Future Stars in Metallurgy
A work experience week placement for school students from year 10 to year 13 (ages 15 to 18)
BCAST is an academic research centre focusing on both fundamental and applied research on solidification. BCAST was established in 2002, and is now one of the world's strongest solidification research groups. BCAST is an internationally leading research centre and major global driving force providing new knowledge, processing technologies, materials and their industrial applications in the area of light metals, and training future leaders in the field of metallurgy. BCAST develop and exploit innovative and sustainable technologies and enable the metal casting industry and its customers to improve their competitiveness in global markets. The long-term technical vision of BCAST is full metal circulation, in which the global demand for metallic materials is met by a full circulation of secondary metals (with only limited addition of primary metals each year) through reduced usage, reuse, remanufacture, closed-loop recycling and effective recovery and refining of secondary metals.
We are now accepting year 10 to year 13 (ages 15 to 18) students for their work experience. Our programme strictly adheres to the university’s policies. All staff working with the students during the whole training process have DBS certificates.
We have a well-structured coherent training programme which will be delivered by academic and technical staff.
Outline of the programme
- Day 1 Morning:
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- Meet the Director of BCAST
- Health and safety education
- Student introductions
- Staff introductions
- Day 1 Afternoon:
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- Laboratory tour
- Visit to Constellium’s University Technology Centre (UTC)
- Talk from industrial partner
- Day 2: Meeting group supervisors and theory lessons (2-3hrs)
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- Project work (group 1, 2, 3), Aluminium recycling process modelling with recycled materials from home. (we provide)
- Day 3: Project work (group 1, 2, 3)
- Day 4: Project work (group 1, 2, 3)
- Day 5 Morning:
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- Scientific presentation preparation
- Day 5 Afternoon:
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- Presentation competition judged by our staff
- Award announcement
- PhD student presentation & group photos
From day 2, students will be separated into 3 different groups. The groups based on different projects will be allocated according to your application selections (NB: if one group is oversubscribed you may be offered your next selected group)
Group 1: Characterisation group (observation of the microscopic world of metals)
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- Casting of aluminium alloys
- Sample preparation (sectioning, polishing, anodizing, etc.)
- Optical microscopy to observe the microstructure of the metals.
Group 2: Mechanical property group (understanding the effects of processing on the mechanical properties of metals)
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- Deformation of mechanical process
- Heat treatment
- Hardness test, Tensile/Fatigue test.
Group 3: Simulation group (alloy design with computer techniques and application in real world)
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- AI technique in metallurgy,
- Solidification simulation tools, alloy design and cooling curves
- Demonstration of casting of aluminium alloys.
During this programme, you will:
- Understand the scientific challenges in metallurgy and how the researcher approaches solving these problems. During the process, you will work directly with our senior scientists/professors on specific research projects.
- Engage in specific research skills for metallurgy.
- Collaborate in finishing the project tasks and the final presentation process.
- Reflect what you learned in physics, chemistry, maths etc. within our specific metallurgy research.
- Make friends who are from different schools with similar age ranges.
Time & Date: 11th - 15 August 2025, 5-day week, 9.30am-3.30pm
Number of students: 15.
Application: Application opens from 1 September each year by submitting your application form and consent letter to bcast-admin@brunel.ac.uk
Deadline: 31 of January 2025.
Offer:
- You will receive an offer before 15 February. You should confirm with us within one week, otherwise the offer will be made to another applicant from the waiting list.
- Once you accept the offer, only a cancellation before 1 March 2025 is acceptable, applicants cancelling after this date will not be allowed to apply in the future and your school will be informed. Further information about the programme will be sent after the offer is accepted.
Refreshments including lunch will be provided.
Any queries about the programme please contact:
zhongping.que@brunel.ac.uk or hari-babu.nadendla@brunel.ac.uk
Attached documents:
Useful links:
Videos of BCAST (