Teacher FAQs

General information

How do I apply?

When do the activities run?

What’s the benefit for students?

Who can take part?

What is a ‘Zone’?

How much time will it take?

How much will it cost?

Will I need any special IT software or equipment?

How secure is the site?

How can I get in touch?

Taking part in the activity

How do I book a live chat?

How can students ask a question?

I’m having trouble accessing the live chat, what can I do?

Can I get a transcript of my live chat?

How do I find out who has been evicted from the Zone?

Can my students log in outside of their lesson times?

General information

How do I apply?

Click here and fill in the registration form. We’ll email you before the next activity starts to ask if you want to take part with your students.

When do the activities run?

I'm an Engineer runs three times a year, in November, March and June.
I’m an Engineer runs three times a year: November, March and June. Click here to see all currently confirmed events in the UK and Ireland.

Read the latest activity info here.

What’s the benefit for students?

Students sometimes struggle to see the applications of the things they learn in science and maths lessons, especially if they don’t currently have STEM-related aspirations.

In I’m an Engineer, students:

  • See that engineers are normal people, with hobbies and interests just like them
  • Are shown the wide range of careers within engineering — it’s not about spanners and hard hats
  • Get an introduction to a potential profession which is rarely taught as a subject in schools
  • Guide the event — they ask the questions and vote for the winning engineers
  • Have equal voice — even those too shy to speak up in class can use the text-based platform to connect with engineers

Don’t just take our word for it — take a look at some teacher case studies to see how I’m an Engineer can truly make a difference to students.

Who can take part?

Students lead the conversations in I’m an Engineer, which means all age groups, ability levels, and backgrounds are able to get something out of taking part. The activity is open to:

  • Year 5 to Year 13
  • Sixth form colleges, special schools, pupil referral units and other non-mainstream educational settings

There are a maximum of 40 student logins assigned per class, but schools can apply to have multiple classes taking part — in fact, we recommend it. Getting a whole year group involved with the activity means bigger benefits and widespread change in attitudes towards science and STEM careers.

What is a ‘Zone’?

The I’m an Engineer activity is divided into Zones. The Zones are either themed, such as Space Zone or Artificial Body Zone, or general engineering. In a themed Zone, all engineers will be working in a field connected to the theme. General Zones feature engineers from a wide range of industries.

Your class will be allocated a Zone and students are able to log in, ask questions and live chat with the 6 engineers in that Zone.

How much time will it take?

We provide all the resources and materials needed, whether you’re running I’m an Engineer with just one class or a whole year group; including suggested lesson plans and modifications to suit different students’ abilities.

We recommend spending at least 2 hours on the event. This will usually be one introductory lesson, one piece of homework (we suggest reading engineers’ profiles and posting questions in ASK) and one lesson of live chat with the engineers.

Be warned: most teachers, when asked what they would do differently next time, said ‘spend more time on I’m an Engineer’.

How much does it cost?

Each event we work with a range of organisations to offer fully-funded places to UK state-maintained schools and colleges.

If we receive more applications than we have places available we have to prioritise applications. More information on how we do that is here.

If your school has access to alternative funding e.g. through your local NCOP or careers and aspiration funding, please let us know as we may be able to create additional space to secure places for your school.

Non-state-maintained schools, and schools outside of the UK may be asked to pay a fee to take part. More information here.

Do I need any special software or equipment?

All you need are computers with internet access for your students. The live chats are text-based (no video or audio needed) and run through this site.

We have had reports that some school networks have been blocking the live chat. To make sure they will work on your system, ask your IT department to add these URLs to your school network whitelist:

*.imascientist.org.uk
*.imascientist.ie
*.imanengineer.org.uk
*.imamedic.uk
*.googleapis.com
*.gserviceaccount.com
gstatic.com
firebaseapp.com
firebaseio.com
*.firebaseio.com

How secure is it?

No personal details are shared on the site, and we moderate all content on the site. The only students who can log in are those who’ve been given access by their teacher.

You can read our safeguarding statement and see further information about the safety of taking your students online.

How can I get in touch?

We’d love to hear from you! Contact Michaela via email: michaela@mangorol.la or call the office on 01225 667922.

We’re big Twitter fans, so if you’ve got a quick question, or one you think other teachers might also want to know the answer to, you can tweet us @IAEGMOOH.

If an event is running, you can also contact us through the staffroom.

Taking part in the activity

How do I book a live chat?

Once you’ve received your log in details from us and we’ve confirmed your place on the next event, you’ll need to visit the Live Chat Booking page and fill in the form found there.

You can book one 30-minute live chat per allocated class. It’s a good idea to book your session as soon as you can — slots get filled up quickly and the engineers need enough notice to sign up.

There’s usually around 3 engineers online for each chat. If no one is available at your booking time, we’ll be in touch with you to rearrange.

To cancel or rearrange your chat booking for any reason, please get in touch by email: michaela@mangorol.la or phone us on 01225 667922 ASAP. We need to let the engineers know and allow them to get back to their day jobs!

How do students ask a question?

Students need to be logged in to send a questions to engineer through ASK. Once logged into their Zone, students can click the ‘ASK’ button to type their question and choose which of the engineers to send it to.

Watch the video to see ASK in action:

I’m having trouble accessing the live chat. What should I do?

Students can access the chat by clicking the ‘Chat’ button at the top of the page. They need to be logged in to be able to type. You can also join in the chat through your teacher account.

We open the chat five minutes before the booked start time. If your booked chat hasn’t opened on time, or you can see the chat but your students can’t type, let us know as soon as possible by calling 01225 667922.

You can ask students to do a hard refresh (Ctrl + F5) on the live chat page and make sure they are all using their individual logins.

Can I get a transcript of my live chat?

Yes! Once your live chat has ended, you’ll be taken to a page where you can click a button to download the full transcript. You need to be logged in as a teacher to do this.

If you close the page before you get a chance to download the transcript, drop Michaela an email (michaela@mangorol.la) with your school’s name, the name of your Zone, and the date and time of your live chat.

How do I find out who has been evicted from the Zone?

Evictions are announced in the staffroom at 3pm on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the final week.

You’ll also receive an email with the announcement — encourage students to add an email address on their profile so we can let them know who’s been evicted even if they’re not in a science lesson.

Keep track in the classroom of who’s still in the running with this handy evictions poster.

Can my students log in outside of their lesson times?

Certainly! They can log in anywhere with an internet connection to ask questions, read answers and post comments.

We also run an extra, after school chat in each zone as an opportunity to involve parents and carers in what you are doing in school. Students can log in from home and introduce their friends and families to the engineers. Look out for emails during the event letting you know when this will be.