Why Light Up!?

A recently published study from researchers at the Technical University of Denmark suggests the collective global attention span is narrowing due to the amount of information that is presented to the public. Our attention spans are at the lowest ever recorded.

According to the World Health Organisation, 50 million people live with dementia and this is set to rise to 82 million by 2030, with one new case diagnosed every three seconds.

About 1 in 54 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's ADDM Network. About 1 in 6 (17%) children aged 3–17 years were diagnosed with a developmental disability, as reported by parents, during a study period of 2009-2017.

Globally, it is estimated that at least 2.2 billion people have a vision impairment or blindness. Globally, the leading causes of vision impairment are uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts. Most people with vision impairment are over the age of 50 years.

According to the World Health Organisation, one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. Despite this, nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional.

The Challenge 

You are tasked with designing a prototype of a community structure which, by using light and colour as its primary aesthetic, encourages people to visit and caters for the individual needs of one or more of the groups detailed above. The proposed location is the area next to Canada Water tube station and Canada Water Theatre, close to the TEDI-London campus. Your choice of structure could be a building, a sculpture, an installation, or an immersive experience.

You are encouraged to try and gain further understanding relating to light and colour and combine this knowledge to create an engineered and/or artistic solution. Depending on your approach, you could develop an understanding of applying geometry, mathematics and physics in architecture. You could also learn about construction skills and the manipulation of given materials as well as how to find inspiration from a diverse range of sources. You could also delve deeper into the psychology behind the effect of colour and shape – all of these resources will be made available to you.

How will I learn?

You will learn by accessing and working through content through our online Learning Tree. This content (videos, webinars, blogs, articles) can be accessed at any time, so you can complete the programme at your own pace over the three weeks. There will be some live sessions, featuring TEDI-London academics, students from our Dementia Friendly Communities Summer School and industry partners. In these sessions you will have the opportunity to ask questions and further explore topics of interest, which will support your project development. These sessions will also be recorded, so they too can be accessed at any time.

What will I do?

At the end of the three weeks you will submit your prototype, plan and rationale through a blog, vlog, presentation, website – however you like! The only rule is it must take the judges no longer than 10 minutes to review your submission from beginning to end.

Judges?

Yes! There are prizes! Winners will receive industry coaching sessions, professional references ( from TEDI-London) and digital badges to boost your CV’s & personal statements.

How do I apply?

To be a part of the Thinking Ahead programme you must:

• be over 16 years old
• be available for ten hours a week for three weeks – 27 July – 14 August 2020
• have access to the internet

Places are limited
If you have any further questions – please email hello@tedi-london.ac.uk

Apply now!

TEDI-London is a collaborative, design‑led engineering institution co-founded by the three PLuS Alliance partners – Arizona State University, King's College London and UNSW Sydney.

TEDI-London is engineered by Arizona State University, King's College London and UNSW Sydney.

When fully operational, TEDI-London will offer a new type of engineering education for future engineers. Our flexible, project‑based programmes will empower students to become independent, curious learners with a global, future‑focused outlook. As well as offering students an innovative new way to study engineering, the vision has been developed to attract students from diverse backgrounds to consider engineering as an option for study. With a global shortage of engineers, attracting more people to the profession is paramount to ensure engineered solutions to global challenges. TEDI-London will do this.

TEDI-London will be based in London, UK, at Canada Water.

Leading UK property company British Land has acquired 53 acres and secured planning approval for the Canada Water Masterplan – one of the largest, mixed-use regeneration projects in London. Two stops on the underground from the iconic London Bridge and Europe's tallest building, the Shard, Canada Water promises to become one of the most exciting places to live and work in London.

TEDI-London has partnered with British Land to develop and grow as part of the Canada Water Masterplan, which includes purpose-built premises for TEDI-London.

TEDI-London is a UK Higher Education provider specialising in engineering education at bachelor and master's degree level. TEDI-London will operate as a public higher education provider.

TEDI-London has begun the registration process with the Office for Students (OfS) and the Privy Council Office to become a higher education institution with Bachelors of Engineering (BEng) and Masters of Engineering (MEng) degree-awarding powers.

