A new program named CADubator has been set up in the engineering department of the College of Business, Technology and Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University which offers engineering students studying towards a degree involving Computer Aided Design (CAD) the opportunity to work with external companies to provide solutions to their problems.

CADubator provides companies with the opportunity to recruit a student who uses their CAD skills which they have developed on their studies to help the company. This could be designing a new part/system or improving an existing machine, the possibilities really are endless! It is a great opportunity for engineering companies to come to the university and work closely with our students as well as develop strong working relationships with the university and its staff. For the last 5 months the CADubator has been running providing students with the opportunity to work with several companies such as the Sheffield based Jackson Woodturners.

A new bannister end rail bracket for Jackson Woodturners

Not only is this a fantastic opportunity for students to gain vital experience working with a company and using CAD outside of their studies but all their work is observed and supervised by a member of academic staff who guides them through their work and encourages the students to develop new contacts in the engineering sector and develop their CAD skills to make them more employable after graduation.

CADubator is the invention of leading CAD academic Nick Pickett who leads the CADubator program and also leads the engineering design subject group. Nick, with the help of his peers, is able to support the students on his program and work more closely with each student to develop their learning relationships. Nick says 'we're finding companies using the CADubator are very supportive of the whole concept and are keen know they are contributing to the development of our young engineers'. Nick and his colleagues are very passionate about providing students with the right experience to help kick-start their careers.

Mark Sutherland from the Materials and Engineering Research Institute is working on developing a new website for the CADubator program to give potential businesses and students the option to register their interest on the program and see real examples of work that has already been undertaken through the CADubator program.

To find out more about CADubator contact Nick Pickett on 0114 225 3424, n.pickett@shu.ac.uk, or Sajhda Parveen on 0114 225 3394, s.parveen@shu.ac.uk