Gateway Electronic Components is sponsoring this year’s joint initiative of The Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Peak 2015 Scout & Guide jamboree in July. “Time of Your Light” is a project aiming to inspire young people to develop their creative, engineering and programming skillsets, by inviting scouts and guides to solder their own programmable electronic badge. The project promises to deliver an engaging, hands-on soldering activity over five days of camping at Chatsworth House Estate, Derbyshire, 26th – 31st July 2015.
Training young people’s eyes, minds and hands on technology is a cause close to the hearts of both the IET and Gateway Electronic Components. The final report from the 18-month programme initiated by the Royal Academy of Engineering to research the econometrics of engineering skills in the UK concluded that “There is good econometric evidence that the demand for graduate engineers exceeds supply and the demand is pervasive across all sectors of the economy.”
Gateway recognises the need for more qualified technicians and engineers amongst the ranks of the next workforce; therefore, the company was quick to recruit its franchise, Brightek (Europe) to the task of providing LEDs for the “Time of Your Light” project. The mission of the IET and the Scouts and Guides Associations to educate Scouts and Girl Guides in an entertaining way matches Gateway’s ambition to continue to train graduates interested in serving in electronics distribution.
IET and the Scout Association have been collaborating to excite and educate thousands of young people annually about the rewards and challenges of engineering. To that end, in 2014, PEAK invited the IET to join them to help Scouts and Guides engage with real engineers. In 2011, they jointly launched a new Electronics badge, which they continue to sponsor. This year, with the help of volunteers and by means of donations from businesses like Gateway and Brightek, the campers will have a chance to solder their own programmable badge. The electronic badges will be reprogrammed by the young people to flash with different patterns, and will light up simultaneously during the camp’s closing ceremony, producing complex illuminated animations. Scouts and Guides attending Peak 2015 will earn credit towards the Scouts’ IET Electronics badge and the Guides’ Scientist badge.
Gateway is being supported in this initiative by its franchise partner Brightek Europe. Heather Prieto, Gateway Electronic Components’ director of operations said that the company’s mission is focused on service, quality and sustainability which means preparing the next generation of potential designers and engineers by encouraging their creativity and enthusiasm for the technology and in turn helping sustain future design and manufacturing skills for UK businesses.
Brightek’s European office in the UK is excited to join Gateway Electronic Components in sponsoring PEAK’s project. They are donating thousands of LEDs to the initiative, bringing the young programmers’ attention to the safety, longevity, and power of the lights of the future. Brightek’s marketing manager, Mr. Isaac Yao, said that the Taiwanese LED manufacturer is thrilled to be contributing their products in support of the skills advancement of potential future engineers and product developers.
Senior engineers represent 15% of Brightek’s staff worldwide, and both Gateway and Brightek rely on their expertise when advising customers. With three factories around the world – for LED lamps, SMD, High Power LEDs & COB (Chip-on-Board) Application, and LED Modules, Brightek’s ambition is to be a one-stop-shop for customers’ needs for LED lighting systems and solutions. Their logistics offices in London and Berlin promise the fastest time-to-market and support on any project using LEDs.
Gateway is a franchised distributor of world-class passive, active, protection, sensing and timing, and electro-mechanical components. Gateway’s forte are ferrite products from several of the best European and North American manufacturers.
To find out how your company can support “Time of Your Light”, please visit www.peakcamp.org.uk.
