News
Monday 3 July 2006
Schools' science and engineering celebration
This year’s Annual Celebration of Schools’ Science and Engineering in the East Midlands looks set to be the biggest yet. More than 180 of the region’s budding scientists, engineers and technologists will be displaying exciting science and engineering projects to compete for prizes at the event at Nottingham Trent University.
It will bring together the regional competitions for the BA CREST Awards, Young Engineers K’Nex Challenge and Young Engineers for Britain. In addition, secondary students will be taking part in exciting activities run by the University and sixth-formers will be challenged to think more deeply about the science of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is backing the event, which is being hosted by the University’s Centre for Effective Learning in Science (CELS). The aim is to celebrate and reward students’ creativity and ingenuity in the areas of science, engineering and technology in schools.
Sue Kirby, Director of Policy and Communications at emda said, “emda is pleased to sponsor the Annual Celebration of Schools’ Science and Engineering in the East Midlands. The event helps promote the importance of developing a culture of innovation amongst our young people.”
“Increasing science, engineering and technology skills across the East Midlands is vital to the creation of a knowledge-based economy. We need to inspire young people to develop these skills if we are to create a flourishing region for their future.”
CELS Outreach Coordinator at Nottingham Trent University, Georgina Westbrook, said: “CELS is looking forward to hosting and being involved in the CREST awards for the first time.”
“It’s always great to see the variety of projects and the effort that has been put into them across the age groups. We hope the lectures and workshops we are providing for the students will inspire and maintain their interest in science.”
Judges for the event are drawn from representatives of the supporting organisations, universities, local senior teachers and lecturers and the Science and Engineering Ambassadors programme.
The event is being managed by SETPOINT Leicestershire with support from the other four SETPOINTs in the East Midlands region that promote the BA CREST Awards.
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Notes to editors: Prizes for the best BA CREST Award projects are being sponsored by ALStec Group Ltd of Whetstone, Leicestershire and AstraZeneca R&D of Charnwood, Loughborough. The top BA CREST Award projects at the event will go forward to compete at the BA CREST Science Fair in London in the spring of 2007.
Newage AVK SEG of Stamford is sponsoring some of the Young Engineers for Britain prizes. The winners of the regional competition, open to ten to 19-year- olds, will go forward to compete in the Annual Celebration of Engineering to be held on 11 September at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
Other sponsors of the event include Engineering Employers Federation East Midlands and Mid Anglia Association, Government Office for the East Midlands and M2 Financial Ltd of Nottingham.
The Young Engineers K’Nex Challenge is for winners of area competitions for eight to 11-year-olds who will be challenged to build a structure using K’Nex kits, with K’Nex donating the prizes.
BA CREST Awards are awarded for science, engineering and technology project work by secondary and sixth form students and are sponsored nationally by AstraZeneca plc and Research Councils UK. They are managed by the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
For more information about the BA CREST Awards visit www.the-ba.net/crest or contact the Regional Manager, Garth Lee, on +44 (0)7973 655783. For information on Young Engineers visit www.youngeng.org.
Media enquiries please contact Dave Rogers, Press Officer, Nottingham Trent University, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8782 or via email: dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk.
Or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, Nottingham Trent University, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8774 or via email: therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk.
