16.06.15
Showing off the best of the rail industry at iRail 2015
The RTM team is at the sixth annual iRail event at the Derby Roundhouse today, as teams of schoolchildren and college students from across the east Midlands find out more about potential careers in rail engineering and take part in rail-themed design competitions.
The Roundhouse – a former rail engine shed and now a flagship educational complex, part of Derby College – will be full of not just students and teachers, but people from across the rail industry keen to share their experiences and advice.
The students will also visit Bombardier’s train manufacturing facility in Derby and the East Midlands Control Centre to find out more about different aspects of the railway sector.
Each team will have a mentor for the day, and will take part in a Dragon’s Den style competition and presentation, solving an engineering challenge and pitching their solution to leading industry figures.
A spokesperson said: “Since 2010, iRail has attracted hundreds of school students from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as part of a programme to inform and engage young people on the range of career opportunities in the railway industry.
“The event not only showcases the rail industry but also demonstrates the science and apprenticeship and graduate engineering careers available in this growing area. It provides the rail industry with the opportunity to promote its activity, network with other key players and interact with young people. Central to the day is the involvement of teams from local schools who go on industry visits and undertake engineering challenges to be judged by a panel of industry experts.”
The event is now part of the Big Bang initiative.
_photos__DB7_Photography_and_ByDesign_Group_5590_resize_635700457242172987.jpg "iRail (2014) photos DB7 Photography and ByDesign Group 5590 resize 635700457242172987")
RTM's Roy Rowlands talking to schoolchildren at iRail 2014. Photo: DB7 Photography
Later on this evening, the sixth annual iRail distinguished lecture will be given by Chris Green, who held a number of senior roles at British Rail, Virgin and other operators, Eurotunnel, Network Rail during a long career on the railways that began in 1965. His lecture is titled ‘Achieving the Impossible’.