Week Five – Saturday 18 April 2026

We are in the same building (Engineering) but in a different room (Electronics Laboratory on the 3rd floor). We will have our break in Room 209 on the 2nd floor (to save everyone going up and down 3 flights of stairs) so please bring your snacks upstairs with you – but please do not eat or drink in the Electronics Laboratory.

If you have long hair please bring something to tie it up with.

Brief summary

Registration 9.45am for 10am start at the Engineering Building (entrance on Mile End Road) at https://what3words.com/preoccupied.fish.party. Bring a snack/drink for the mid-morning break. Please let Jo know if not attending. Parents / guardians can stay in foyer as long as another event isn’t happening there.

Please make a note of my (Jo) contact details – 07706148772 / j.brodie@qmul.ac.uk – a simple text or email “XYZ isn’t coming today” is all I need, if you can’t make it on the day.

Much more detailed info

Welcome to the our fifth session.

We’ll be in the Electronics Laboratory on the 3rd floor of the Engineering Building (details below in #2 and #5). There is a gents loo outside the lab and a ladies loo on floor 2 below. Hopefully everyone is already familiar with the accessible gender-neutral loo on the ground floor / foyer.

⬆️ If you don’t feel like walking up three flights of stairs there is a small lift (opposite the loo in the foyer) which will take you to the second floor, so it’s only 1 flight of stairs.

Please let Jo know if you can’t attend this session: j.brodie@qmul.ac.uk. Please don’t rely on telling teachers as they might not have my contact details, thank you.

Remember to bring a snack for the mid-morning break. You can have the snack in Room 209.

1a. What (students), in the Electronics Lab

Dr Tijana Timotijevic “Hacking the Grid”

We are the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the session this week will look at the EE part of our name :) No computers / laptops needed.

This week’s class will be about how electricity is generated and transmitted throughout the grid. We’ll be using (after a safety briefing!) power supply units, digital multi-meters and learning about transformers, electrical power and losses (efficiency) as well as renewable energy.

“The workshop will be about the energy transmission in the grid and the challenges of providing and distributing energy through current technology. Through the activities, we will quantify and hence start to understand the challenges of producing sufficient power through sustainable sources. We will use standard electronic instruments such as power supply units and digital multimeters, and will play with crank-shank generators, coils, magnets, and coaxial transmission lines.“

1b. What (parents & guardians), in foyer

If there’s not another event happening and the porter is happy for you to do stay you may be able to sit in the foyer and wait while the class runs. QMUL has free guest wifi (QM-Visitor – no login or registration required). There’s a Sainsbury’s nearby for snacks (also one right next to Stepney Green station and a Tesco very near the station). If porters or other staff ask you to leave though please do so, taking all belongings and any snack wrappers with you (or use the bins).

2. Where

It’s the same venue and entrance as for all previous workshops – we’ll once again be in The Engineering Building (but this time we’ll be upstairs) on Mile End Road. (Please see 5. Venue directions below for more detailed information).

Exact same entrance and building as last two weeks, marked in green.

That entrance looks like this, with 5 metal bollards in front. It’s right next to a bus stop (25, 205 buses). On Google Maps Streetview it looks like this.

What3Words for this entrance: https://what3words.com/preoccupied.fish.party

Note: the post code (E1 4NS) is not very informative as we are a campus university so all post arrives centrally before being redistributed, and we are some distance from the post code ‘point’.

3. When

Saturday 18 April 2026.
Registration will be from 9.45am but you can come to the building any time after 9.30am.
The class begins at 10am and ends at 12.30pm. We’ll have a short break in the middle for snacks.
I will wait with any student who hasn’t been collected but please collect everyone by 1pm, thank you.

4. Please bring a snack

We will have a mid-morning break at some point during the workshop. Please bring with you a snack and drink if you would like one. There is a Sainsbury’s on Mile End Road just across the road from the venue (also one near Stepney Green station, and a Tesco).

5. Venue directions

From Stepney Green tube station [NEAREST]

The nearest tube station is Stepney Green tube station. Exit the station and turn left (you are now on Mile End Road (A11) and Globe Road (B120) is on your left (you’ll cross Globe Road). If you need to get a snack you have Sainsbury’s on your left (on Globe Road) and a Tesco in front of you once you’ve crossed Globe Road.
Keep walking up Mile End Road, cross Bancroft Road and keep going until Bus Stop D. The entrance to the Engineering Building is on your left with the 5 metal bollards and glass door entrance. If you see an enormous white building (that’s the Queen’s Building) and clocktower, also the People’s Palace, you’ve gone a bit far :)

If you are arriving by bus it’s the 25 or 205 which will drop you closest, at Bus Stop D.

From Mile End tube station

Mile End station is a little further away (but not much).
If you want to take the bus (25 or 205) Stop C is to your right as you exit the station – alight at Bus Stop E (Queen Mary University of London) by the Sainsbury’s.
If you want to just walk then turn left as you exit the station (you are on Mile End Road) and keep walking in that direction (you’re walking in the direction of Stepney Green). There are plenty of shops on the way including a Sainsbury’s that’s close to the venue.
You can cross to the other side of Mile End Road at the Sainsbury’s and keep walking in the same direction.
When you cross the road you’ll be looking at a very large white building called the Queen’s Building which is set back from the road. Next to it is the People’s Palace and next to that is the Engineering Building – where we are. Look for the glass door entrance and five metal bollards.

Other bus routes that go nearby include 309 (Stepney Green station) and 339 (passes part of Mile End Road).

Here’s what the Electronics Lab looks like. Please don’t touch anything until instructed to do so! :)