Airport hosts young engineers of Solihull

An exciting new partnership has taken off with WMG Academy for Young Engineers Solihull forming a new collaboration with Birmingham Airport.

Teams of engineering students in Sixth Form are currently working under the guidance of Steve Walton – head of terminal infrastructure, to repurpose the Air Rail Link structure and design a sustainable, innovative solution for Birmingham Airport.

The three teams researched innovative sustainable technologies before all 16 students undertook an onsite survey of the Air Rail Link site on Tuesday,19 March.

This was a full morning of intelligence gathering: students undertook customer surveys of those using the Air Rail Link, gained knowledge of the commercial potential, and challenging questions were posed to Steve Walton and his colleague, John Gregory, engineering manager.

In addition, the students had the chance to ride the current Air Rail Link.

Speaking of the students’ commitment to the project, Steve Walton said: “This was such an interesting morning and great to see the enthusiasm and innovative thinking from the students. It was fantastic to see the classroom progress so far but there’s nothing like a site visit to make any challenge come to life.

“The students’ proposals will be presented to senior leaders at Birmingham Airport in May 2024. Their design concepts will need to include construction and commercial considerations, passenger requirements and a strong focus on sustainability.

“Rehmat Shah, a student who participated said: “This opportunity is giving me the chance to dive into multiple engineering sectors through the Birmingham Airport Project.

“Speaking to John Gregory, he gave me professional advice and expanded my horizons to ideas I had not yet considered.”