Nine teams of students aged between 12 and 14 from Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire schools have spent 12 weeks working on a project designed to inspire the scientists, engineers and business entrepreneurs of the future. The students are taking part in the Pera Foundation’s Go4SET (Go for Science, Engineering and Technology) programme, which is run in association with the Engineering Development Trust. Having completed their project, the students will be attending a Celebration and Assessment Day at Pera in Melton Mowbray on the 17th March.
Like the other teams at the Celebration and Assessment Day, the students are working with Pera Foundation volunteers on a business project centred on recycling and will be presenting their conclusions to judges who will be awarding prizes in such areas as best project, best teamwork and for innovation.
The Pera Foundation helps support the local community; in particular young people aged 14-30. It works closely with the Prince’s Trust and other partner organisations helping to deliver programmes which get young people interested in business activities, learning enterprising skills and working on community based projects. The Pera Foundation Go4Set project has been sponsored by Pera through the Pera Foundation and aims to teach young people how to be enterprising and make a profitable business out of recycling material from their school.
Pera has taken the lead in stimulating the Go4SET programme in the East Midlands by providing mentors for 9 schools and hosting the Celebration and Assessment Day.
Ann Ward a teacher at John Ferneley School in Melton Mowbray says: “We are really proud of the effort that our students are putting into this project. It involves a lot of work outside the normal curriculum but they are really enthusiastic about applying science and engineering to a real environmental problem, GO4Set has really inspired them.”
The recycling project involves looking at the materials that come onto the school site, how they are used and how any waste products are disposed. An assessment is then made of the contribution that recycling can make, and the financial benefits of making it into a sustainable business.
Go4SET is a work-related learning scheme designed to stimulate young people’s interest in science, engineering and technology (SET) at a key stage in their education. Delivered by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) and funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) through its £6 million STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) initiative, the project links schools and businesses together to deliver a solution to an environmental problem which is both relevant to the school and the company.
Donna Palmer, a Pera Foundation volunteer, who has been working with a John Ferneley school team says: “As a Scientist, I am really passionate about engaging young people in a science or engineering based business. Participating in the Pera Foundation Go4SET programme has given me the opportunity to inspire the scientists and engineers of the future as well as supporting a school in the local community. The Students have been faced with real environmental issues and have confidently used science and engineering to suggest solutions to those issues. The commitment and enthusiasm of the students has been phenomenal and has given me a real buzz.”
Andrew Morgan, East Midlands Development Agency’s (emda) Skills and Communities Director, added: “Go4SET is an excellent scheme, which gets the region’s students involved with local businesses and nurtures talent by inspiring students to become the scientists and engineers of the future. Our partnership with EDT to deliver this inspiring project is particularly important to maintain the East Midlands’ future economic development and help it become a flourishing region.”
Schools or companies interested in taking part in future Go4SET programmes should contact Geoff Jellis at the Engineering Development Trust on 0115 951 6688