For the past year The Big Bridge has been making waves across Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The innovative STEM skills learning experience is a social value partnership supported by leading construction and engineering companies Design ID, Farrans Construction, FP McCann and Adman.
In its first year of running the bridge reached 1,750 students from over 46 schools and held 16 events with the feedback from students and teachers being overwhelmingly positive.
The Big Bridge, which is a 13m long and 3m high cable-stayed model bridge, launched its second year at the Northern Ireland Science Summer School hosted by Professor Brian Cox in Ballymena this week. Hundreds of enthusiastic students built and tested their very own bridge and learnt about careers in construction and engineering.
The Bridge will travel to schools across the country throughout this year to inspire the next generation of construction and engineering talent through interactive workshops based on forming cohesive structures, project management and teamwork.
The Big Bridge is supported by partner organisations in the construction and civil engineering industry who aim to ensure that the kit and training team are provided at a low cost to schools.
Amy Dillon, Principal Engineer at Design ID, said:
“We are excited to make this unique learning opportunity available to pupils in Northern Ireland, enabling them to experience the challenges, the fun and the creativity that are all common to civil engineering sites. We want to introduce the many varied roles that there are within construction to encourage young people to see the varied skill sets that go into bringing major projects to life.”#
Clara Burns, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Farrans Construction, said:
“The Big Bridge workshops provide a safe and collaborative environment which encourage bright ideas and teamwork. The programme is committed to engaging students who may not traditionally see themselves in construction. Our industry continues to face a skills gap, and we hope that The Big Bridge will make people enthusiastic about a future career in civil engineering or construction. We hope to reach over 2,000 students in 2025 as we take the bridge on a tour of Northern Ireland with our Big Bridge Roadshow. If your school is interested in being involved, then get in touch!”
For more information on The Big Bridge or to sponsor the roadshow get in touch at www.thebigbridge.co.uk