Our Engineering Preparation students had a real treat yesterday―a trip to London to visit some of the most iconic and important places for engineering research and learning. First up was Imperial College London, which consistently ranks amongst the top five universities in Europe, and the top ten in the world, for the study of Engineering Science.

Students were shown around the impressive campus in London’s smart and sleek South Kensington by current students on the Engineering programme at the university. Our students took the opportunity to ask their burning questions about studying Engineering, studying in the UK, and studying at Imperial in particular. The answers were inspiring and assuring―students discovered that Imperial was rated the most international university in the world. It seems students would fit right in there after a summer of international exchange at Oxford Royale Academy.

One of the many advantages of studying at Imperial has got to be its proximity to the Science Museum―all students have to do is cross Exhibition Road, and they find themselves staring up at the huge metallic ring in the East Hall, in which white LEDs dance and play and beam messages typed into kiosks by visitors on other floors. The museum’s current blockbuster exhibition, Robots, drew students’ immediate interest, and held it for over an hour, as they explored the history of robotic development from automaton monks in the 16th century to the communication androids now being worked on in Japan.

Having learned about the triumphs already achieved in the field of engineering, students moved on to a place which brings together those working in the discipline in the here and now. The Institution of Civil Engineers (or, very coolly, ICE) supports budding engineers to become qualified, and then provides a membership network so that engineers can collaborate, stay connected, and publish work to influence governments and industry. Our own future engineers saw worlds opening up before them as they peered at books and installations in the ICE library, and stared up at the ornate ceiling of its Great Hall.