International Materials Education Symposium 2019

Earlier this month, the International Materials Education Symposium (IMES) once again opened its doors to a vibrant community of educators at Clare College, University of Cambridge. Welcoming over 140 participants from 24 countries, the event was the biggest to date with 80 universities represented. Built on a collaborative philosophy to nurture and strengthen pedagogical ideas, the 11^th IMES proved no exception, hosting a full program of inspiring talks, multiple poster sessions and of course, a friendly atmosphere in which to socialize and network.

Program highlights

Spread across four dynamic sessions, presentations fell under one of the following themes: 1) Innovations in teaching; 2) Bio-based and sustainable education; 3) Entrepreneurship and industry; and 4) Additive manufacturing.

Considering the diverse expertise of those that attended, the range of topics was unsurprisingly vast. From self-healing materials to the creation of a new university, IMES’19 sparked a wide variety of conversations with valuable take-home messages. We heard that technical skills are best learned when placed in a social context i.e. the idea of liberal engineering; where possible it is beneficial to ‘learn by doing’ e.g. problem-based learning; and that transferable skills are critical to prepare students for successful careers. This was particularly relevant during the entrepreneurship session, when the issues over technology transfer and knowledge dissemination were raised.

Where next?

Later this year as the Symposia series continues at Stanford University for the 10^th North American Materials Education Symposium (NAMES). Coinciding with 100 years of Educations at Stanford, they’ll be much to celebrate, and it looks set to be a great event. For more information visit: https://www.materials-education.com/