Summer Meeting 2008

Recently students, Industrial sponsors and the leadership of the pioneering E3 Academy met in London for a historic first summer meeting.

The Electrical Energy Engineering Academy was recently launched to help combat the shortage of electrical engineers in the UK and it intends to do this by encouraging more people to study Electrical engineering at university.  The academy has a number of attractions giving successful candidates guaranteed paid work placements; sponsorship for the duration of their degree programs and the opportunity to attend academy run events and summer schools.

The aim of the first summer meeting was to allow the leadership of the Academy, Academy students and representatives from their sponsoring companies to meet.  Most of the students were attending the event in the middle of their industrial placements and the summer meeting gave everyone involved an excellent chance to meet representatives from different companies and share experiences. 

The highlight of the meeting was the visit to the spectacular Royal Opera House.  Although more commonly known for its world class opera and ballet performances the Royal Opera House is also one of the most technologically advanced buildings of its kind in the world.  Behind the scenes hundreds of industrial motors, powered by high performance Control Techniques drives are used for moving scenery, actors and even the stage itself.  For all involved the tour provided a fascinating and inspiring example of applied electrical engineering.

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

To conclude the gathering a visit was made to Savoy Place, which had recently been the site of the Academy’s launch.  Students were taken for a tour of the magnificent building and library facilities which included a cabinet formally owned by Michael Faraday.  While the students looked at the past the E3 leadership met to discuss how it was to take the Academy into a second successful year with the next intake of students.

Mark Towers, E3 Academy Scholar