Learning through Experience: The 6 Core Values of ACE-Lab

At the heart of ACE-Lab is the belief that true understanding develops through experience . Active learning places students directly within the engineering process, allowing them to build, test, observe, question and refine rather than simply receive information.

ACE-Lab therefore places hands-on practical experience at the centre of learning , supporting the idea that engineering is understood most deeply when it is experienced rather than passively taught.

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.
Benjamin Franklin

Accessible by Design

ACE-Lab makes practical engineering education affordable, portable and scalable , enabling more students to access meaningful hands-on learning wherever they study.

Build Your ACE-Lab

Practice Before Theory

ACE-Lab believes practical learning should be progressive. Students begin with simple, accessible systems they can understand, build and operate before progressing to more complex engineering platforms. Theory is then used to explain, model and improve what they observe.

Model, Test, Refine

ACE-Lab uses Model-Based Design to connect modelling, simulation, implementation and validation, helping students move systematically from concept to real system and continually improve their engineering solutions.

Explore with Purpose

ACE-Lab encourages curiosity, experimentation and independent thinking . Students should ask questions, test ideas, gather evidence and learn through exploration rather than simply follow instructions.

Industry Skills by Design

ACE-Lab learning deliberately develops the tools, workflows, systems thinking and engineering judgement used in modern engineering practice, rather than simply satisfying academic outcomes.

Better through Collaboration

ACE-Lab believes engineering education improves when students, educators and industry work together . By sharing experience, ideas and feedback, ACE-Lab develops learning that is more relevant, effective and connected to engineering practice.

Meet the ACE-Lab Associates

Core Values in Action

Workshops, teaching activities, new resources, collaborations and ongoing development demonstrate how ACE-Lab's six core values are put into practice.

01 Accessible by Design

02 Practice Before Theory

03 Model, Test, Refine

04 Explore with Purpose

05 Industry Skills by Design

06 Better through Collaboration