Diploma for 14 to 19-year-olds
Back to Diploma in Manufacturing & Product Design news
18th Dec 2009
Diploma students find Amoré® with Müller® Dairy
It was a challenge which had mouths watering and taste buds tingling but a group of Stoke students finally found out if the fruits of their labour could compete with the best in the snack business.
The teenagers, who are studying the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design (MPD) at Edensor 
Technology College and Thistley Hough High School, have been working with yogurt-maker Müller Dairy to develop a new healthy snack to feature as part of their luxury Amoré range.
Technology College and Thistley Hough High School, have been working with yogurt-maker Müller Dairy to develop a new healthy snack to feature as part of their luxury Amoré range.In September, the 18 students paid a visit to Müller Dairy HQ in Market Drayton where they met with staff from the marketing, research and development, packaging design and legal departments. Product managers then set them the challenge of designing and producing a healthy snack. After gathering ideas from the experts, the students returned to the classroom to begin work on the project.
Last week, Müller Dairy bosses visited the students in Stoke to see how they had got on with their recipes and product packaging.
Will Potts, who is co-ordinating delivery of the Diploma in MPD at City of Stoke Sixth Form College, said: “This has been a great project for students to get to grips with. Not only have they had to come up with the actual snack but they have also had to design the packaging for it too. I think the students have found it a real eye-opener to see just how much thought and work actually goes into creating a product that can be put on a supermarket shelf.
“They have had some great feedback from Müller Dairy about their ideas and products which they will learn from for future projects. The Diploma is really starting to take off here, students are finding it challenging but fun and enjoyable, and we have more projects planned with other companies next term.”
The Diploma in MPD has been developed in collaboration with employers to offer an alternative to GCSEs and A-Levels. It enables students to develop practical skills by applying theory in subjects like maths, IT, science and English to the real-life contexts of manufacturing.
Over the next two years, the group from Stoke, all aged between 14 and 15, will split their time between school, college and the workplace. Companies including Johnson Tiles and specialist suppliers of tableware to the hotel industry Dudsons have signed up alongside Müller Dairy. They will also host site visits, offer work placements and oversee work-related projects, giving students the chance to study different aspects of manufacturing and acquire a wide variety of skills and knowledge.
Müller Dairy chief executive, Stewart Gilliland, said: “The students’ work was very impressive and they showed that they are taking on board the complexities and attention to detail of product design. They are the promising future of this part of our industry and we believe the course sets an excellent precedent for what can be achieved with collaboration between business and education.”
Next term, the Diploma in MPD students will be working with Dudsons, a world-leading specialist in the supply and manufacture of ceramic tableware for the hospitality industry, to create limited edition merchandising for the Regent Theatre in Stoke. The products will be sold to raise money for a creative learning event to be hosted by the Theatre which will benefit Creative and Media Diploma learners. Students will make a visit to the theatre in the New Year to receive their brief before setting about work on designs.
All students taking the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design study the core themes of business and enterprise, product design and materials science, and production systems. They also select additional and specialist options which could include vocational qualifications related to specific manufacturing sub-sectors. All students must complete a work-related project supported by employer mentors. In addition, a minimum of 10 days work experience must be completed, and all students are assessed on both their functional and employability skills including English, maths, ICT, team work, problem solving and critical thinking.
The Diploma in MPD is available at three levels – foundation, higher and advanced – and is intended to lead onto further study at college or university, an Apprenticeship or other vocational training in the workplace. All 18 students in Stoke are registered for the higher-level course, which will give them a qualification broadly the same as seven good GCSEs.
The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design is one of 17 new qualifications being phased in for 14-19 year olds to sit alongside GCSEs and A-Levels and will be available to all students in England by 2013. For more information, visit the website for the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design, at http://www.manufacturingdiploma.co.uk/.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Manufacturing Diploma Development Partnership, by Nexnet PR, Leeds, www.nexnet.co.uk. For further information call Nexnet on 0113 247 0029 or email joanne.mead@nexnet.co.uk or paul.newham@nexnet.co.uk.