Centre for Engineering Education Blog

Tag: Labaratories

  • Celebrating over a Decade of Impact at The Diamond

    In this reflective piece, Sophie Barwick takes us through the special 10-year celebration of the Diamond building —now firmly established as the heart of engineering education at the University of Sheffield. From cutting-edge labs and inspiring staff, to the student-driven innovation of the iForge, Sophie shares how the Diamond has shaped her journey as both a student and GTA. Her insight captures the building’s enduring purpose: a space built for students, enriched by community, collaboration, and hands-on learning.

    Exterior of the diamond building

    Back in October 2025, the Diamond opened its doors to staff, students, alumni and visitors to celebrate 10 years of the Diamond building. Over this time the Diamond building has become a fundamental place for the education of thousands of engineering students at the University of Sheffield. The range of state of the facilities, enthusiastic staff and open study spaces make it a great place to learn and develop skills.

    The Diamond building offers a range of laboratories and lecture theatres to teach students engineering concepts from across all disciplines under one roof, marking it as the flagship teaching facility for the faculty. It therefore also enables students to have a base to explore new concepts and work together, particular crucial for those new to university and Sheffield.

    In addition to timetabled teaching, key part of the student experience in the diamond is the iForge – the UK’s first student-led makerspace. This facility allows both engineering and students from across the university to make their ideas reality while learning practical skills and, for those selected as iForge representatives, an opportunity to develop their teaching and leadership skills as well.

    Staff from a range of academic and industrial backgrounds form a team of teaching and support staff within the department of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education which is supportive, encouraging and enthusiastic about engineering education. The staff, primarily based in laboratories, teach students from a range of engineering disciplines and levels of study with the support and guidance relevant for their background. They also work throughout the year adapting lab activities to ensure they align with module content and current technologies.

    The Faculty of Engineering are able to offer and teach the activities to so many students in the diamond thanks to the assistance of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Often graduates from undergraduate courses at the University of Sheffield themselves, GTAs are current PhD students with expertise to help and guide students in each of the laboratories, increasing the staff to student ratio, and therefore better supporting the students.

    I was honoured to be invited as a guest on the “Student Experience” panel for the Decade of the Diamond celebration event. The Diamond building, and the facilities within it, have been fundamental to my development during my time at the University of Sheffield and it was great to be able to offer insight into my experience in as both a student and GTA in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Sheffield.

    It’s fantastic to see the student voice continue to be so actively involved in the continued evolution of the Diamond. After all, as Professor Stephen Beck said “the Diamond is and always was a building designed for the students”.

    Robotic arm on an exhibition stand

    In addition to the student voice session, the celebration event heard from many speakers key to the development of the Diamond building and the teaching within it, including the original architects from Twelve Architects,

    Mike Hounslow delivering an opening address

    Professor Stephen Beck, the founding Head of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education, and Professor Emeritus Mike Hounslow, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Engineering during the construction. They reflected on the development of the Diamond from its original conception to how to it is still developing today.

    Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and representatives from across industry offered insight into how the Diamond building develops well-rounded engineering graduates, equipped with the skills they need for their future careers.

    Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and representatives from across industry offered insight into how the Diamond building develops well-rounded engineering graduates, equipped with the skills they need for their future careers.

    Throughout the day, in the Moonscape study area, there was stalls displaying the fantastic work of both the diamond laboratories and each of the schools in the faculty of engineering. There were also talks from many of the schools reflecting on the opportunities they offer students, with particular focus on inclusivity and accessible research and learning tools.

    The day also allowed for many opportunities to network with members of current and previous staff who have helped shape MEE, as well as those crucial in the realisation of the Diamond building itself.

    Many thanks to Harry Day, Emma Kenny-Levick, Andrew Garrard, and all involved in organising the event – I look forward to the next one!

    When citing this work, please use the following citation:

    Barwick, S. (2025). “Celebrating a Decade of Impact at The Diamond”. Centre for Engineering Education Blog, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. January 2026. https://ceesheffield.co.uk/2026/10/27/celebratingimpact/

  • Let’s Talk Labs: Making Practical Learning Work for Everyone

    Let’s Talk Labs: Making Practical Learning Work for Everyone

    Ever felt like a lab session dragged on forever, or that you were just another face in a crowded room? A new study by Stephen Beck, Panos Lazari, and Matteo Di Benedetti from the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering has been exploring exactly that. Their research, published in the International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, sheds light on what truly enhances lab experiences for both students and staff. Their findings offer valuable insights worth considering.

    What Do Students Really Want from Labs?

    The team set out to understand how to make lab sessions more effective. They collected extensive feedback through questionnaires, focusing on two key aspects: the ideal duration of lab sessions and the optimal group size for collaboration. Their findings highlight a few crucial ways to improve lab organisation.

    Students in a Thermodynamics lab

    One of the most striking results was that students prefer shorter lab sessions. Just like attention drifts in lectures after about 20 minutes, lengthy lab sessions can lead to disengagement.

    The study suggests that two hours is the ideal maximum duration. Interestingly, students who enjoy labs are happy with the current length, while those who don’t would prefer shorter sessions.

    When it comes to group size, smaller is better. Both students and staff favour working in pairs. While some staff members find groups of three acceptable, students are less enthusiastic. The study found that groups of three tend to be less effective, possibly because one person may be left out. Groups of two or four seem to work best, likely depending on the experiment and equipment required. Notably, students who enjoy labs prefer smaller groups, while those who don’t tend to prefer larger groups. This highlights the importance of ensuring all students are actively engaged in the work.

    The Number of Labs: Quality Over Quantity?

    Surprisingly, most students are satisfied with the number of labs they have. Those who enjoy practical work would like more labs, while those who don’t would prefer fewer.

    Interestingly, some students who dislike labs still want more, possibly because they recognise their importance in engineering education. This suggests that the number of labs isn’t necessarily linked to whether students enjoy them.

    The study also highlights that group size should be flexible depending on the experiment and the level of the course. A one-size-fits-all approach may not be the best solution.

    What Does This Mean for Educators?

    It’s time to rethink how labs are structured. The key takeaways for educators are:

    1. Consider shorter lab durations, aiming for a maximum of two hours. Favour smaller groups, ideally pairs, but be flexible depending on the experiment.
    2. Ensure all students are actively engaged, avoiding group sizes where one person might be left out.
    3. Avoid reducing learning when reducing lab time or group sizes. Since lab duration and group size are resource-dependent, shortening sessions should be carefully managed to maintain educational value.

    Beck, Lazari, and Di Benedetti also examined ways to make lab time more efficient. One key recommendation is effective pre-lab activities to maximise hands-on time. Educators should also consider whether repetitive tasks are necessary and explore alternative methods like data pooling, allowing all students to fully participate. When expensive equipment is involved, a rotation system might be beneficial—letting one group use the resources while another discusses results with staff.

    The researchers even provide a practical equation explaining the relationship between lab duration, group size, and resource availability.

    The bottom line? Shorter labs with smaller groups can be just as effective as longer labs with larger groups while providing a better student experience.

    This study is a call to action for educators to rethink lab sessions, ensuring they are structured for maximum impact and engagement.

    You can check out the full paper by Beck, Lazari, and Di Benedetti here:

    Beck SB, Lazari P, Di Benedetti M. Lab group size and laboratory duration. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education. 2025;0(0). doi:10.1177/03064190251315693

    When citing this work, please use the following citation:
    Beck, S. Di Benedetti, M (2025). “    Let’s Talk Labs: Making Practical Learning Work for Everyone” Centre for Engineering Education Blog, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. February 2025.