STEMNET awards for inspiring the next generation
22 Nov 2012 by Evoluted New Media
Laboratory News was invited to attend the National STEMNET Awards ceremony at the House of Lords on Wednesday 21st November to celebrate the achievements of schools and businesses in inspiring young people in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The winners received prizes from speakers CERN Director-General Professor Rolf Heuer (pictured), Science Technology Facilities Councils (STFC) CEO Professor John Womersley and politician Lord Sainsbury.
As part of the award, all winners will receive a trip to CERN – home of the Large Hadron Collider – courtesy of STFC.
Kirsten Bodley, STEMNET Chief Executive said: “The work we do with our partners every year helps more than 600,000 young people. These awards are designed to reward the most enthusiastic, energetic and inspirational individuals and organisations working in STEM and encourage others in the sector to see the benefit of offering their time to motivate the next generation.”
The awards were supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The winners are as follows:
Most Dedicated STEM Ambassador: Elizabeth Orchard, a civil engineer for Peter Bretts Associates in Reading. Elizabeth is dedicated to helping local students learn about engineering careers and is collaborating with three local colleges to design a new curriculum for a University Technical College, due to open in 2013.
Most Inspirational Technician: Laura Harvey, an Apprentice Higher at BT. Laura is based in BT’s Suffolk offices and works on the software engineering apprenticeships as part of their Innovation and Design technician apprenticeship. Laura regularly goes to local schools to give careers talks and raise awareness of opportunities in STEM that don’t require a university degree.
Most Dedicated Teacher: Robert Duddridge, lead teacher in Science and ICT and STEM coordinator at the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough. Robert received the award for his dedication to using STEM to improve students’ employability skills and has been responsible for over 6000 pupil/ambassador interactions at the school over the past three years.
Most Dedicated Employer: ST Robotics, based in Cambridge, makes bench-top robots for use in industry. It received the award for developing a robotics project for schoolchildren (at their own cost) that they are rolling out to schools in Cambridge.
If you’re interested in learning more about STEMNET or even becoming a STEM ambassador, visit: http://www.stemnet.org.uk/
