Anyone heard of TEDI?

[PrincessOfPreschool]

... and what do you think of it?

Would a BEng from here be worth all that money? DS thinking of applying for a Jan start. He can live at home which is his main criteria as he is too anxious to live far/alone.

I'm just really unsure if it's 'recognised' (I had never heard of it) but the course content is ideal for DS and they have verbally said they'd have him.

They’re a legitimate degree provider so no issue from that point of view. Small, which I assume would suit your dc. Degrees aren’t Engineering council accredited - but they’re more computing based so maybe not a problem.

Thank you. I didn't realise they weren't Engineering council accredited. Isn't that odd for a BEng? I don't think there's a whole lot of computing, not from what we were told on the tour. Maybe on the new Engineering and AI course. But that's not the one he wants to do.

Hmmmm... He would sign up in a flash if it were free like the old days but it's a lot of money over 3 years, obviously, and we're not sure if it's an investment, whether it would help job prospects etc .

Hi, OP -

I’ve just been reading up on TEDI, which I had not heard of.

It’s small. I don’t see the number of students but I have the sense it is 150-200, could be wrong. There are only 9 regular academic staff, plus a Maths tutor. There is a small but rather impressive list of visiting staff; however one never knows the level of their involvement.

I agree that there are some potentially strong engineers who won’t thrive in the standard university system. The TEDI assessments could work well for them.

However, the only maths requirement is GCSE grade 4 and the pedagogy is entirely Problem Based Learning. I cannot see this combination making engineers. Entrepreneurs - yes. Excellent team players, people who can communicate well - again, yes. But that

Eg the talk of how students will ‘master AI’ makes no sense, given that there appears to be no opportunity to master the core principles of computer science. Instead small groups of students ‘do coding’ - which has multiple meanings, but appears here only to mean that they learn to use routine software, or at least that is what’s highlighted.

Posted too soon.

There are similar examples throughout the curriculum.

I think TEDI is offering training comparable to the post 1992 degree programmes in specialised tech programmes, with an alternative assessment programme that is a welcome option for some.

The 3 universities behind it are all sound. The very small staff numbers could be an issue, because Problem Based Learning done right is incredibly labour intensive.

The website with its exaggerations is an embarrassment. If you think of TEDI as an alt-post 1992 and investigate carefully, it might turn out to be a good option.

Thanks so much for this in depth assessment. Yes, I think staff numbers are a bit worrying. And I'm worried what next steps will be. I think it could suit DS due to the assessment techniques and that he is a creative thinker, creator. He actually does have Maths and Physics A level (D but would have been B/C for Maths had he not had ridiculous levels of anxiety). I just wonder what job he would go on to with this, what doors it could open.

You're right on the numbers. I think it's about 85 students in first year and 200 total. His ideal courses are in Swansea and Coventry but a) he's not confident to go that far away and b) he would have to do a lot of prep work to get onto them as he doesn't have the points. Those courses are actually BAhons. He wants to get into automotive design but no idea where to start at it doesn't seem to have an obvious career path.

Oxford Brookes via a foundation year would be the obvious choice for automotive.

Thanks @titchy. He is more into the design than the engineering (always been quite arty but didn't do A level Art). Swansea and Cov offer Automotive design courses. To be honest, I think he's new happy doing anything involving cars but happier dealing with aesthetics than engines.

Hi, again -

I actually had the same thought as @titchy before reading her post.

The OB automotive design programme is very highly regarded. An aside: we are starting to think about doing up our kitchen and had our first appt with a kitchen designer last week. Chatting, he elicited that DH and I are associated with the nearest Russell Group uni, both in STEM. He shared excitedly that his DS was just about to start this very programme at OB and clearly thought it would resonate with us.

Of course we said the right things but the point is that later I looked the programme up. It seems great. Well worth a look!

I think automotive design is a well known career and prob does have a fine pathway, OP. Very sorry DS is nervous about Swansea and Coventry. Is U Staffordshire also too far away then?

I think probably a uni with existing connections to the auto industry has certain advantages, FWIW. Not clear that TEDI does.

Perhaps DS could take a year to gain some confidence - truthfully I think most YP would benefit from a gap year - and resit those A levels? Then he might feel better going into a more traditional programme.

Many do this including most of the successful YP on the British side of my family.

Or he might want to take a look at the OB FY.

Best wishes to him

Thanks so much. He's already had a year off as he was basically fairly traumatised by A levels and couldn't face anything academic 'ever again'! Having worked in retail for 8 months, looked for apprenticeships in automotive design (which don't exist), I think he now realises that his best option is further education in the right area.

Getting into the aesthetic design side of automotive is actually very opaque from my own research as someone who knows nothing! But I think Cov or Swansea would be good stepping stones into the industry and are both BAs. He might need to do a foundation in art and design. Perhaps that's what we should look at. Need to get him to the Cov open day ad well. He's still insistent he 'can't' live away from home but another year of growing up might help that.

OB sounds a bit too engineering based but I will take a look at it. I don't think he ever wants to look the 'mechanics' side of Maths in the face again after the torture of Physics!