Episodios
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In this episode, we are delighted to converse with Design education specialist, advisor, teacher and CLEAPSS consultant Trudi Barrow.
It seems like a strange statement, but we rarely have a design and technology teacher and leader on the podcast, so in this episode, we follow Trudi's journey into teaching but then spend a good part of the conversation talking about the subject, its challenges and where it may be heading to. I have to say it was a pleasure to hold this discussion with someone passionate about the value of design and technology education and what it can offer young people.
Trudi has recently taken on a role leading for CLEAPSS within design and technology, and many people will have seen her online journey as she has deep-dived into the use of AI and where this can be utilised within design education.
I really enjoyed this conversation, and I think you will too, so get those earphones in and enjoy Designed for Life in conversation with Trudi Barrow.
Trudi's website: www.trudibarrow.comFutureminds Home Page: https://sites.google.com/view/cleapss-futureminds/home
https://www.cleapss.org.uk
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In this episode, we are delighted to talk with Dawn Foxall and Roy Ballam about the recently released paper commissioned by the Textiles Skills Centre, 'Unravelling the Fabric of Textiles Education'.
As we seek to move the subject forward, building from the bottom up being our approach at the Association, we need to carefully look at where textiles fits into primary and secondary education. Our view is that we want to keep textile education within design and technology, a position that is perhaps challenged by the large number of textile teachers who are now delivering examinations within art and design in secondary education.
We were, therefore, somewhat relieved and delighted that this report strongly indicates that textile teachers have moved predominantly for the assessment methodology adopted through art & design and a strong desire to "teach to their expertise" at KS4 and KS5. A large majority have stated in this report that they would come back to design and technology if the examination requirements were adapted to allow them to do this within the subject; this giving us a clear steer as we seek to start the process of reform.
We drop the normal format of the podcast and dive straight into the report on this episode; there is so much that demands discussion. Thanks to Dawn and to Roy for giving up their time to talk with me. You can download the report from the TSC: https://www.textilesskillscentre.com/
As always, huge thanks to the Edge Foundation for their continued support of this podcast. -
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In this conversation, we follow Gordon Fraser, Co-founder of the Marloe Watch Company, on his journey from a difficult school experience to co-founding a successful British-designed watch company.
With his Co-founder Oliver, whom he met online, the two founded The Marloe Watch Company and produced their first two watches without meeting (and living in two different countries). As the company grew, Oliver was the first to 'give up the day job' and concentrate 100% on the success of their venture, followed closely by Gordon.
Gordon discusses the importance of understanding user requirements while designing a watch that you, as the designer, would be proud to wear. We also discuss the importance of storytelling in design and how we are all seeking to buy and wear objects that help define our tastes and unique persona.
You don't have to be a watch lover to love this conversation (although I have to confess that I am). Gordon's passion for what he loves to do shines through as we discuss the highs and lows of owning your own design business.
Gordon uses a phrase that is worth exploring on its own: his growing "intolerance to imperfection," especially when design translates to manufacturing. Process and 'value engineering' push you as a designer to one compromise too many.
So grab an hour to yourself. Take the dog for a walk, place us in your ears for your gym workout or just grab a coffee and listen to Designed for Life - in conversation with Gordon Fraser.
https://www.marloewatchcompany.com/
And if you want to fall down the rabbit hole we discussed on the pod (and I would recommend it) follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FhTu3aGM60&list=PLB00JHoTw1TeX82Qw8hoFLRJI89Us_jMw -
In this episode, we are in conversation with Claire Holman, modelmaking professional and lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth.
We follow Claire's journey from a fairly nomadic start as her family moved first to Zambia and then to England, closely followed by Scotland as her father's work dictated their journey. This was followed at age sixteen by Claire leaving school and taking on a YTS course (if you are old enough, you know. If not, a government initiative to direct young people into training and employment). Here, she was subjected to some deplorable practice as the college concerned used the course as a 'cash cow', and the students were an essential part of the payment process for the college...but no more!
