A rather prescient programme which shows how there's a whole lot more to the teaching of engineering than just mathematics

Made in 1989, this programme, sponsored by the Engineering Council, demonstrates how Brighton Polytechnic's response to the Finniston Report of 1980 is embodied in an engineering project called DAMP. The far-seeing government report recommended that the teaching of engineering should be 'firmly set in the context of purpose' - meaning that in addition to the mathematical and workshop skills necessary for students, their training should be more holistic - with greater sensitivity and awareness of social, design and market considerations. In response the Engineering Faculty at the Polytechnic decided to introduce a Design And Manufacturing Project or DAMP. Participants on the course, including several women and students from overseas, were put into small groups and given the task of designing, testing and manufacturing a carburettor for use in small irrigation pumps in developing countries. The carburettor had to be capable of being made using locally sourced materials and widely available machine tools. Each group had to give a mid-way presentation of their designs and ideas in order to get feedback from their tutors and representatives from local industries, who also became part of the learning, teaching and mentoring experience. A Senior Research Engineer from Ford, Bob Marshall, comments on the benefits, to the company, of employing graduates who are already acquainted with both industrial processes on the shop floor as well as the marketplace, rather than the more academically gifted students who still require years of industrial on-the-job training. The programme concludes with a student, Linda Stephenson, reflecting on how the DAMP experience taught her the discipline of working in groups and working to deadlines in addition to the skills that she and her group acquired to fulfil the brief.