COYO CEO, earns Honorary Degree from Heriot Watt University

Our very own Alison Watson MBE, CEO of Class of Your Own and driving force behind Design Engineer Construct!, has been recognised with an Honorary Degree.

Alison received a Doctor of Engineering from Heriot-Watt University on Tuesday, 10 December, for her immense contribution to the sector and for forging new links between industry, academia and young people.

Alison has worked tirelessly, since 2012, to develop the ground-breaking accredited learning programme Design Engineer Construct! (DEC). As a result, many more young people are gaining real-world experience and developing highly desirable specialist skills in areas including structural engineering, surveying, architecture and civil engineering.

Alison has partnered with Heriot-Watt University in developing and delivering DEC since its inception in Scotland.

After receiving her Honorary Degree, Alison said: “It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work with the wonderful staff and students at Heriot-Watt University. Scotland is a special place with special people who have a solid respect for innovation and determination. Some of my challenges have seemed enormous, however the support of the University has been constant and I owe a debt of gratitude to colleagues who have shown me such respect, kindness and faith.

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Congratulations Whitefrog

UK Students needed for Ugandan School Design Challenge

Class of Your Own (COYO), the UK’s pioneering provider of accredited learning programmes for the technical and professional built environment, is looking for UK schools to get involved in their next national Design, Engineer, Construct! (DEC) competition: the Vision Hope School for Parabongo, a village in Northern Uganda.

Working alongside the UK based charity, Seeds for Development (Seeds); COYO’s 2015 challenge aims to get secondary school students across the UK actively involved in designing a new eco-school for children in Parabongo. The new school will provide an education to 1,000 children aged 3-18, and will teach numeracy, literacy, science, technology and engineering – alongside basic life skills such as growing food and personal hygiene. Read more →

2014 Free Schools: The Institute of Design, Space and Place at Manchester wins place on national programme with the New Schools Network

The Institute of Design, Space and Place (IDSP) at Manchester has won a place on a highly respected national development programme designed to provide tailored support for groups that want to set up new Free Schools.

Run by independent education charity the New Schools Network (NSN), the Development Programme provides personalised support to Free Schools groups as they prepare to submit an application to the Department for Education (DfE) to open a Free School from 2015.

The Institute of Design, Space and Place will be the UK’s first post-16 education centre for budding young professionals specialising in sustainable design, engineering and construction. Aiming to open in September 2016, this brand new concept has been established by the UK’s first social enterprise for built environment education, Class of Your Own (COYO).

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