Frequently Asked Questions
Club FAQs
What are the aims of Young Engineers club?
Who can join the network?
Can I join a Young Engineers club if I live outside the United Kingdom?
What are the costs of signing up?
What types of clubs are in your network?
Do Young Engineers come and run the club activities? And what are their responsibilities?
What age range do Young Engineers clubs cater for?
My child wants to join a club in our area – what do I do?
There are no clubs running in my local area, what do I/my child do to join the club?
I am aged 16-18, can I join a club?
What are the benefits of joining the club network?
What kind of activities do clubs get up to?
Who is available to provide engineering support to club activities?
What financial support does Young Engineers provide to its club network?
Do I have to re-register the club each year with new details?
I want to set up an engineering club how do I obtain guidance to help me get going?
I am thinking of starting up a club, but I haven’t yet recruited any members, can I still join your network?
I am running a home-based club, what sort of activities can we do?
What are the benefits for a school joining the Young Engineers club network?
Why do you collect student details?
Who has access to student details information and are the CRB checked?
Sponsor FAQs
What are the benefits for a sponsor forming a relationship with Young Engineers?
Can individuals support Young Engineers?
What level of involvement is available?
How is Young Engineers governed?
General FAQs
How many pupils enter the Young Engineer for Britain competition each year?
What success does Young Engineers have internationally?
How are Young Engineers regional activities delivered?
How many girls are members of Young Engineers?
What is the ethnic profile for Young Engineers?
What is the geographic disposition of Young Engineers Clubs?
How do I supply student details online?
Other FAQs
Who is eligible to enter your competitions?
Does Young Engineers provides work experience?
Does Young Engineers sponsor individuals?
Can Young Engineers help with event sponsorship?
Club FAQs
Q. What are the aims of Young Engineers club?
A. To give young people the opportunity to enjoy the wide range of challenges and teamwork involved in engineering projects. To show that engineering is a problem-solving activity using a wide range of skills. To provide a meeting ground for like minded young people and professional engineers. To experience what engineering involves, so that they are given the opportunity to consider this fun, varied and highly rewarding career option.
A. The minimum requirement is that a club must have one supervising adult and at least two club members who are under 18. All clubs must be based in the UK (including the Channel Islands).
Q. Can I join a Young Engineers club if I live outside the United Kingdom?
A. Unfortunately, you can’t. Young Engineers is an organisation which helps to develop an interest in engineering in the under-18 UK population. (Although foreign students attending boarding schools in the UK are able to participate).
Q. What are the costs of signing up?
A. Nothing! Due to the generous support of our Sponsors, our services are all free to use. Of course running a club will cost time and money, which is why the Club Network is working hard to share activities and give advice on all sorts of things including how to raise cash for your club, so you don’t have to start everything from scratch.
Q. What types of clubs are in your network?
A. Schools - We have over 1,000 clubs in the club network, the majority of which are based in schools including Special Schools, Gifted and Talented groups, Primary Schools and Sixth Form Specialist Colleges, showing that the network supports students of all ages and abilities. These clubs include engineering, science, technology and robotic clubs. Our engineering activities enrich several areas of the school curriculum.
Youth Groups and Independent Clubs - We have several youth groups such as Air Cadet squadrons in our network. We also have several independent family-run clubs.
Q. Do Young Engineers come and run the club activities? And what are their responsibilities?
A. Young Engineers is not involved in the actual day to day running of the club but does provide a range of supporting services to our clubs. Individual clubs are fully responsible for the safe running of their sessions and should make themselves aware of any resulting legal responsibilities and insurance considerations as Young Engineers carries no legal or insurance liability for club activities. This is especially important for independent clubs; clubs based in schools and branches of formal youth groups are normally covered by their parent organisation.
Q. What age range do Young Engineers clubs cater for?
A. Young Engineers clubs can cater for all school age students. It is up to individual clubs to determine the age range of their club members. In general, we like to encourage as wide an age range as possible so that younger members have older members to act as role models and mentors.