Sometimes, it takes a negative experience to produce a positive, and the bitter taste that this left with Claire drove her later in her career as she took a role (twenty-five years ago now) with the Arts University Bournemouth) "every student has a right to have teachers that are present, not just in the physical sense, but are on the journey with them, fully engaged".
We follow Claire's journey in modelmaking both in the UK and Canada and finally talk with her about what she has learned in over twenty-five years of educating students in design, modelmaking and prototyping in Bournemouth.
This discussion is one for students and educators nationally. Claire's love of teaching and her desire to get better at what she does professionally with each passing day comes over clearly in our discussion. I just know you are going to love this!
https://aub.ac.uk/
BA(Hons) Modelmaking: https://aub.ac.uk/course/modelmakingNEW - BA(Hons) Creative Technologies: https://aub.ac.uk/course/creative-technologies
NEW - BA(Hons) Design for Sustainable Futures: https://aub.ac.uk/course/design-for-sustainable-futures
Other AUB courses of interest:
NEW – BA(Hons) Interior Architecture for Health and Wellbeing https://aub.ac.uk/course/interior-architecture-health-and-wellbeingBA(Hons) interior Architecture & Design: https://aub.ac.uk/course/interior-architecture
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Denim jeans have become an integral part of modern-day life. The majority of us own at least one pair (I personally have to confess to seven)! But how are these garments made? At what cost to the environment? And when they reach end of life how many of us give proper thought to where our once-loved products end up?
Josh Myers is on a mission to turn these discarded garments into aesthetically beautiful products that see the material being given a second life, good news for the environment, and with his patented product Denimolite providing beauty, strength and flexibility of use, the potential uses are endless.
In this episode, we follow Josh's journey from a rural upbringing in Cumbria to life in London and South Bank University, where during the Covid lockdown, he started to experiment with materials and shredded denim mixed with resin (encouraged by his father, who is a prosthetic engineer brought some favourable results. Hundreds of hours of experimentation later, Josh has created a beautiful and highly adaptable material that takes discarded garments and turns them into something really quite special https://indd.adobe.com/view/f1af327f-41e9-4353-8185-6bab9e26ac50
Join us in this conversation, within which we follow Josh's journey from school to university and through the creation to date of his award winning material. This is a story of success over adversity, of persistence, and of tenacity...through his own words, Josh has become slightly "obsessed" with making Denimolite a success for the good of others and for environmental good.
So grab the dog for a walk, take us to the gym, or just find a cosy chair, pour a coffee and listen to Designed for Life, in conversation with Innovator, founder and company owner Josh Myers.
https://www.denimolite.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/denimolite-ltd/ -
This episode sees us in conversation with Sophie Hague - 2022 RSA Student Award winner and UX Designer.
Sophie found school difficult, not so much academically, but she found it over-stimulating, crowded and overall, just not an enjoyable experience. The one exception to this was design and technology lessons, where she enjoyed the 'open-endedness' of problem-solving activities and just 'clicked'.
As she progressed on her learning journey, Sophie found out just how she liked to learn. Experiential learning worked for her and she realised that to truly understand a topic, she needed to touch it, to feel it or to see the problem set within a real-world context that she could relate to. This metacognition became a major part of Sophie's development, and she developed a sound and blossoming love of learning.
At the age of 11, Sophie decided she wanted to be a designer, and she has been following that pathway since.
Her first degree opened doors in her mind that naturally led to a post-graduate Masters taken at Leeds University. It was here that Sophie was introduced to the RSA Awards, of which she says: "The brief allowed me to explore who I wanted to be, not only as a designer but also as a person. It changed my perception of what design is, what it can be and what I can make it".
This episode is the story of a young designer discovering her own academic ability as she explores the world of design. It was a joy to record, and I just know you are going to enjoy it too.
https://www.thersa.org/blog/2023/11/rsa-student-design-awards-winner
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-hague-b08b66197?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
https://www.instagram.com/sophs.design.stuff?igsh=MWNia2dra3hhN2J3cQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
https://www.sophiehague.co.uk/ -
Amanda was somewhat destined to work in fashion from an early age. Influenced by her grandmother, who placed her in front of a sewing machine at age eight, she quickly learned how to use the machine and how to make her own clothes. Her grandmother's throwaway comment, having made her own dress only a short time after being introduced to the sewing machine, stuck, and Amanda's journey into the fashion industry was set.
