus is particularly on the promotion of the new KEMPER Automation product line.

Everywhere you want to go with your Lockout/Tagout programme, Brady can guide and support you. Our complete Lockout/Tagout solution includes innovative padlocks with elaborate key planning, dedicated lockout devices, practical software and great services including energy control point identification and best in class procedure writing. Enable safer machine interventions with Brady!

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, with a wide range of regular uses. However, problems such as freeze thaw, spalling/cracking, carbonation, chemical attack and impact, amongst others, can all result in concrete damage.

Finning UK & Ireland (Finning) has launched a free new guide, to help plant owners and operators ensure they don’t fall foul of legislation introducing new emissions limits for mid-sized machinery and plant.

Available to download from https://poweruk.finning.com/powerplayermcpd, the guide explores the implications of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD), and strides made by manufacturers and suppliers, such as Finning, to engineer solutions that can help limit pollutants. The guide is the first in what is set to be a regular series, titled ‘The Power Players’, which discusses the latest issues, challenges and opportunities for the electric power industry.

SMRP + SMPRCO Announce New Benefits, Improvements and Expanded Accessibility for CMRP & CMRT Programs

ATLANTA (August 1, 2019) – The Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals (SMRP) and the SMRP Certifying Organization (SMRPCO) announce a host of new benefits and improvements to come for the Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP) and Certified Maintenance & Reliability Technician (CMRT) programs.

Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs) have long been considered a great innovation in the transportation of dry flowable material since their introduction in the sixties. Commonly referred to as a “bulk bag”, “big bag” or “tote”, FIBCs have a body made of flexible woven material, typically the high strength thermoplastic, polypropylene, along with a linear insert. FIBCs are efficient, and transportation of dry bulk goods such as sand, fertilisers, plastic granules, seeds, resin and powder coatings, to name a few, can be unloaded at a fast rate, with anywhere between 300 – 500kg typically in 30 seconds or less.

NMiTE (New Model in Technology and Engineering) the project to create the engineering university of the future, has announced three new appointments to its Board of Trustees; Martin Hitchin, Rowena Innocent and Richard Lindsay-Davies which will come into effect on 1 July 2019.

Nominations for the annual UK Construction Week (UKCW) Role Models initiative have quadrupled since last year, according to event organisers Media 10.

Dozens of construction professionals were among the entrants this Spring, attracted to a scheme which provides a schools contact programme and public platform to professionals of any age and background to share inspiring stories of how they came into their career and why they love what they do.

Businesses from all parts of the construction supply chain are set to benefit from a new collaboration between the Construction Innovation Hub and UK Construction Week (UKCW), in a move designed to boost take up of innovation in the industry and realisation of the Government’s sector deal ambitions.