Q. My child wants to join a club in our area – what do I do?
A. Ideally you can start by joining the club in his/her school. If the school doesn’t have a club, you can try persuading the teachers to start one up. You can also ask us if there are existing clubs running in your area.
Q. There are no clubs running in my local area, what do I/my child do to join the club?
A. There are a couple of ways forward:
1. You can ask the school to start one up. This is a good option as clubs based in schools can take advantage of the school's facilities. We can send you an information pack to present to the head teacher, or D&T or Science department head.
2. There is also the option of starting a family run club. Home clubs must have at least two under-18 club members and be supervised by one adult club leader. The activity bank and other club support services can help such clubs to get started running simple, inexpensive activities.
Q. I am aged 16-18, can I join a club?
A. Yes, we have activities and club challenges designed for your age. You can join existing club in your area (if any). If they are unable to accommodate an external student, then you can ask your teachers/supervisors whether they are willing to support you starting up a student-led club. The other option is to start a home-based club as long as you have two under-18 members and one over-18 club leader.
Q. What are the benfits of joining your club network?
There are several benefits to joining our club network:Club Handbook - Our club handbook ‘How to Start a Young Engineers Club’ is compiled by experienced club leaders. It gives useful practical advice on how to maximise the success of an engineering club, with topics such as starter activities, seeking outside help and funding. With separate editions for primary and secondary clubs, the handbooks cut the waffle and are packed with great ideas and sound practical advice.
Activity Bank - The Activity Bank provides our club network with a choice of tried and tested engineering activities, giving them access to ready made ideas for club sessions. In the main, they are written by club leaders for club leaders! The majority of the activities not only give information on what to do, but also provide details on the cost of the activity, worksheets, extension ideas, technical explanations and curriculum links.
Discounts - Club network members are entitled to discounts kindly provided by some of our sponsors. These discounts help to ease the financial burden on clubs and we are working hard to keep increasing the range of discounts available to clubs.
Q. What kind of activities do clubs get up to?
A. Young Engineers Clubs run in a wide variety of formats, from teacher-run to student-led. In some clubs all the students work on a single project, in others, several projects of varying complexity are on the go at any one time. Clubs are free to tailor their activities to suit their students and the resources they have available.
Q. Who is available to provide engineering support to club activities?
A. There are number of sources of help such as Young Engineers, Science and Engineering Ambassadors, local companies, local SETPOINTs, Local Education Authority, parents and other teachers. Members of the club network have access to a directory of support pages, filled with ideas of how to enrich club activities and where to get external support.
Q. What financial support does Young Engineers provide to its club network?
A.
Club Grants: We are pleased to offer Club Grants of £50 to network members. To receive a grant all you need to do is complete our simple Club Report Form telling us about your club's activities.
Internal Club Activities: Young Engineers does not have the resources to provide financial support to individual clubs, our Club Handbook does however give advice to clubs that are part of our network regarding typical groups and organisations that you might approach for funding and also offers tips on how to go about it. We also know that it is possible to run exciting engineering activities which cost very little – especially when clubs are just getting started and building up their engineering skills. Many such activities are housed in our Activity Bank.
Discounts: Network members also benefit from discounts we have arranged with supporting companies. These discounts help to ease the financial burden on clubs and we are working hard to keep increasing the range of discounts available to clubs and to secure funding to allow us continue to increase the support we can offer to the individual clubs in our network in the future.
Club Challenges: We always try to assist individuals and teams with their travel and accommodation costs when they are invited to participate in a national final. The level of support varies depending on geographic location and the actual funds we have at our disposal.
Q. Do I have to re-register the club each year with new details?
A. Yes, you do since we need to refresh and update membership numbers each year in order to keep our sponsors happy that there genuinely are lots of Young Engineers ‘beavering’ away all over the country.
Q. I want to set up an engineering club how do I obtain guidance to hep me get going?
A. New members of the club network can download our club handbook ‘How to Start a Young Engineers Club’, which has been compiled by experienced club leaders to provide those starting up engineering clubs with a few tips about how to go about getting the club off the ground.
