Plenary Session Three Partnerships for Effective Science Enterprise Education, Lifelong Learning

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Plenary Session Three Partnerships for Effective
Science Enterprise Education, Lifelong Learning
Economic Development Speaker Nigel Akam,
Careers Scotland Panel Sandra Lowson, Careers
Scotland, Steve Brindley, SETPOINT Scotland West,
Liz Hodge, SETPOINT Scotland North Chair Ken
Richardson
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Partnerships for Effective Science Enterprise
Education, Lifelong Learning and Economic
Development
The Science Communication Conference, April 2006,
Scotland
PLENARY Session Three
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Context

• Communication
• Perception
• Image

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Context Communication

• For communication we need
• Transmitter,
• Receiver,
• Medium.

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Context Perception

• Not Receiving when
• involuntary
• unfamiliar
• not trusted
• bad process
• not memorable

X
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Context Image

• Institute of Physics survey in Einstein Year
  (2005)
• 11,000 questionnaires on attitudes to science
  completed by 11-14 year-olds throughout the UK
• Summary findings reported in TES (January 2006)

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Summary of findings

• 80 of them see scientists as doing very
  important work
• 70 of the 11-14 year-olds see scientists as
  working creatively and imaginatively and as
  working at places where new and exciting things
  happen
•  
• Over three-quarters of them see scientists as
  being really brainy people
• 40 seeing scientists work as being mostly
  tedious and repetitive
•  
• Only a third of the 11-14 year-olds see
  scientists as normal and attractive young men or
  women

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When they were asked why they might want to
become a scientist, reasons included

• Because I would get to see new and exciting
  things taking place.
•  
• Because I might be able to change and improve the
  world.
•  
• Because they get a lot of respect .and quite a
  lot of money.

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When they were asked why they might not want to
become a scientist, reasons included

• Because I want a life!
•  
• Because sometimes they dont eat, just work..
  it is kind of boring
• The stereotypical scientist will haunt me and I
  may be teased by my fellows
•  
• I would never be a scientist, because they wear
  big glasses and white coats and Im female
•  
• Because you would constantly be depressed and
  tired and not have time for family.

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Scotland Football team used to play in a pink and
yellow strip

• True
• False

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True!
On at least nine occasions between 1881 and 1951
they played in the primrose and pink racing
colours of racehorse owner Archibald Philip
Primrose, Lord Rosebery. Perhaps the most
noteable occasion the Rosebery colours were worn
was in 1900. Scotland defeated England 4-1.
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What do employers feel school leavers lack the
most?

• Soft skills e.g. team working, communication
• Technical Skills
• Qualifications

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Where is your main work based?

• Within Scotland
• Outwith Scotland

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Which of the following best describes the sector
in which you work?

• Education (schools and colleges)
• Academia
• Industry
• Government
• Other

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Partnerships for Effective Science Enterprise
Education, Lifelong Learning and Economic
Development
The Science Communication Conference, April 2006,
Scotland
PLENARY Session Three
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A 360 degree view of Make it in Scotland . . . .
Nigel Akam Science Technology
Matters for Scotland (STMfS) Project, Careers
Scotland SETPOINT Advisory Group
Science and Engineering Ambassador
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Background

• 30 years in the electronics sector
• Site Training Manager at IBM Greenock
• Last 3 years poacher turned game-keeper
• Working to encourage more young people into STEM
  study and future careers
• Schools
• Academia
• Industry
• Joined Careers Scotland in November 2005
• STMfS project continuation / expansion of
  previous projects

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Science Technology Matters project

• Addresses a number of well documented and
  recognised Science, Technology, Engineering and
  Maths (STEM) related issues within education and
  industry
• Shortage of young people studying more than one
  science subject past S2, then onto higher grade
  and possible FE/HE.
• Current / predicted skills shortages in high
  technology industries
• Predicted lack of science teachers to meet basic
  demand in all areas in the near future this is
  particularly evident in Physics
• Supports the Scottish Executive Science Agenda
  and Scottish Enterprises High Technology
  Strategy
• Helping young people to make informed decisions
  on their career planning journey

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• Make it

Scotland
in
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Make it in Scotland event

• National event organised by Careers Scotland
  covering 2nd year cohort (55K pupils)
• Key decision-making year for Standard Grade
  subjects
• Originally developed about 5 years ago to give
  pupils a raised awareness of job opportunities
  within the manufacturing sector
• With manufacturing decline, scope has widened.
• Glasgow / West of Scotland event covers 15K
  pupils
• Huge logistics exercise too large for an
  individual company
• Relies on Careers Scotland Industry Education
  partnership.

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Make it partnerships

• First involved in January 2003
• Joint workshop between Glasgow and Strathclyde
  University Electrical / Electronic Engineering
  Departments and Motorola / Freescale
• Chips for Everyone workshop (developed by
  student technology teachers at the Robert Clark
  Centre)
• Since Nov 2003, workshop has supported annually 7
  or 8 events (25 days 100 people days of
  support)
• Only possible through active partnerships
• University staff and students
• Motorola / Freescale staff
• Science and Engineering Ambassadors (SEAs)
• SETPOINT / Careers Scotland staff

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Future improvements

• More industry support especially from
  technology sector
• Better support for Small Medium Enterprises
  (SMEs) - events seen as very time / people
  consuming
• Improve the public image of STEM . . eg more
  involvement of parents and other careers
  professionals (first Make it in Scotland
  Parents Evening held this year)
• Wider use of the SEAs programme to help support
  the events

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• Science Engineering Ambassadors
• Administered by SETPOINT Scotland / underwritten
  by the DTI
• Replaced the Neighbourhood Engineering Scheme
• Key approach using practicing scientists,
  technologists and engineers
• Volunteers who can provide connections with the
  world of work
• Male, female, young, old, every level - a key aim
  is flexibility

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Benefits of Partnership

• For School pupils . .
• Ideal way to expose them to a wide range of
  technology industries and positive role models
• For STEM communicators . .
• reduce duplication of effort
• improve collaboration / better use of (scarce)
  funding and resources
• For industry partners . .
• Provides training and development for employees,
  especially those on Modern Apprenticeships,
  Graduate Training programmes etc
• For Scotland . .
• Long term investment for the future health of
  Scotlands technology sector . . but it will
  take gt5 years to see tangible benefits

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• Make it

Scotland
in
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• Make it

Scotland
in
- a partnership success!
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Building Effective Partnerships for a Science
Society
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Should there be a single National programme to
promote / raise awareness that all major STEM
promotion agencies contribute to?

• Yes
• No
• Dont know

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Who should be the main target of this National
programme?

• Upper primary (P6, P7)
• Lower secondary (S1, S2)
• Upper secondary (S3 upwards)
• Teachers and parents

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What would be the single most effective means of
encouraging young people into STEM careers?

• Developing positive role models
• Providing positive work experience
• Able and enthusiastic teachers
• Making science relevant to life
• Integrating science into a new broader curriculum

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Where should we focus our efforts to find the
STEM teachers of tomorrow?

• Develop primary teachers
• Undergraduate recruitment
• Recruit science graduates
• Recruit mature scientists

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Plenary Session Three Partnerships for Effective
Science Enterprise Education, Lifelong Learning
Economic Development Speaker Nigel Akam,
Careers Scotland Panel Sandra Lowson, Careers
Scotland, Steve Brindley, SETPOINT Scotland West,
Liz Hodge, SETPOINT Scotland North Chair Ken
Richardson