As part of Queen’s University Belfast’s commitment to civic engagement, interactive engineering workshops were held at Belfast Model School for Girls on 27th January 2025. Organised in collaboration with the Greater Shankill Partnership, the initiative aimed to introduce Year 9 pupils to engineering through hands-on learning experiences, supporting the school’s efforts to inspire young women in STEM.

Sixty enthusiastic Year 9 pupils took part, eager to explore key engineering principles through practical activities. The workshops focused on two challenges:

• The Catapult Challenge – Providing an introduction to Mechanical Engineering, pupils designed and built catapults, gaining insights into forces, motion, and energy transfer.
• The Bridge Build – Developing an understanding of Structural Engineering, pupils constructed bridges, experimented with different materials, and analysed stability and strength.

Expert facilitators from Queen’s Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Katy Carlin and Aimée Keatch, led the sessions, encouraging pupils to develop their problem-solving, teamwork, and creativity skills while reinforcing the importance of STEM education.

The workshops received an overwhelmingly positive response, with 87% of participating pupils expressing a desire to take part in more engineering activities. One pupil commented:

“It was a great experience and the two women who took the sessions were really nice. I liked that they let me work in groups with my friends and that we got to use our own ideas to solve the problems.”

By fostering curiosity and confidence in STEM subjects, these workshops are sure to help inspire the next generation of female engineers at Belfast Model School for Girls. We look forward to future collaborations.

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