Engineering students visit Port of Blyth

Sunderland College students recently visited the technology centre at the Port to see the range of engineering careers that are involved in the marine industry.

The Level 3 Engineering students were able to visit the engineering workshops, experience the testing facilities at the port, speak with engineers who have developed their skills over time and worked up through the stages of their career from a similar college position.

The visit was a great chance for students to link their classroom work to real life applications and see engineering in action.

Mark Stokell, Sunderland College Engineering Lecturer said:

“The event was an excellent opportunity for students to see and experience first-hand, the vast amount of engineering that is literally on our doorstep. It is a real benefit to the students to be able to relate what we teach them in class to what is happening in the real world.”

Jack Brown, BTEC L3 Extended Diploma Engineering student added:

“The visit was a really good day out, we got to see engineering projects the engineers were working on in the port. It was also useful to see how the work we have been doing in class, like material properties, links to an actual engineering problem.”

Paul Parry, Port of Blyth Business Development Manager continued:

“When we were approached by the college for a visit we were happy to help. It’s great to engage with the future engineers of tomorrow and grow interest in the local area.”

The college intends to have this visit as a recurring event as the port has many different projects coming into the port throughout the year which could be of real benefit to students.