A SHIPPING container has been given a new lease of life to engage young people with engineering, as plans for Hereford's new university continue to take shape.

The repurposed shipping container, known as Studio 1, was launched outside Hereford’s Shirehall by Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, Provost and Acting Chief Executive for New Model in Technology and Engineering (NMiTE) as part of the upcoming university's Ingenuity Studio programme.

The Ingenuity Studio aims to engage young people people in Herefordshire with engineering and features high-tech 3D scanners, 3D printers, laser cutters and digital routers to encourage ideas.

Professor Rodriguez-Falcon said: "It’s a space which reflects our mission, our learning spaces and our new approach to learning. Most of all it’s a space where we want young people to understand what being an engineer can be.

"We all experience something in our daily life that could do with modifying, improving, redesigning, reengineering. We want young people to feel engaged with the world around them, to be able to identify how improvements can be made, to harness technology to make things better. And we want them to brainstorm, to collaborate in teams, to design together.”

Studio 1 will be based outside the Shirehall until November 15, with special events planned to mark Tomorrow's Engineers Week from November 5-9.

A special open evening will take place for 16-18 year olds studying in Herefordshire on November 6, from 4pm to 7pm at Studio 1, where participants are invited to design their own micro-studio with the chance of winning a smartphone camera rig.

Home schoolers from around the county will participate in the Big Assembly at Studio 1 to watch an interactive video stream featuring inspiring engineers on November 7.

The container will then tour around the county visiting schools, colleges and sport and arts centres.

Studio 1 will be open to the public on November 2 from 3 to 4pm and Saturday November 3 and 10 from 10am to 4pm.