Q. I am thinking of starting up a club, but I haven’t yet recruited any members, can I still join your network?
A. Yes. If you are still in the process of forming a club and do not currently have students names, you can still register with us as an ‘Embryonic Club’ and use the support services we provide to help you to get your club going. You will have access to the club handbook, club leader forum and activity bank, enabling you to be well prepared when you launch your club.
Q. I am running a home-based club, what sort of activities can we do?
A. Our online Activity Bank gives home clubs who are members of our network ideas for simple activities that they will be able to run at minimal cost.
Q. What are the benefits for a school joining the Young Engineers club network?
A. Being part of a very large network of Young Engineer clubs and reaping the rewards and opportunities that such membership brings. This includes opportunities to take part in exclusive challenges and competitions, discounts, sharing information with like minded organisations and an increased profile. Perhaps one of the most undervalued benefits is seen in the pupils individual development and the positive influence this has on their contribution to the school community and own academic attainment. Membership of a Young Engineers club brings significant benefit in terms of life skills and members are invariably well-versed in team work, leadership skills, project management and communication techniques. These skills are also much sought after by prospective employers.
Q. Why do you collect student details?
A. In September 2004, Young Engineers started the first phase of a new tracking study. The aim of the study is to determine how many of our students go onto pursue a career in engineering, and therefore to create an indicator for the effectiveness of the Young Engineers clubs network. The first phase of this study involves gathering the name, age and gender of all our current members.
Q. Who has access to student details information and are the CRB checked?
A. Please note that all of the staff at Young Engineers have had a Criminal Records Bureau check and that all the student data collected is solely for the use of Young Engineers and will not be passed on to any third party.
Sponsor FAQs
Q. What are the benefits for a sponsor forming a relationship with Young Engineers?
A. When asked, the answers are normally a combination of: the ability to contribute towards the development of future engineers, to have opportunity to influence the next generation, increase the awareness of their own products, help with recognition of engineering achievement and provide opportunities for employees to be involved in the programme.
Q. Can individuals support Young Engineers?
A. Young Engineers welcomes support from all areas. Whilst major businesses and industry provide financial support, individuals do play a very significant role in the functioning of the club network. They help by lending their own unique professional skills to club projects, act as mentors for club members and even lead clubs when a teacher is not available.
Q. What level of involvement is available?
A. Currently there are two main levels of involvement. National Sponsors individually provide in excess of £50,000/year in sponsorship whilst other Supporting Sponsors provide a wide range of financial and non-financial support activities. There are four National Sponsors [BT, BAA, Lloyd’s Register and the Royal Navy] and about 20 Supporting Sponsors.
Q. How is Young Engineers governed?
A. Young Engineers is governed by a Board of Trustees from a very wide cross section of the business area. Current trustees are engineers, educationalists, consultants in media and communications, managing directors of major companies and retired engineers and executives. National Sponsors have the option of trusteeship although this is not exercised by every national sponsor.
General FAQs
Q. What are the benefits of a relationship with Young Engineers?
A. When asked, the answers are normally a combination of: the ability to contribute towards the development of future engineers, to have opportunity to influence the next generation, increase the awareness of their own products, help with recognition of engineering achievement and provide opportunities for employees to be involved in the programme.
Q. What is the benefit for a school?
A. Being part of a very large network of Young Engineer clubs and reaping the rewards and opportunities that such membership brings. This includes opportunities to take part in exclusive challenges and competitions, discounts, sharing information with like minded organisations and an increased profile. Perhaps one of the most undervalued benefits is seen in the pupils individual development. Membership of a Young Engineers club brings significant benefit in terms of life skills and members are invariably well versed in team work, leadership skills, project management and communication techniques. These skills are much sought after by prospective employers.
Q. Can individuals support Young Engineers?
A. Young Engineers welcome support from all areas. Whilst major businesses and industry provide financial support, individuals do play a very significant role in the functioning of the club network. They help with club projects by lending their own unique professional skills to club projects, act as mentors for club members and even lead clubs when a teacher is not available.