A combination of sheer determination, ability, grit, and, it has to be stated, a degree of bravery saw Amanda experience the industry from almost every angle as she progressed quickly within it.
Following a number of years working abroad, Amanda returned to the UK. Parenthood brought with it a different perspective on aspects of the industry that had troubled her for a while. In 2009 she declined an offer to progress on her career pathway, and following a period of time where she painted and reflected on her next move, she set up The Fashion Factory (Fashionfactory.uk - offline), a business run from her home and working to empower young people how to use their hands and a sewing machine to upcycle old clothes into garments that they would be proud to wear.
The business was initially advertised through posters pinned to trees, but word of mouth soon took over, and Amanda soon found that her classes were full with long waiting lists of parents waiting to join this 'movement'.
COVID hit the business hard in 2020, and Amanda set about tackling a problem that had troubled her for a while. In her own words, "Trying to teach ten or more students how to use the sewing machine at the same time was like trying to teach ten pianists all playing different tunes". And so, armed with a home camera and editing software, she started to record and assemble a collection of videos that, when pieced together, allowed students to learn how to sew and create garments at their own pace. And so Fashion Rebellion was created https://www.fashionrebellion.co.uk
In this podcast, we follow Amanda's journey from school to where she is today and towards the end of the podcast, we have an offer for schools interested in exploring how Fashion Rebellion might work within their school.
I believe this is a journey you will not want to miss.
For enquiries about possibly introducing Fashion Rebellion in your school, please contact [email protected] -
In this first podcast of 2024, we are delighted to be in conversation with Reianna Shakil, UKRI Young Innovators Awards 22/23 Winner | Multidisciplinary Designer | Founder + Director of Studio ZRX.
In this conversation, we cover Reianna's journey from school through how she overcame problems when her funding ran out part way through her sixth form course and then how she had to find ways to manage her way through her degree, being diagnosed with Combined Type ADHD part way through her studies.
This is a story of perseverance. Many people, faced with some of the issues that Reianna has encountered, would have thrown their arms in the air and found an easier pathway. You will learn this is not Reianna's way; she has dug in and found a way to achieve what she set her heart on from the start.
This is a heartwarming pod for the start of the year and one that I think you will enjoy.
So sit back, grab that last slice of Christmas cake that is ruining your New Year's diet and enjoy Designed for Life - in conversation with Reianna Shakil.
Huge thanks, as always, to The Edge Foundation for their continued support of this podcast. -
So that was 2023!
Twenty-four episodes of Designed for Life were recorded and published over the course of the year, fulfilling our promise of at least one podcast every two weeks. In these pods, I have been fortunate to speak with a wide range of innovators, founders, designers, engineers, academics, teachers and students, and here in this (admittedly longer than usual podcast), we pick out some of the best moments of 2023 and put them in one place for your listening delight.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single guest from the almost eighty who have given their time to be on the podcast since we started in summer 2020. This really has turned into a passion project; speaking with such talented and creative people has become one of the joys of my role as Chief Executive of the Association.
I would also like to thank the Edge Foundation for their continued support. As I have stated so many times on the podcast, without their support, we simply would not be able to produce these conversations.
And last, but not least, I would like to thank you...our listeners. You have streamed the pod almost 25,000 times, and you are the reason we do this work. The feedback that you provide is our fuel not only to continue, but to make this podcast bigger and better.
We have ambitious plans for next year, including bringing the pod live to more schools across the UK. If you would be willing to host an event for students and their parents at your school (or at a local business), then please do reach out to [email protected]
So one last time for 2023, grab the dog lead but prepare the hound for a long walk, take us to the gym but don't go too hard, too soon, or just grab a coffee and a mince pie and listen to the best bits of Designed for Life 2023. -
Where was the first music concert you ever attended? Who was the artist? Who did you see this artist/band with? And finally, how did you feel as you left the gig? If you are like me and love your live music, these are questions that will roll off the tongue. For me, it was the Police. I was fifteen years old and with my best mate from school, the gig was at Hammersmith Odean, and it left me buzzing and wanting more!
