digital technology

Steve Williams, Curriculum Leader for Digital Technology at Gower College Swansea, has won a prestigious National BTEC Award.

After being nominated by his colleagues in Engineering, Steve was selected as the Outstanding BTEC Teacher / Tutor 2013 – a fantastic achievement!

“This has come as a complete surprise and I’m very honoured,” says Steve, who has worked at the college since 1983.

Steve will now travel to the National BTEC Awards Ceremony in London on 4th July where, following a Parliamentary reception and lunch at the House of Lords, he will be presented with his prize at the Royal Horticultural Halls.

Gower College Swansea has become the first college in the UK to deliver a new digital technology course to Year 11 pupils.

The Digital Home Integrators course covers all the latest applications such as SMART TVs, computer networking, home theatre, SKYPE and iPads.

Pupils from Birchgrove and Cefn Hengoed Comprehensive Schools attend one class a week at the Tycoch campus’ engineering workshops.

“The college has a fantastic relationship with both schools and we are really excited about being able to deliver this course to their pupils,” says Digital Technology CTL Steve Williams. “The course, which takes a year to complete, teaches them practical skills that will set them in good stead at school, college and beyond.”
 

Students from Gower College Swansea have repeated last year’s success at the annual Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) event at the Celtic Manor Hotel.

The students, all studying the Extended Diploma in Digital Technology at the Tycoch campus, scooped the Best Vocational College Solution Award for the second year running.

Their winning design was for a specialist sound proofing system using low interference speakers. This came about following five months of research with the Oxwich Bay Hotel in Gower to investigate how noise pollution from their outdoor marquee could be eradicated.

“The challenge put to the students by the hotel was to look at ways of reducing the noise levels that arise from live band performances at weddings and special events,” says Curriculum Team Leader for Digital Technology, Steve Williams.

“At the start of the project the recorded noise pollution level was 50 decibels and they managed to reduce it to 0 decibels. They also researched physical barriers that could play a part in solving the issue.”

“The students have developed a relationship with the hotel and even helped with the design of an audio visual system during the recent refurbishment. It’s a great example of working with a local business to address a real-life practical problem.”

"It's been a rewarding opportunity to be able to work alongside the hardworking and talented students at Gower College Swansea and I’m extremely proud of the results they have produced for us here at the hotel,” says owner Ian Williams.

Two teams of five students were put to work on the project and they then collaborated on a solution which was unveiled at the EESW event, which involved contributions from schools and colleges across Wales.

In addition to its award, Gower College Swansea was nominated in the top three out of 84 schools and colleges for the high quality of its presentation. The college was also given a special award in recognition of its 20 year record in offering students the opportunity to engage with EESW.

“The students’ design caused quite a stir,” adds Steve. “Both GE Systems and Sony have offered them the opportunity to visit their establishments to see if they could use their solution in other business environments.”

Related links:

www.stemcymru.org.uk

www.semta.org.uk

The Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) is designed to encourage students to study engineering courses in further or higher education. The scheme operates through local companies setting research and development briefs related to real industrial problems. The students set about solving these problems in cooperation with engineers and scientists from the link companies.

By giving students a positive experience of working with professional engineers and scientists in an industrial setting, the programme shows them that STEM areas are diverse and stimulating, and can provide an intellectually challenging career.

Gower College Swansea student Angelo Amoruso has just proved himself  one of the brightest young sparks in Welsh electronics by claiming the top title in a prestigious all-Wales skills contest.

The 18-year old aspiring engineer battled it out against 10 other students from across Wales to be named Skills Competition Wales winner for industrial electronics.

Angelo’s skills have proved an inspiration within his family and younger brother Stefano, 16, is now following hard on his heels, aiming to studying electronics for his A Levels.

Backed by the Welsh Government and the European Social Fund, the annual Skills Competition Wales events are designed to showcase excellence in vocational learning and promote the importance of developing a highly skilled workforce.

Angelo’s success in the electronics final came on home-turf as the competition was hosted at Gower College Swansea’s Tycoch campus.

Runners up included Jordan Clarke, 18, of Ystrad Mynach College, who took silver place and Daniel Thomas, also from Gower College Swansea, who took bronze place.

Angelo, from the St Thomas area of Swansea and a former pupil at Cefn Hengoed Community School, said: “Nobody in our family really has a background in engineering, but after school I just decided it was something I thought I’d enjoy and now Stefano is preparing to do the same course in sixth form.

“I started getting in to it after I took engineering as an option in Year 10 at school and realised I wanted to learn more, so now I want to go on to university in Swansea and follow a career in engineering.”

Angelo’s success and that of his fellow competitors, who performed to one of the highest standards judges had ever seen at the contest, will prove reassuring to industry leaders who warned in 2012 that a shortage in engineering graduates could affect UK business if not dealt with properly.

The competition saw participants complete three tasks focusing on the practicalities of designing, assembling and maintaining an electronic circuit as well as electronics theory.

The EU-backed Skills Competition Wales aims to find Wales’ most talented trainees across a wide range of skills, including fields such as patisserie, automotive engineering, aerospace, construction skills, catering, accountancy, media, and information technology.

Skills Competition Wales offers learners the chance to test, benchmark and raise their skills levels and provides valuable competition experience for those who enter and progress onto WorldSkills UK competitions.  For employers, competitions not only help drive up the quality in apprenticeships and vocational education, but also motivate employees to achieve success.

