Employer partner projects

We are able to offer our student additional learning experiences through the variety of projects delivered with our employer partners. These are typically offered as part of the training or enrichment element of students’ timetable, where they gain skills and experience to help them leave UTC Portsmouth with more than just great qualifications.

Here are a few examples of some different projects that have taken place:

BAE Systems – projectile launcher project

A regular project that students at UTC Portsmouth have had an opportunity to complete is the BAE Projectile Launcher challenge.

Over the course of a term, teams of seven worked together to design and build a projectile launcher that was accurate enough to hit a target. Students were supported throughout the project by STEM ambassadors from BAE Systems, Alisdair and Ryan, Many were lucky enough to be able to show their designs to ESA astronaut Tim Peake when he visited the college in December 2017.

Apollo Motor group/Southsea Cycles - Recycle a cycle

Students initiated an enrichment project where they would accept donations of unwanted bikes, fix them up and make them roadworthy ready to donate to local charity Stop Domestic Abuse. Southsea Cycles kindly donated parts and the time of one of their technicians once a week to get the bikes up to a roadworthy standard before donating them to local charity Stop Domestic Abuse. Many of the bikes originally arrived in poor condition but after being stripped the frames were taken to Apollo Motor Group where students used their facilities to give the frames a new spray job, helping the bike to look it’s best ready for donation.

Royal Navy - Canoe build

Students have been working with Stu Clayton from the Royal Navy on a new and exciting canoe building project in their enrichment sessions. The project involves working on technical drawings and translating these onto the materials before cutting and shaping the individual sections.

Students are also due to work with other employers to gain valuable experience of the use of resins and composite materials. We can't wait to see these out on the water!

Airbus - CAD and soldering

Airbus have been working with our students on two separate enrichment activities. In the CAD session they have been focusing on space and looking at reverse engineering parts for satellites, which will go on to become the Moon Base competition. In soldering, students have been learning about industry standards that are required and how they compare to what they are learning in UTC Portsmouth.