In this podcast, we are in conversation with Becky Pell. Becky is a sound engineer touring internationally with some of the biggest names in music. In this conversation, we trace her journey from school to a career that drew her in from her very first concert as a fifteen-year-old, where she saw A-ha live and found her attention split between Morten Harket and the other band members and the engineers working the sound desk in front of her. As she left that concert with her dad, her mind was made up; this was the career for her!
Through this conversation, we gain a glimpse of what life ‘on the road’ is like, explore what it takes as a woman to carve out a career in what is sadly still a male-dominated profession and hear from Becky about the pure joy of her job as she watches thousands of people enjoy the night of their lives...partly because she has done her job well, allowing the performers to do what they do to the very best of their ability.
This is a joyful podcast and one that will change the way that you look at the engineers working at a concert the next time you listen to live music. So grab the dog lead and plug us in your ears, take us to the gym, or just sit back and relax and listen to Designed for Life in conversation with Becky Pell.
To find out more about Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and access their free teaching resources and on-demand schools broadcast, you can visit www.teweek.org.uk/To find out more about EngineeringUK’s work to drive change so that more young people choose engineering and technology careers, visit www.engineeringuk.com
As always, thanks to The Edge Foundation for their continued sponsorship of this podcast. -
How many of you reading this have fond childhood memories of reading the Beano? I am guessing many of you could name most of the characters from the Beano now; some of you may still have Christmas Annuals tucked away somewhere in the loft. Well, the good news is the Beano is still alive and well...in fact, it is in rude health.
So when I received an email asking if I would like to speak with Alex Harris (BBC Teach) and Mike Sterling (Creative Director at Beano...although he also has another job title), the answer was an immediate yes!
What followed was an absolutely joyful conversation, sometimes the chat just flows, and we almost forget that the microphones are on and rolling, and this is one of those occasions.
These two organisations have come together to create a truly inspiring resource aimed at primary school teachers. Comic creativity inspired by Dennis, Gnasher and Minnie the MinxThe new BBC Teach Beano – how to create a comic set of resources provide a step-by-step guide to help children to make their own comic, from creating characters, to constructing worlds to developing stories.
Three classroom videos featuring Beano Studios’ mischief makers introduce children to visualising characters as stick people, creating a story mountain, and building a soundscape with words like ‘clang’ or ‘squelch’.
The new resources are rooted in Beano’s 85 years of expertise in comics and creativity. Featuring Beano creatives Mike Stirling, Ed Stockham, Rhiannon Tate and Craig Graham, the free videos are designed for teachers to use with their primary classes at Key Stage 2, 2nd Level and Progression steps 2 and 3 across the UK. They include everything needed to create a comic as part of a whole class project. The resources are accompanied by teacher notes, templates (thought balloons, head shapes and story mountains) and a specially designed comic book layout.
To access Beano – how to create a comic, visit: https://tinyurl.com/yx7c37x9
So sit back, put your earphones in, grab an hour to yourself and enjoy Designed for Life in conversation with Mike Sterling (Beano) and Alex Harris (BBC). -
This is part two of a two-part mini-series in which we explore the development of the design and technology curriculum offer at Hethersett Academy in East Anglia. If you have not yet listened to part one, I suggest you go back and listen to this first, as there is something of a sequence.
In this episode, we follow on from our conversation with Kate Finlay, Head of Department and Trust Curriculum Lead by talking with students, parents, the design and technology staff and the Headteacher. Through these conversations we gain a full picture of how the curriculum has developed at Hethersett, the value of D&T to all concerned and gain some wonderful insights from students.
So sit back, relax and listen to Designed for Life - In conversation with the staff, students and parents from Hethersett Academy.
