ENGINEERING students have been given a chance to exchange ideas with youngsters in France and Germany.

EU funding has been secured for the Comenius Project, an initiative between Redcar and Cleveland College and three overseas sites.

It is designed to raise awareness of alternative energy sources and to encourage students to benefit from exposure to different cultures.

The three-year project, with two colleges in Germany and one in France, involves Heinrich Schickhardt Schule College in Freudenstadt, Berufsschulzentrum Stockach College in Stockach, Lycee Polyvalent Blaise Pascal College in Colmar, as well as Redcar and Cleveland College.

Students will go on a series of visits to and from each college.

Shaun Flewker-Barker, a National Diploma Engineering student, and Alexander Cook, a BTEC National Diploma in Construction student, have already visited Colmar and next month French and German students will come to the proposed Redcar wind farm site.

In June, a trip from Redcar to Freudenstadt is planned, to witness wind farm installations and discuss technical aspects of wind energy.

Shaun said: "My trip to Colmar gave me a great opportunity to experience how learning institutions in other countries treat the subject of engineering. By pooling our ideas we found we could adopt a variety of approaches. For example, we explored the subject of wind-powered robotics and how our work could help to safeguard or improve the environment."