WorldSkills UK competitions are the feeder route for competitors to go forward and represent their country at the biennial International 'WorldSkills' competition – the world’s largest skills competition. The next WorldSkills event takes place in Leipzig, Germany in July of this year.

The Welsh Government is encouraging businesses and skills providers in Wales to get involved, promote and support Skills Competition Wales and WorldSkills competitions.

Jeff Cuthbert, Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, congratulated the successful contestants. He said: “These competitions are an excellent opportunity for up-and-coming skilled workers in Wales to stretch themselves and really develop their abilities within their chosen fields. These competitions cover many important sectors of the economy and we aim to encourage young people entering these occupations to benchmark their skills against others in Wales, the UK or indeed internationally.”

For more information about Skills Competitions Wales and WorldSkills UK please visit www.worldskillsuk.org/wales

Photos: Working Word PR   

A group of Digital Technology students from Gower College Swansea has recently returned from a successful exchange trip to Germany.

The students, from the Level 3 Extended Diploma course at Tycoch, spent three weeks in Stuttgart where they took classes at the local college and enjoyed work experience with Mercedes Benz.

Angelo Amoruso, Rory Delacourt, Caleb Hardwick, Cameron Jones, Ryan O’ Sullivan, Michael Preece, Jeremy Rees and Griffith Sutton were selected for the trip due to their excellent recent academic achievements, which included scooping awards from both the Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) and Big Bang Cymru in 2012.

The trip was made possible after European Leonardo Mobility funding was secured by the college’s International team for the E-STEM project, which has enabled three groups of students to undertake work placements in Europe. The first was a group of BTEC IT students who went to Denmark in December 2012 and the final visit will see a group of NVQ Motor Vehicle students travel to the Netherlands in March.

“The feedback from the students and staff who participated in the exchange has been tremendous,” says Digital Technology CTL Steve Williams. “The opportunity to spend time abroad, in a teaching and learning environment that is quite different from what they are used to, has been a really positive experience for all involved.”

The next stage of the exchange trip will see German students spending three weeks at the engineering workshops of Gower College Swansea.

School pupils in Swansea are being offered the chance to brush up on their engineering skills at the weekends.

Gower College Swansea is running a special 10-week Saturday Club for young learners with an interest in plumbing, engineering technology, digital technology and motor vehicle.

“For these young people to give up their Saturday mornings to attend college and top up their learning is remarkable,” says Digital Technology CTL Steve Williams. “Feedback from the teaching teams has been very positive, with all club members enjoying the activities and all work being completed to an exceptional standard.”

Running through to April, the project involves pupils from Dylan Thomas, Birchgrove, Cwmtawe, Penyrheol and Bishop Gore schools – all of whom will receive a certificate of achievement at its completion.

Budding engineers from Gower College Swansea are gearing up for The Big Bang Cymru, which will take place at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea on 28 June.

Led by Careers Wales, the Fair will give young people the chance to take part in a variety of interactive activities to inspire and excite them about the opportunities that science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) can open up to them.

The students – Griff Sutton, Caleb Hardwick, Stanley Lewis and Daniel O’Sullivan from the BTEC Extended Diploma and EAL L3 Digital Technology courses at the Tycoch campus - will showcase the software they have designed for a barcode scanner, which scooped a ‘Best Vocational FE College Solution’ award at a recent Engineering Education Scheme Wales event.

Their device provides a seamless link to manufacturers’ technical departments, allowing constant uploading facilities to all LCD / LED televisions. The design was trialled at Trojan Electronics and feedback from the engineering staff was very positive.

“The students are really looking forward to the Big Bang event as it will give them an opportunity to demonstrate their award-winning device and network with employers,” says lecturer Steve Williams.

Ray Collier, Chief Executive of Careers Wales West, said:  “We are extremely pleased that colleges from all over Wales, such as Gower College Swansea, are taking part in

The Big Bang Cymru and hope to see them again at the national event. The Fair is an effective way to show young people first-hand how exciting studying and working in STEM can be.  We are very much looking for the entrepreneurs of the future within the STEM industry”.

Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of The Big Bang said: “The Fairs are a key part of our ‘year round conversation’ with young people, enabling them to experience close to home the excitement and the opportunities available to them.

“Our aim is that, within five years time, 100,000 children and young people will experience The Big Bang for themselves each year, either at the national or a regional event.” 

The Big Bang Cymru is part of the national Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, which celebrates and raises the profile of young people’s achievement in science and engineering, and enables more young people to experience the excitement and opportunities available through science, technology, engineering and maths.

Press release courtesy of Big Bang Cymru.

Over 100 local school pupils will head to Gower College Swansea this week to take part in an annual Engineering challenge.

On Thursday and Friday, they will visit the Tycoch campus and be set a number of challenges that encompass all aspects of engineering from digital technology to plumbing.

“We’ve got a great range of challenges planned for this year,” says CTL Steve Williams. “The pupils will be asked to construct a digital alarm out of the basic components, build an engine and also look at cell technology, water harvesting and solar power. We hope that the event will inspire these young people to pursue engineering at college, university and beyond.”

The schools involved in this initiative are Bishop Gore, Olchfa, Bishopston, Dylan Thomas, Gowerton and Morriston.