Huge thanks to all the staff and students at Hethersett for their help and co-operation to make this pod possible, and as always thanks to The Edge Foundation for the continued support that makes these podcasts possible.
https://www.hethersettacademy.org/ -
In the second of our focus podcasts within a specific school, we are delighted to bring you 'Designed for Life' in conversation with Hethersett Academy in East Anglia.
The intention within these podcasts is to provide listeners with a complete 360 journey around the design and technology department in the school, with interviews and thoughts from students, teachers, parents and senior leaders. From these conversations, you can piece together the value of the subject to the curriculum within these schools.
This is part one of a two-episode podcast, and here we talk with Kate Finlay, the Curriculum Leader for design and technology for the Inspiration Trust, who run several schools (primary and secondary) in the area.
In this podcast, you will hear a very open conversation with Kate in which she discusses the steps taken to build a department and how she has built a strong team around a shared vision. She talks about the highs and the challenges that she has had to face and how the vision in place at Hethersett Academy is being shared across other schools both within and outside of the Inspiration Trust.
So grab the dog and put those earbuds in place, take us with you to the gym, or find a cosy chair and a coffee, sit back and enjoy Designed for Life in conversation with Hethersett Academy.
https://www.hethersettacademy.org/ -
In this episode, we are delighted to be joined in conversation by Jenny Body CBE.
This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Aerospace Bristol on the morning of our annual awards ceremony on the 13th of October this year. The recording was made almost within touching distance of Concorde, an aircraft that Jenny had the privilege of working on some years ago.
Jenny Body is a British Aerospace engineer and former President (the first ever woman to hold this post) of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Jenny grew up in rural Gloucestershire; her father was an aerospace engineer, and her mum worked hard to qualify as a dispensing chemist. Growing up, Jenny was naturally good at maths/physics but also developed a passion for English, which still stays with her to this day.
Told by her headteacher that engineering was "not a suitable career for a young woman", she thankfully ignored this advice and, throughout her career, has worked to demonstrate that gender should be no barrier to progression in her chosen profession.
Working in the avionics group at British Aerospace, Jenny was part of the team that generated some of the first 'fly by wire' software. She established and led the Next Generation Composite Wing Programme, one of the most extensive and expensive research programmes in the history of British Aerospace. In 2002 Jenny was made engineering lead on the Nimrod wing design team.
In 2013, Jenny became the first female President of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Whilst she very humbly places this in our conversation, this was hugely significant as not only her gender was in play here, but also her route to this role and the fact that she came from a civilian background and not through the RAF, where many of the previous holders of this post had graduated from.
Already an OBE. Jenny was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours list this in recognition of her services to aerospace engineering.
This is a fascinating conversation with a groundbreaking engineer as we trace her journey from school to working with government to secure funding and lead a huge engineering team to advance British Aerospace.
So sit back, grab an hour to yourself and enjoy Designed for Life in conversation with Jenny Body CBE. -
In this episode, I was delighted to be in conversation with Jennifer Campbell, Managing Director of Giles Agency Hong Kong.
In the pod, we track Jen's journey from rural Berkshire through the discovery that her natural penchant to quickly strike up conversations with people, together with an ability to sell and the tenacity to hang on in there when sales didn't go as planned, could actually become a career.
A move to a large agency in London (she wasn't aware quite how big a deal this was until friends were surprised that she had secured the position) allowed her to really learn the business of marketing, enhancing her natural abilities and, along the way, having fun doing so.
A strong desire to somehow be involved in the 2012 London Olympics saw Jen shift jobs and work on the marketing campaign for one of the event's major sponsors. Then came a move abroad with a desire to be closer to family in Australia, seeing Jen move to take up a role in Hong Kong, where she has laid routes and is now MD at The Giles Agency, a role that she has held since October 2018.
Jen has also teamed up with colleagues to run a business marketing podcast, 'The Disconnected,' available wherever you stream your podcasts (Looking at social and tech trends in marketing).
If you are interested in digital marketing and want to learn more about the journey from mainstream education into the industry, do give this a listen.
