UWE centres on diversity with new engineering building

The facility has been co-designed in conjunction with the engineering curriculum overhaul in an effort to encourage development of the next generation of engineers, including ensuring a supportive environment for students from under-represented backgrounds.

Professor Lisa Brodie, head of the Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics at UWE Bristol, explained that keeping this focus in mind throughout both the curriculum and the design of the building’s physical structure has been what makes it so unique. 

For example, as part of the university’s drive to embrace and celebrate neuro-diversity, the building is equipped with individual study spaces designed to support students with sensory issues, such as people with autism who can benefit from features including white noise bubble tubes and adjustable, muted lighting.

“The building is designed to teach in a very different way,” Brodie said. “We’ve embedded professional skills, or the professional engineer, at the heart of the curriculum … The very first things we teach [students] are around creativity, innovation, empathy and design, and we focus very much on the role of the engineer in society.”