In line with most other public higher education providers in the UK, TEDI-London is registered with the Charity Commission.

TEDI London is funded by its three founding partners under a joint venture agreement. Funds from the partners do not come from student tuition fees or taxpayer money.

TEDI-London aims for students to graduate with a TEDI-London degree from the outset. While awaiting degree-awarding powers from the OfS, degree validation through another UK higher education provider is being explored to ensure degrees are valid during the ongoing process.

TEDI London will open its doors to its first undergraduate cohort in September 2021 and aims for an initial student intake of 125.  The ambition is for a 50/50 gender split in TEDI-London cohorts and a similar ratio between domestic and international students.

Bachelor's degrees in the UK (except Scotland) have a different structure than in the U.S. and Australia. The standard duration for Bachelor's degrees in the UK is three years.

TEDI-London faculty will be dual professionals – experts in both engineering and education. TEDI-London is seeking the brightest and best engineering faculty from both academia and practice. We are committed to developing professional engineers to be high-quality educators and will support them to achieve appropriate qualifications and to achieve Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

TEDI-London is developing several summer schools and a programme of outreach to enable students to prepare for TEDI-London degrees.

TEDI-London is also exploring how we might make elements of the Learning Tree available early so students can start development of supporting knowledge ahead of enrolment. Early Learning Tree accomplishments may also be used as part of the assessment process for admission.

TEDI-London's innovative curriculum and pedagogy set it apart from other engineering programmes in the UK. Delivered through projects and supported by a cutting-edge virtual learning environment (VLE), the approach to teaching and student support will make engineering accessible to a more diverse range of candidates.

The VLE or 'Learning Tree,' the TEDI-London online matrix of topics and modules allows for students from a variety of backgrounds to complete the degree. Students can work through the skills and knowledge they need to acquire according to need.

TEDI-London students will be expected to take responsibility for their own learning and the Learning Tree will support them to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to complete the projects and graduate as a professional, highly skilled engineer.

The curriculum for TEDI-London is being designed in consultation with the three founding universities. Other influencers on the curriculum will come from partners in industry, government and our students. The majority of the degree will be delivered through hands-on projects, underpinned by self-directed Learning Tree modules. The dynamic curriculum will have a foundation of engineering principles, but largely will be driven by partner-inspired projects. The curriculum will be informed by research undertaken at the founding partner universities and elsewhere, ensuring the academic learning is at the forefront of current knowledge.

Self-paced online learning underpins the project-based learning done in conjunction with industry or other community stakeholders. Students are expected to complete the online curriculum as well as the projects. The online modules will be networked allowing students to progress through various aspects of the programme, including taking appropriate nodes to support their upcoming projects.

The TEDI-London pedagogy incorporates elements of design, business, social science and communications to give students a broader set of skills. Students will have the opportunity to pursue various projects which will be attached to industry and other partner needs but offering a variety of learning opportunities.

There will be a mixture of individual and group projects that allow students to develop teamwork, problem solving, project management and leadership skills in addition to developing their technical competence and critical thinking.

Projects will be developed around key themes or disciplines such as computing and robotics, smart cities, energy and sustainability. All students will undertake significant individual projects in years 3 and 4, that can be done in collaboration with industry.

Recent summer school projects exemplify the types of projects TEDI-London degree students will study.

A water filtration project explored the possibility to turn water from Canada Water, (a flooded old dock near campus), into a community drinking fountain; the citizen hub project developed prototypes for an information hub that the community could access for updates on travel, weather, local events etc.; and lastly the rehabilitation device team engineered a solution to support patients in long-term repetitive rehabilitation exercises.

These projects address the fundamental challenges of a global, interconnected society – sustainable water, (energy and food), equality of access to information, and supporting an ageing population.

This need to provide solutions for global problems will drive the TEDI-London projects that students will work on.

The next project for summer school students will be working to provide British Land, the developers behind the Canada Water Masterplan, with solutions to ensure a dementia-friendly community in their future plans.