Thank you to Jen for reaching out and being such a great guest to chat with and, of course, to the Edge Foundation, whose support allows us to keep creating these conversations. -
This podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at The Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. This is the first of a series of live podcasts to come as we take Designed for Life on the road to meet not only our stunning guests but also teachers, students and their parents.
In this podcast, I was fortunate to be in conversation with Charlotte Chapman, CEng. MIMechE. Charlotte is a project manager at Royal IHC. In the pod, we follow Charlotte's journey through school to decide between a love of Engineering and a passion for English Literature. We look at how life's events may sometimes appear to block your way forward, but, with hindsight, sometimes things happen for a reason!
Charlotte designs, tests and commissions some incredible machines designed to lay cabling and infrastructure underwater in some very challenging environments. In the podcast, we discuss how such a complex machine moves through the journey from identification of the initial problem to exploration of this problem and the desired solution, through to initial thoughts, ideas and prototypes, then modelling and building of prototypes until eventual build, testing and commissioning of the final solution.
Videos of some of the machines that Charlotte has been involved with over the years can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89Tfq6L_wiQ For a more comprehensive picture of the engineering footprint of Royal IHC, see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_96s0vkYMc&list=PLouhu6zaw0crd6bT7wrGiGkTFIP874oHL
It was an absolute pleasure to hear Charlotte's story and to share it with the students and their parents on the evening. I know you will enjoy it too, so sit back, relax and listen to Designed for Life Live - In conversation with Charlotte Chapman.
Thanks to staff, students and their parents at The Royal Grammar School for being such excellent hosts.
https://www.royalihc.com/ -
Larry Sullivan is a serial entrepreneur, business founder, angel investor and social philanthropist. In this podcast, we track Larry's journey from humble beginnings growing up in Essex to a sudden awakening to academia in sixth form, leading him to be the first in his family to attend university.
How much land does a man need - Leo Tolstoy Post Corona from crisis to opportunity - Scott GallowayEat the Rich - P.J. O'rourkeThe fortune at the bottom of the Pyramid - C.K PrahladThe Bottom Billion - Paul CollierFreebird Films - https://www.freebirdfilm.tv/Future of capitalism competition - https://www.borntoengineer.com/future-of-capitalism-competition-new-tech-startup-competition
A chance conversation led him to travel to America during his summer break with BUNAC https://bunac.org an experience that he feels offered as much, or more, to his personal development than his university experience alone.
This podcast has taught me that entrepreneurship can be taught, and skills can be improved and fine-tuned, but that entrepreneurial spirit is carried within people born to work for themselves and create a new business entity. Larry's first business saw a gap in the market and successfully met a need; this later led to the creation of COINS Global https://www.coins-global.com, a company that Larry led and nurtured for over two decades before recently exiting "in the right manner".
Larry Sullivan is a successful businessman, no doubt, but what differentiates him is his desire for business to "be a force for good". He views business as an essential tool to help make the world a better place and, over the years, has put his money where his mouth is in this respect and continues to do so. He founded the Coins Foundation in 2006 (now Leolion Foundation) https://www.leolionfoundation.org and, through this, has worked with carefully selected third-sector partners, including Habitat for Humanity https://www.habitat.org and PEAS https://www.peas.org.uk
Several books and links are mentioned in the podcast, including:If you want to see the difference Stepping Stones school has made to the lives of young people who attended, please do check out these alumni case studies https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1-rDCXeAPfJe78WV6XFt4Glx93IowIMp&si=cFVMvRaDPgRhSc0R
I have known Larry for years and not only enjoyed recording this podcast but learned from it. I hope and feel you will, too. Let us know what you think!
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The joy of this podcast is that through it, we get to talk with designers, engineers and innovators at the very peak of their game and often informed by years or even decades of experience. At the same time, we have spoken with people at the very start of their careers, and are privileged to explore how they are shaping themselves and their careers for the future.
In this episode of Designed for Life, I am privileged to talk with Joshua Bruce, Aeronautical Engineering undergraduate, Mission 44 Youth Advisory board member and founder of the Young Engineers Summit.