Q. What level of involvement is available?
A. Currently there are two main levels of involvement. National Sponsors individually provide in excess of £50,000/year in sponsorship whilst other sponsors provide a wide range of financial and non-financial support activities. There are four National Sponsors [BT, BAA, Lloyd’s Register and the Royal Navy] and about 20 other sponsors.
Q. How is Young Engineers governed?
A. Young Engineers is governed by a Board of Trustees from a very wide cross section of the business area. Current trustees are engineers, educationalists, consultants in media and communications, managing directors of major companies and retired engineers and executives. National Sponsors have the option of trusteeship although this is not excercised by every national sponsor.
Q. How many pupils enter the Young Engineer for Britain competition each year?
A. In 2004/5 – over 800 students entered the Young Engineer for Britain competition.
Q. What success does Young Engineers have internationally?
A. Although Young Engineers exists as a club network within the United Kingdom, we are delighted to report that, each year, the Young Engineer for Britain and another finalist participate in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the USA. Young Engineer for Britain projects have a great track record in this competition, and their quality has led to them gaining several top international awards over the years.
Q. How are Young Engineers regional activities delivered?
A. The only specific regional activities delivered by Young Engineers are the regional finals of the Young Engineer for Britain Competition and the Regional K’Nex Challenge. These finals are sub-contracted to local specialists such as the regional Setpoint. The individual event sponsor is responsible for finding a venue, inviting the finalists, gathering judges and acquiring sponsorship from local industry.
Q. How many girls are members of Young Engineers?
A. Over 35% of our club members are girls.
Q. What is the ethnic profile Young Engineers?
A. We do not currently have details of club membership such as ethnic diversity. We are however, committed to providing equal opportunities for participation to all UK school-aged students.
Q. What is the geographic disposition of Young Engineers Clubs?
A. Young Engineers clubs can be found in all regions, towns and cities. 75% of membership is from the secondary sector and well over 70% of the specialist engineering schools and colleges have Young Engineer clubs. Young Engineer is committed to providing equal opportunities for participation to all UK school-aged students.
Q. How do I supply student details online?
A. Add student details to your own Club Profile page is a very simple process:
- Log-in to our website using the username and password given when you registered your club.
- Go to the Club Network section (the first option on the blue bar on the homepage, just below the Young Engineers logo) and click on Your Club Profile (the bottom option on the left hand menu).
- Beside the heading Current Members, click the ‘add new member’ link to enter new students
Other FAQs
Q. Who is eligible to enter your competitions?
A. Eligibility for entry varies from competition to competition. Details of who can enter each competition is listed in the appropriate competition brochure. You can download brochures from the individual competition webpages.
The following general principals are applied to all our competitions:
- Competitions are only open to UK students (including the Channel Islands)
- Competitions are all aimed at school-age students, with each individual competition catering for a section of that age-range depending on the nature of that particular competition
- We accept entries to our club challenges from any club, including youth groups and families, as long as they are members of our Club Network. (Non-network members will be asked to sign up when they enter the competition).
- We accept individual entries to the Young Engineers for Britain competition from any individual aged 11 to 19. (Although places are limited for this competition).
Q. Does Young Engineers provides work experience?
A. No, we do not arrange work experience placements at Young Engineers.
Q. Does Young Engineers sponsor individuals?
A. No, we do not provide this kind of support directly. However, you can contact the Local Education Authority, the local arm of the Learning and Skills Council, the school’s PTA, local businesses and industry, local press and even local charities. A short, positive letter to a number of these might find all or part of the funding required.
Q. Can Young Engineers help with event sponsorship?
A. No, we do not provide this kind of support directly. Again, you can contact the Local Education Authority, the local arm of the Learning and Skills Council, the school’s PTA, local businesses and industry, local press and even local charities. A short, positive letter to a number of these might find all or part of the funding required.
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