The next EM STEM Partnership Forum will be taking place in Leicester at Embrace Arts for directions and to book tickets please vist. http://ignitioncelebration.eventbrite.com/.  

EM STEM Partnership Forum: Taking place on the 13th September 2011 will explore STEM Careers – Employer Engagement with Young People  STEM skills are crucial for the UK’s economic future and its workforce will need strong partnerships between business and education in order to ensure these demands are met. Kirsten Bodley, STEMNET Chief Executive says:"It's clear that the big growth areas in the coming decades are going to be those that require proficiency in STEM skills," says Bodley. "Whether that's building giant wind turbines or microscopic electronic components, we will need a highly-qualified and STEM-literate workforce. However, unless STEM-reliant industries play their part we will struggle to reach the required level."http://www.engineeringapprentice.co.uk/article/33064/Employer-must-be-proactive-in-STEM-debate-says-STEMNET.aspx

13/04/2011 Engineering Apprentices website This year’s STEM Forum will focus on working relationships between the business and education by presenting practical advice from a Head Teacher and Business Leader perspective. There will also be an Employer Panel discussion on the lessons learned from working with education partners, followed by an open floor Q&A session.Simon Collins, Human Resources Manager from Caterpillar UK Ltd, will be speaking at the event, with other speakers to be confirmed.  Register now for your opportunity to gain insight into how to operate strong business and education partnerships in the East Midlands. Also happening is the Ignition* Celebration event, taking place in the same venue.

Book your tickets for the the Lab 13 showcase (taking place following the next forum eveny and the Ignition* Celebration day on http://ignitioncelebration.eventbrite.com/.

Coming soon..... The Biggest Bang Nottingham Has Ever Seen!

On Tuesday the 28th of June, students from the whole of the East Midlands will come to Nottingham University's East Midlands Conference Centre in the greatest festival of regional science talent yet experienced! Come and marvel at the inside of the earth in 3D, join in the fight for cleaner energy, and experience the magic of the Act Out Theatre Company as they celebrate female engineers throughout the centuries!

Most importantly of all, however, is the competition judging the very best young scientists, engineers and STEM clubs the region has to offer. Those brining projects and clubs can win cash prizes and go forward to the national final in March 2012.

For more information, visit http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/eastmidlands or phone 01827 316297.

28/06/11- The Big Bang East Midlands- East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham.

Be there! 

Many congratulations to Nottingham High School for being crowned national runners-up in the national final of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench Competition.The Nottingham High School team won the East Midlands’ final in January and went on to compete in the national final on Saturday 2nd April at Imperial College London.A very strong field of 28 teams were present, each having won their respective regional finals. They took part in an intensive day of written papers and practical work in the university labs.  The team did really well in all sections, only narrowly missing out on first place. They were presented with a silver salver and some tokens. Congratulations to the Nottingham High School team for representing the East Midlands so well!

Congratulations to the University of Northampton for winning the Best Engineering Event Award for National Science and Engineering Week 2011. This British Science Association award was for the event on 16^thFebruary for Year 8 girls: ‘Girls Achieving in Engineering and Science - Anyway, Anyhow, Anyplace, Anytime, Girls can do it too!’

The event was organised by Tricia Goodchild of the University’s School of Science and Technology. It featured a highly engaging talk from Julie Greensmith, Senior Computer Science Lecturer at the University of Nottingham, a drama production taking the pupils on a journey through engineering, a taster of the University’s NVision experience and lots of interactive workshops.

Congratulations to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School from Ashbourne which has won the most recent STEM Challenge! The competition asked students from across the UK to work in teams to design a wetsuit for Jimmy Goddard, one of Great Britain’s leading paratriathletes. The team competed against seven other finalist teams from around the country in a Dragon’s Den-style interview on Saturday 12^th March at the Big Bang Fair in London. The team impressed Head Judge Jimmy Goddard with their talent and enthusiasm for the Challenge: “It was fantastic to see such a young group of people, aged only 11 to 12, use their skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths to produce such an outstanding design for the competition.” Full story here.

Castle College has announced significant new provision in Science and Engineering which will start in September 2011. The School of Science and Academic Progression will be introducing HNC and HND in Applied Science with routes in Biology and Chemistry.  It will also continue to develop its provision in Applied Science at levels 1 to 3 with specialist routes in Medical and Forensic Science as well as Access programmes in Science and Nursing.  GCE ‘A’ Level provision will focus on the College’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) expertise with programmes including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths.

Engineering will also be extending its range of courses with the introduction of an HNC in Automotive Engineering which will allow people already employed in the motor industry or students progressing from Level 3 to study part-time for two years and will incorporate the latest technologies involved in 21st century automotive engineering including hybrid and renewable technology.

From September 2011 students will also be able to enrol on one of two full-time Motorcycle Maintenance courses based at the Highfields Centre.  The Level 1 course will cover all the basic principles of motorcycle design, construction and operation of main components whilst the Level 2 option will explore the technical needs for today’s motorcycle industry and provide essential knowledge for service technicians working on motorcycles in all types of garages and dealerships. 

 Finally, the College will be entering the automotive heavyweight division with the introduction of Level 2 and Level 3 Heavy Goods Vehicle Repair courses.

 For more details about the new provision in Science and Engineering call 0845 845 0500 now.