Department of Engineering / News / Design Project Office computer upgrade underway thanks to generous donation

Department of Engineering

Design Project Office computer upgrade underway thanks to generous donation

Design Project Office computer upgrade underway thanks to generous donation

Students at the new dual monitor work stations

Thanks to the generous support of alumna Helen Morton, the Department has been able to upgrade the facilities in the Design Project Office, and work is in progress to add an extra computer monitor and stand to all 84 workstations.

We always encourage our students to draw large, clear diagrams and, among many other benefits, this upgrade will make it easier for them to do so when they are using CAD software. We are very grateful indeed to Helen Morton for the thoughtful and generous way that she supports our students and the undergraduate engineering course more broadly.

Professor Richard Prager, Head of Department

The Design Project Office (DPO) is one of the Department’s largest and most heavily used learning spaces. It is used to teach classes of around 80 undergraduates drawing, design and computing in the first two years of their course. Smaller classes also use the space, particularly for outreach work.

The DPO is also a popular place for students to work on group projects, both as part of their course, and for external activities, for example the Student-led Societies such as Cambridge University Eco Racing team. Organisers of events such as Hackathons are also keen to make use of the facilities. 

Mark Thompson, the DPO Manager is tremendously enthusiastic, and is constantly striving to make the DPO a pleasant and functional working environment.

All workstations in the DPO were equipped with a single computer monitor and stand, but it was noticed that students were gravitating towards computer facilities in the Department which provided dual monitors, allowing them to access help pages, data sources or other applications, whilst simultaneously working on the task in hand.

The dual-monitor facilities installed so far are proving enormously popular with staff and students alike. Students are using the upgraded workstations for extracurricular individual team and project work, alongside their academic work.

Alumna Helen Morton

As the Department’s teaching methods evolve towards more self-directed learning supported by online resources and forums, the additional monitors will enable this, allowing students to work at their own pace, and with flexible timeframes.

Professor Richard Prager, Head of Department, said: “This upgrade directly benefits the students every time that they work on computers in the Design Project Office. We always encourage our students to draw large, clear diagrams and, among many other benefits, this upgrade will make it easier for them to do so when they are using CAD software. We are very grateful indeed to Helen Morton for the thoughtful and generous way that she supports our students and the undergraduate engineering course more broadly.”

The Department is delighted with the success of the upgrade, and is hugely grateful to Helen for her support both of this project, and of the Department.

If you are interested in supporting research, teaching and the next generation of engineers, then please contact:

Alison Cook, Senior Associate Director - Technology

alison.cook@admin.cam.ac.uk

+44 (0)1223 330735

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