Student sponsorship

Citation

(2000), "Student sponsorship", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 72 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2000.12772daf.005

Student sponsorship

Student sponsorship

Keywords: TI Group, Education, Engineering, Awards, Sponsorship

Tl Group, the global specialised engineering company, in a major new initiative to promote the education of top engineering graduates, recently announced that it will be the first industrial company to sponsor Engineering Leadership Awards administered by the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Engineering Leadership Awards, developed with funding from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, are intended to allow outstandingly able engineering undergraduates, with marked leadership potential, to undertake an accelerated personal development programme over the final three years of their MEng studies, in preparation for fast track executive careers in the engineering industry.

TI Group has in its initial commitment sponsored three Engineering Leadership Award-winners in the year beginning 1 April 2000. As part of their three-year development programme, the leadership award-winners will be offered the opportunity to undertake project work and to gain overseas experience at some of TI's 450 facilities in over 45 countries around the world.

The three TI "winners" were chosen from a final selection of 30 successful candidates for the Leadership Awards from an original list of 128 applicants. Each winner received »7,500 over three years, administered by the Royal Academy, to execute their personal development plans.

Sir Christopher Lewinton, Chairman of TI Group and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, commented: "I am delighted that TI Group is the first industrial company to sponsor these Royal Academy of Engineering Awards. Far too few of our best young brains today are attracted to a career in engineering and these awards are especially valuable since they focus on the development of leadership. The essence of management is in the act of leadership - without it there can be no effective management".

Sir David Davies, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, commented: "I welcome TI Group's generous support of our Engineering Leadership Awards. This scheme is a valuable way of preparing the industrial pioneers of tomorrow for the cutting edge of industry. It will work far more effectively with the backing of forward-thinking engineering companies like TI Group".

A great deal of emphasis is placed on the leaders in TI Group's own businesses. The TI Group Leadership Programme aims to strengthen and accelerate the development of high performing managers in the early stage of their careers. Since its inception in 1997, some 120 managers have passed through the programme.

TI Group has maintained a continuing interest in the education of engineers over many years. In 1984, with the aim of increasing the inflow of engineering students into Higher Education, TI established a fund for the University of Birmingham. This endowment continues to provide between 35 and 45 TI scholarships a year to engineering undergraduates.

Reflecting its interest in the broader aspects of engineering, TI Group is also pleased to be supporting the Creating SPARKS Festival of Science and Arts which is scheduled to take place in South Kensington, London, during the month of September 2000. The Festival, led by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, is intended to stress the role of creativity in both the sciences and the arts. This support complements TI Group's contribution to the funding of the Whittle Project at the Science Museum in London.