What benefits do public and private partnerships have when providing vital support to a young person’s careers education and how do they inspire them to follow a STEM pathway? This was one of the key questions asked at STEM Learning’s virtual business breakfast recently.
May’s event saw a panel made up of representatives from STEM Learning and lead organisations in the space sector joined by colleagues from businesses across the country, keen to share their experiences, learn from each other and look at ways we can work together now and going forward.
The panel included:
- Chair and host - Liz Whitworth, Bid Development Officer, STEM Learning
- Chris Mutlow – Director, RAL Space
- Stuart Martin - CEO, Satellite Applications Catapult
- Alex Brown – STEM Support Manager, STEM Learning
- Steph White - STEM Ambassador Project Officer, STEM Learning
The discussion focused on the position of the UK as a powerhouse in the space sector - being one of the UK’s best kept secrets - and the role that public and private partnerships play in this sector and others; providing cutting-edge technology, expertise and skills to a wide range of organisations across the UK economy. It also highlighted the importance of inspiring the next generation to embark on a career in space and in other STEM sectors and the support that was being provided to teachers through a range STEM Learning’s programmes to support them in their vision to provide a World-leading STEM education for all young people across the UK.
A major part of the conversation was also about the amazing role teachers play inspiring young people in STEM and that support given to them through programmes such as the ENTHUSE Partnerships, Nuffield Research Placements and STEM Ambassador programme was enabling them to bring real-life STEM career examples into their classroom, access STEM teaching resources and attend highly quality Continual Professional Development (CPD) to enhance their teaching and enthuse their pupils to follow a STEM pathway.
Chris Mutlow described RAL Space as an integral part of the Science, Technology and Facilities Council and the space hub for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Showcasing this partnership he described this mix of being able to be in a unique position between industry and academia that enabled them to strengthen the UK space community through scientific research, technology development, providing cutting edge facilities and strategic advice. He explained that through a wide range of STEM Ambassador outreach activities- ranging from space weather competitions, Scouts and Girl Guides ‘Space’ badge, Mission to Mars workshops to initiatives involving other disciplines such as Dance - they were able to reach out to a wider range of young people with different interests in the aim to inspire them in a future space career.
To further highlight the importance of public and private partnerships, Stuart Martin from Satellite Applications Catapult explained how their organisation was also in a unique position to work effectively between academia and the business community - raising the profile of the benefits that the space sector can bring to the UK’s economy. He described how they used their technology to support other sectors – often facilitating the ‘spark of innovation’ to their industry enabling businesses to remain competitive in a global economy. He continued by showcasing the role they play in the retail sector, supporting supermarket supply chains by using satellite images to ensuring food standards and requirements are met. Stuart also mentioned that access to a future STEM workforce was becoming increasingly important to this growing sector and that their STEM Ambassadors played a critical role in reaching school communities.
STEM Learning’s Alex Brown reflected on the amazing effort that these partnerships had made over the last year on continuing their support to schools and highlighted the key engagement stages that influence a young person’s interest in STEM subjects – in particular the importance of engagement at primary school. He also encouraged participants at the business breakfast event to engage with STEM Learning’s employer programmes that facilitated this connection between STEM businesses to schools and young people. The STEM Ambassador programme, Nuffield Research Placement programme, ENTHUSE Partnership programme and the STEM resource library. These are all key initiatives that facilitate this vital connection within local communities and across the UK. He also emphasised the valuable role teachers played in setting up STEM clubs and inviting UK-wide STEM Ambassadors into classrooms virtually and face to face to enable young people to see real-life examples of the huge and diverse range of STEM careers.
STEM Learning’s Steph White described real-life examples of how the STEM Learning Ambassador programme was connecting public and private organisations with schools through initiatives such as the STEM Ambassadors Illuminating Careers event – a virtual careers fair that brought 25 national employers together to showcase careers in a variety of sectors that reached 30,000 students. She enthused about the opportunities that young people and businesses had been given through collaborative initiatives such as this.
Finally, what was very clear in the discussion from all the panel members and participants was that ‘serendipity doesn’t happen by accident'. By partnering with organisation such as STEM Learning we are able to facilitate a vital link between business and school communities and ensure that our future skilled workforce of tomorrow is inspired, excited and engaged in STEM today.
If you are an employer that has been inspired by our recent business discussion and share our mission of world-leading STEM education for every young person in the UK, whatever their background, please contact our employer's team. Our next virtual business breakfast is taking place on 24 June 2021 when we will be looking at climate change - book your free place here
Nuffield Research Placements Programme