The Learning Tree is the online matrix of topics that TEDI-London students will use to gain the subject knowledge necessary to complete their practical projects and ultimately, their degrees. Comprised of nodes that build up to modules, the Learning Tree is delivered through a self-paced virtual learning environment (VLE).

The tree will contain branches related to all the traditional engineering disciplines without covering the detail of a specialised degree. Additional branches will relate to design thinking, leadership, financial management and economics, as well as social sciences and philosophy. Ethics and its study will be interwoven in the courses and in the projects.

• TEDI-London is open to anyone who wants to study engineering.
• Research suggests the pedagogy and approach will create a learning environment that is more inclusive and therefore more likely to appeal to a range of incoming students. This appeal underpins our mission to help close the international skills gap for engineers.
• International students? We are aiming for 50 percent enrolment from the UK and 50 percent from other countries.
• Gender diversity? We are aiming for an equal mix of male and female students.

Initially, TEDI-London aims to offer a three-year Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree or a four-year, integrated Masters of Engineering (MEng) degree with accreditation standards recognized in the U.S., UK and Australia. Students will study the same curriculum for the first three years.

Exceptional students will be offered the opportunity to accelerate their track following the second term of their first year. Those students, should they wish to take the accelerated track, could complete the bachelor's programme in two years, or the master's programme in three. The flexible, project-based curriculum enables a 'fourth' term in the year – students on an accelerated track would study an extra ten weeks through the traditional summer break.

We are planning for the degrees to be accredited by the Institute of Engineering Technology (IET) and the Institute of Engineering Designers (IED).

In the UK, an accredited degree provides a multidisciplinary curriculum that involves mathematical and computer skills and a basic understanding of mechanics, material physics and statistics. The curriculum yields a general understanding of engineering principles, graphics and drafting practices, their applications to technological systems, and the ability to implement them within an industrial setting.

Engineering technology professionals have the knowledge and skills to understand conventional engineering graphics and drafting practices, and to supervise their efficient implementation by technicians and manufacturers.

Engineering designers will use the above skills together with creative design input to develop new products and services for the benefit of society.

As above, we are planning for TEDI-London degrees to be accredited by the IET and IED.

TEDI-London degree programmes will be EUR-ACE (European Accredited Engineer), accredited by the Engineering Council UK through the ENAEE (European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education).

The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are all signatories of the Washington Accord, which is a non-governmental Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between organizations that accredit engineering degree programmes.

Under the Washington Accord, the TEDI-London four-year master's degree will be considered comparable to certification by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) in the United States and to EA (Engineers Australia) in Australia.

TEDI-London applicants will be admitted on the basis of their attitude, aptitude and ability – assessed through a selection centre. The selection centre process is either a day at TEDI-London, or for international students a series of online activities, where students will be invited to participate in a range of activities designed to test these attributes. Applicants will need to demonstrate their ability to take responsibility for their own learning. Each candidate will also be interviewed.

Students with a range of educational backgrounds, such as the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are welcome to apply to TEDI-London. Maths and physics A-Levels or equivalent are not pre-requisites. Anyone interested in TEDI-London is encouraged to talk to the staff about opportunities to study.

Generally, yes, but there is inherent flexibility in the programme due to the nature of the Learning Tree and approach to learning.

TEDI-London will operate a 'sticky campus' – an environment in which students will learn, collaborate, and receive guidance from peers and mentors. Project work may be based at TEDI-London – or in industry – but the campus will remain a central focus for student life. Students will be expected to attend TEDI-London in a similar way that modern employees engage with the workplace – how they develop their days will depend on arranged contact time with mentors, coaches and their project teams.

Whilst the planned nature of the campus will expect students to attend regularly, the Learning Tree will facilitate students being able to study at home, or off-site, once again reflecting the nature of modern working and empowering students from diverse backgrounds (such as those with caring commitments) to access education at TEDI-London.

Scheduled activities will be planned over four days to allow students to explore extracurricular pursuits. The TEDI-London team will strive to make studying as accessible as possible. Exploring how projects can be more accessible to part-time learning will be part of the curriculum development process.