NMITE was created to be different. Not requiring Maths and Physics A-Levels is a key example.
NMITE was created to be different. Not requiring[i] Maths and Physics A-Levels is a key example.
A difference that is now justified. Preliminary analysis, by Assistant Professor Bertie Knight, of student performance (to be peer reviewed) suggests strongly, that beyond the first year of study, students on the Integrated Engineering programme achieve broadly similar grades regardless of whether they had a Maths A-level.
“This is an outstanding finding,” says Bertie, “Considering that A-level mathematics is a pre-requisite for almost all accredited undergraduate engineering courses in the UK. This could have important implications for widening participation in engineering, particularly among female students and pupils from the schools from disadvantaged areas, who are significantly less likely to study Maths at A-level. Our view is that maths in an enabling language of engineering not a barrier to entry.”
Bertie Knight is based in NMITE’s Academic Skills & Knowhow Centre (ASK), led by Head of Academic Skills, Associate Professor Dr Sarah Peers. “ASK has two roles,” explains Sarah, “First to provide a whole range of study support to our students - we applaud our students who say, ‘Can you please explain or I don’t understand.’ Second, and equally as important, to ensure that our teaching colleagues have the resources and support to integrate soft/transferable skills into every aspect of a student’s journey in becoming an engineer.
“Critical thinking, problem solving, mathematics, team working, analytical reasoning, data interpretation, communication, ethics, imagination and a worldview (mostly irreplaceable by AI?) are woven into the NMITE student’s Learning-by-Doing education from the minute that they start. Skills which, by the end of the course, are so deeply embedded that they are second nature. These are the capabilities that employers demand. What’s more many are now acknowledging that those capabilities genuinely differentiate NMITE graduates, from other university’s graduates, as being more easily employable.”
Sarah adds: “But more than skills for employment, these skills are ones that make for educated global citizens. The world is facing big problems now, some of which could be solved with technology and a large dose of awareness of complexity, but we don’t know what is coming up for us in the future. We hope we are teaching NMITE students to think and prepare for the future.”
This begs the question of how maths is taught in this context? “We start at the end point,” explains Sarah, “By defining what our graduates will need in the way of maths skills in their working lives. With the target defined we begin by removing the mystery—and, for some, the fear—around the language of maths. We help all students read mathematical notation, so they are not flummoxed by a new formula or model. Once they can read the language, they learn the why as well as some of the how of mathematical techniques and processes, then encouraged to connect this learning of mathematical principles, such as geometric interpretations, visualisation, data analysis, calculus and transforms, to new and different contexts.
“Together,” she concludes, “These skills enable them to take a messy problem and explore how mathematical tools and reasoning can help find solutions.”
Associate Professor Graham Ward is the third member of the ASK team. “My particular interest is helping students to become adept problem solvers and effective communicators. As many will have experienced, solutions are often suggested before the problem is fully defined, contextualised and understood.
“At NMITE students, in teams, are encouraged to consider a problem from multiple perspectives, visualising it with drawings or other media; making assumptions for simplification to complete their understanding of the problem. Next they summarise their findings verbally and in writing before moving forwards. The solution or solutions, engaging the creative skills of the engineer is modelled, whilst the validity of assumptions is kept under review. Then candidate solutions are proposed along with the process needed to deliver them.
“The issue is not only whether students can read formulae or execute procedures. Engineering students must also decide which quantities matter, select appropriate formulae, judge whether an answer is plausible and communicate defensible conclusions. This distinction matters as professional engineering rarely presents itself as a complete textbook problem with a single clear method. It requires reasoning under constraints, uncertainty and imperfect information.
“We have,” continues Graham,” reframed maths as an essential aid to professional engineering reasoning. By requiring students to calculate, visualise, interpret and recommend, we connect basic numeracy with judgement. Its value lies not in the complexity of the calculations but in the way simple calculations are placed within a coherent modelling narrative. The key message is that our students are not only preparing to perform mathematics; they are learning to use mathematics to understand systems, make (and justify) assumptions. They use it to integrate technical analysis, evaluate evidence and communicate responsible engineering decisions with wider social, environmental and economic considerations. All, frequently, to a non-technical audience.
“At NMITE we view maths as the enabling language of problem solving. Once you can read the alphabet of formulae, equations and notations, students are well on the way, with some practise, to know how to use these tools. We teach in the context of solving a real problem like the evidenced analysis of the lifetime sustainability of competing Air Fryers. This requires deciding which quantities or metrics matter, judging whether an answer is plausible and explaining reasoning under uncertainty and imperfect information.”
Some have suggested that the real but, as yet, least recognised USP of NMITE is the genuine employability of its graduates. “It is our next major project,” responds Sarah Peers. “We are developing a suite of indicators that when combined with the metrics of statutory and professional regulators can become a portfolio of a student’s progress and capabilities. It will give students and employers a candid view of an individual’s strengths, weaknesses and abilities. For the students it will provide powerful evidence of their work-readiness and capabilities plus a steer on the engineer they want to become. After all Art and Architecture Schools do it; Engineering is just as creative, so why not?
“Learning-by-doing and teaching the NMITE-Way is demanding, on both teachers and students, but extraordinarily effective. Weaving in transferable skills adds another level of challenge. Assessing performance of both technical and transferable skills is complex and difficult – which is probably why no other university does it!
“I am confident,” concludes Sarah, ”that, over the next year, we will have devised an engineering portfolio that makes NMITE the go-to institution for employers looking for and students wanting to be problem solving, critical thinking, team playing, calm under pressure, ethical, environmentally conscious and socially aware engineers.”
[i] Advice to NMITE Founders from some senior Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering: ”A-level Maths and Physics are the wrong Maths and Physics for engineers, so why require it. Better teach the right stuff on a clean slate.”
