Hands On Engineering

Should you study engineering in an academic environment then apply it in a job, or gain experience then study a subject in an academic environment. 

Many companies want universities to provide training, but are universities their to just provide education?

I spent the weekend at a hands on bridging and structures weekend. Friday night was spent mixing concrete - exciting I know!

On Saturday, the task of constructing a suspension bridge using only basic materials, and without reaching the other side was proposed. An important learning for me from this was that their was, like many engineering problems, no correct solution or design. An optimum design put the skills of the design and build group to maximum use.

A 12th scale model of a Bailey Bridge was constructed - a fantastic design. The model was useful to see where problems could be avoided when constructing the real thing.

A timber framed structure, was like a giant set of knex - it demonstrated the importance of bracing, and structural design to maximise structure strength. 

Sunday looked at timber connection types, and different materials in a simple a-frame shelter.

It is easy for chemical engineers to say that understanding bridges and structures is not important for their job. After all, that's a civil engineers responsibility, right? 

I believe skills and knowledge of other engineering areas is essential. This is because it provides a holistic view of engineering, and allows different disciplines to communicate well with one-another. This is especially important in humanitarian and development engineering as the number of engineers in developing countries is so low.