Over 70 pupils aged 11–22 years from across the East Midlands will hone their reporter skills when they gather for the fifth regional STEM Student Journalist Media Workshop on Thursday 11th February. They will join the growing army of young writers and film-makers who have been recruited by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda)-funded STEM Partnership, to boost the coverage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) news stories. The forthcoming National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW), 12-21 March, will be an ideal platform for the students to start their STEM reporting.
Hosted at The Roundhouse, Derby College, the half day interactive workshop will be led by BBC Business Correspondent Rob Pittam and BBC News Camerawoman Sara Shepherd. Rob and Sara will talk about their real life experiences, different types of media; covering how technology is changing the world of journalism and the impact of ethics and values on their work. Rob and Sara say "We're looking forward to meeting the STEM reporters to pass on tips and share our experiences with the next generation of journalists...."
Students will experience the real life excitement of journalism by joining in a newsroom simulation, where they will learn about interviewing techniques and writing news stories. The students will then be able to apply these skills in school or college to develop their STEM reports.
Students from around the East Midlands region have already signed-up to attend the event, which is part of the wider emda-funded campaign to encourage the take-up of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The STEM Student Journalist project allows pupils to write, record or video a news story and submit the finished report to the STEM Partnership website. Eye-catching and newsworthy items might even make the local papers. All STEM reporters are eligible to enter the NSEW STEM Student Journalist Competition 2010, taking place in March.
Andrew Morgan, emda’s Skills and Communities Director, commented: “This is a fantastic initiative which will inspire young people to think about STEM subjects in an engaging and imaginative way. It’s really important that we stimulate interest amongst the next generation of scientists and engineers since they will help the region to flourish, prosper and compete in the competitive global economy. I’m looking forward to seeing how these young people interpret and present their ideas using the latest technology to get their message across.”