Freedom to imagine

The 'Course hook' article was a good read and certainly gave food for thought.

Getting across to tender 15-year-olds that engineering in the UK can be rewarding, invigorating and even fun is a challenge, but I have found them to be a receptive audience at times.

I'm an engineer, not a teacher, with a fair few years and experiences behind me, so maybe the 'old-school' engineers have a duty to support their local education efforts to promote the real world of engineering to these students?

In the right company, the job can be very positive, challenging and above all rewarding both in the mind and in the pocket.

Equally, the letter 'Shift your focus' (Letters, 18 May) is a sober outlook, but so true in today's West Midlands.

However, such futuristic (science fiction?) ideas are of great value in stimulating thinking, even though the ideas are more basic and commercial.

The two points above are there to work together. Talk to students at schools and enthuse that the world of engineering is there to seek creative ideas and solutions to answer the real needs of society. First identify the need, then sort out the solutions.

Calculations and classic engineering has its correct place, but engineering is much more about freedom to imagine the future and to grow as a result.

Graham Loakes, West Midlands