Real world experience for students
A team of three Lagan College students from Belfast took third place in the inaugural CityZen Award last year
To drive interest in civil engineering and in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) roles, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has launched its second UK-wide competition for 16-to-18-year-old students to learn about civil engineering and how the professional is tackling climate change and future-proofing our infrastructure.
Last year’s Bronze Award winning team was made of three year-13 students from Lagan College in Belfast – Callum Hutchins, Jess McAleer, and Calum Macaskill.
The two-part competition saw them tackle real-life inspired civil engineering challenges in a virtual game and produce a creative video project in which they introduced and explained a civil engineering project they designed to benefit their local area.
Callum, Jess, and Callum addressed a challenge from their daily lives – traffic congestion around their popular college. They suggested raising the road level to allow a tunnel to pass through, thus ensuring that non-school related traffic could continue flowing.
They said of the experience,
“The ICE CityZen Award prepared us to conceive, design, and model our proposed solution to resolve the traffic problem around our school. We found the CityZen game tasks both exciting and engaging. This competition has given us an increased awareness about the role of a civil engineer. We particularly enjoyed the problem-solving aspect and manufacturing our model.”
Technology & Design Teacher, Brendan Hasson, who was the team’s sponsor, added, “The ICE CityZen Award has provided me with an improved understanding of civil engineering as a career and its impact on society. As a teacher I was able to observe the pupils’ positive engagement through the CityZen game, subsequently asking whether the game could be made available to our school. The problem solving, design and manufacturing process will undoubtedly help these pupils in their Technology & Design A-Level and perhaps spark career interest in civil engineering or an associated field.”
The students were also supported by an ICE STEM Ambassador, Dan Kerr, a Senior Engineer at AECOM. He said, “I was so impressed with the students’ ability to identify problems and their creativity in solving them. Sharing a bit about what I do and how civil engineers would approach the problems that they encountered also highlighted the value of taking the time to give students these extra-curricular opportunities for ‘real-world’ learning. I hope more students and teachers can take part in the CityZen Award this year.”
Be a part of the CityZen challenge
The CityZen digital game, designed by a group of ICE’s Chartered civil engineers and digital creators Make Real, features complex decision-making, challenging students to undertake civil engineering projects in a virtual city, while considering real factors such as budget, sustainability and improving outcomes for people and communities.
Satisfying the needs and wants of the citizens, including improving outcomes for those with disabilities, is a key part of the challenge. The biggest test for the players comes when work is threatened by an extreme weather event – a virtual simulation of the sort of challenges that civil engineers face in their work stemming from climate change.
Teams can be made up of one to four students and ICE will pair each school with a trained ICE STEM Ambassador – a civil engineer studying or working in the field – to advise and mentor students through the competition, which will run through the autumn term to 15 December 2022.
Prizes to support STEM learning in schools
Students will compete for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards. Winners of the Gold Awards will receive £1000 to be divided equally amongst team members and another £1000 for their school for STEM resources. Their school will also win a wave tank, donated by the JBA Trust, which can be used for practical demonstrations in physics and geography teaching.
Silver Award winners will receive £500 to be divided equally between team members and £500 for STEM resources. Bronze Award recipients will win £250 for students to divide and £250 for their school. The top three prize-winning teams will also be invited for a VIP lunch with ICE’s President and a tour of the organisation’s prestigious headquarters at One Great George Street in Westminster.
In addition to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards, ICE will also recognise the highest-scoring teams in the CityZen game. The highest scoring team will get £200 to split equally between the team and £200 for their school, and second and third runners up win £150 and £100 for student teams and their schools.
Every student participating in the ICE CityZen Award will receive a certificate which they can use as evidence of interest, knowledge and skills gained from the competition for their university, apprenticeship, job, or further education applications.
Increasing interest in STEM careers
Five hundred and forty students took part in last year’s inaugural competition and participating had a marked effect on students’ interest in civil engineering as a potential course of study or future career. At the outset, one third of students were interested in civil engineering, while an equal amount said they were not interested in civil engineering or were unsure. By the end of the experience, a total of 79% of students said they would consider the career.
ICE’s Director of Membership Séan Harris said, “We were hugely impressed with the calibre of ideas presented by student competitors last year and are already looking forward to more schools participating in 2022. Civil engineering is a creative profession. If we are to combat the climate emergency and create a fairer, safer world, we will need innovative thinkers from diverse backgrounds to come together. The CityZen Award is a great way for us to engage with those students who we look towards to deliver solutions. The competition is a great way to showcase the fantastic opportunities available to them.”
This year, ICE has also launched a new CityZen game, CityZen: Pollution Control, a ‘taster’ version of the full CityZen game in which students must determine who (or what) is polluting a local river and how best to address the issue. Students who enjoy this game can ask their school to take part in the ICE CityZen Award in 2022 and beyond.
Anyone can play CityZen: Pollution Control by visiting ICE’s virtual career centre, where they can also explore an online exhibition about working in civil engineering and learn about a variety of civil engineering projects.
To take part in the ICE CityZen Award, schools must register by 30 September 2022.
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