There is an often-voiced mantra that, in life, 'we should all strive to be the change that we want to see; this is a shortened version of a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi, shown in full below:
"We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”~ Mahatma Gandhi
Joshua has seen a world that is unfair and uneven in the way that it distributes wealth, knowledge and education and in the way it nurtures and utilises knowledge, and instead of sitting and waiting for others to make the change, he is doing his own bit to change the opportunities presented to young people worldwide.
These podcasts are an absolute privilege and a joy; this one is full of action, hope and belief...please do find an hour to sit back and listen to Joshua's story and if you can help him, either with funding for the next stage of the Young Engineers Summit, or otherwise, please do reach out, either through the contacts below or contact me at the Association at [email protected]
Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshuabruce__?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabruce/
https://myjoyonline.com/young-engineers-summit-harnessing-transformative-power-of-stem-to-change-lives/ - Young Engineers Summit Article -
Ben Edmonds is a designer, inventor, entrepreneur, engineer and self-confessed 'tinkerer'. In this episode, we follow Ben from school where aged twelve and asked what he wanted to do when he grew up; he answered, "I want to be a lead designer for Dyson". Almost twenty years later, that's exactly what he did, becoming a Principal Designer at Dyson.
But Ben's story is oh so much bigger than that. He has sold or donated almost every possession he owned twice as he upped sticks to start life elsewhere in the world. Left one job four times...yes, four times. And we talk as he prepares to set out on a new and exciting adventure.
So grab some time to yourself (this is a little longer than some pods but there was just too much that was good to cut the conversation any further), and enjoy Designed for Life - In conversation with Ben Edmonds.
A statement from Ben:
"I've spent a lifetime creating, making, building, testing and iterating anything and everything. Having gone through the whole school system and seen my own children in schools, I know that students don't need any more time focussed on following instructions. Working with a friend of mine with a decade of teaching experience, it's our belief that we should be helping children to SOLVE PROBLEMS, and that's what Inventor Club is all about. It could be as simple as moving unknown boxes up a step or solving the world's energy crisis. Either way, we want to encourage teachers, students and parents to think creatively and have a license to fail in order to ultimately solve problems and create new, exciting solutions.Our mission is to create as many innovators & inventors as possible. That starts with good quality D&T lessons, where it is OK to experiment and where the prototypes and the journey are just as important as the outcomes. Lessons where every student creates their own solution and not just the same product.
We understand that teachers are extremely time-poor, and that’s where we come in. We can provide schools with high-quality and well-thought-out challenges that allow for creativity and encourage multiple solutions to solve the same problem.
We’re launching a new website purely for Inventor Club where all our challenges, resources and newly created schemes of work will be made available. Please also follow us as we document all of our innovations and journey on our social pages.
www.innovationben.com
www.inventorclub.co.uk
www.Facebook.com/InnovationBenPage
www.Instagram.com/InnovationBen
Regards
Ben
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In this episode of Designed for Life, we speak with Ifeoma Noelin Okolie. Ify is a Chartered, FSEng (SIS) Certified, Product Safety Manager, Choral Singer, Poet & Abstract Photographer.
Ify has 13 years experience delivering innovative state-of-the-art safety engineering solutions across a variety of safety-critical industries, where she has held various leadership positions.
She devotes her time in and outside the workplace to sharing lessons learnt from her ‘Triple Minority Career’ as a Black, Female and Artistic Professional in Engineering and tech and de-bunking gender-career biases. Ify lends her voice to EDI and STEM campaigns by raising awareness of the importance of role models, adequate representation at all levels of leadership and the role of a diverse workforce in achieving the trifectas of high performance, market dominance and business longevity.
She is a Keynote Speaker, Foundation Governor, REACH Employee Network Chair and UN Women UK Delegate (CSW).
I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I think you will too, so take an hour for yourself, pour a tea/coffee, find a quiet space and a cosy chair and enjoy Designed for Life, in conversation with Ify Okolie.
PS. Look out for a very special input from Ify towards the end of the pod. I'll say no more... - Mostrar más
