The STEM Advisory Forum is an opportunity for all those interested in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to contribute their views of the STEM agenda.  

The new and exciting web site was launched on 9^th June 2008 and was formed to ensure that the wider STEM community has a facility through which they can express their views and contribute to policy formulation and development. Users can start discussions, add commentary, rate the usefulness of discussions, vote on the direction of new discussion threads and take part in votes and surveys.  

The views expressed on the website will be used to help inform the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in taking forward the government's STEM agenda. 

The project also intends to run bi-annual forum events which will provide forum members with the chance to discuss STEM related issues identified through web portal discussion, or from the STEM High Level Strategy Group. Visit http://www.stemforum.org.uk/ to find out more.

(Left to right: Liam Mullen and Josh Skilton, Trinity School.  Cameron Watson, West Bridgford Comprehensive School)

There are many things I expect to write about in relation to STEM activities – I just never thought it would be about thousands of zombies… 

On Friday, we braved the cold and accompanied 3 Student STEM Reporters to GameCity 3, the Videogame festival designed to bring the people who make games, together with the people who love them. 

After meeting in the Market Square, the students were given their press passes and GameCity Passport, for VIP access for the day.  The students’ first stop was Malt Cross. Here we investigated a number of award wining games at the Indiecade International Festival of Independent Games.  We met the creator of Machinarium, who took us through the process of how he designed the story of a little robot who has been unjustly thrown out to the scrap yard behind the city. 

After chatting to real life designers, we headed up to the ‘View from the Top’ gallery for a ‘hands-on workshop’ by North Nottingham E-Learning centre, to learn how to design and make our own game. 

We then went back to the Market Square to see Nottingham’s army of Zombies gathering to attempt to break the world record of total number of zombies gathered in one place.  This record, amazingly, was broken!! 1,227 zombies turned out in the Square to dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller (199 more than the previous attempt). 

After an inspirational day as press officers, the students departed to work on their reports – so watch out for these.  In the meantime, for more information about this great festival visit www.gamecity.org.

Please remember the East Midlands STEM Partnership Forum Event is on 28^th November 2008.  

With less than four weeks away until the big day, preparations in the STEM Support Team gather pace.  

Although some workshops are now fully booked, there are still places left, so remember to register before its too late at - http://emstempartnership.eventbrite.com/ 

Please feel free to forward the above link to anyone that may be interested in attending.

There's a STEM revolution going on in the East Midlands. Across the region, thousands of young people are discovering that science, technology, engineering and maths are creative subjects - fun, exciting, engaging and well worth thinking about for further study and careers. 

We are currently looking for anyone based in the East Midlands who is working in a STEM-related organisation and interested in assisting school students and staff to devise and run their own creative STEM activities and events during National Science and Engineering Week (6th-15th March 2009).  We welcome inspiring practitioners with a STEM background from industry or academia, including undergraduates, postgraduates and postdocs. Practitioners will receive payment. 

We are particularly looking for people in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. 

Come Alive with Science provides an opportunity for young people to recognise STEM subjects as creative, and that they are based on exploration and curiosity. As part of the Ignition* programme, secondary schools across the East Midlands will be offered support, enabling the development of Creative Science Games through collaborations between primary and secondary students, artists, teachers and scientists. 

For further details of how to get involved, please contact: Sarah Walley, Programme Manager, Ignition* on sarah@ignitefutures.org.uk. 

Ignition* is being delivered by Ignite! in collaboration with Creative Partnerships, and funded by the East Midlands Development Agency. http://www.ignitefutures.org.uk/ignite-projects/creative-science/

When we set up the STEM Student Journalist project to raise the profile of the STEM Partnership we instinctively thought that student voices would be so much more meaningful that ours! It seems we are not alone in these thoughts. ‘School Matters’ is the UK’s first and only local paper for pupils, parents and staff – and you guessed it, many of the reports are provided by the young learners themselves.

What’s even more exciting is that this paper is based in Derbyshire and is looking to expand over the East Midlands. On STEM reporting matters we can help them. I am currently writing a piece to introduce more Derbyshire Schools and Colleges to the STEM Student Journalist opportunities, especially the Awards on 10^th December and the next Media Workshop in Derbyshire on 13^th May.

Take a look at the publication and see if you can help editor Ivan Haggar and his team with such a worthwhile publication.

http://www.mpldigital.com/hp-local-media/school-matters

STEM Partnership Update 

It’s a busy week in the STEM Partnership Support Team office this week. 

This week sees the second STEM Student Journalist Briefing take place on Wednesday at BioCity, Nottingham.  This session includes guest Michael Greenwell from the Nottingham Evening Post.  Students will see how they can get involved in the project and will learn what makes good news, and how news channels are changing.   More information about the STEM Student Journalist Project can be found here.

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A week today sees our third Teleconference Meeting.  Giving partners the opportunity to discuss how we can work locally to increase impact regionally.  There are still a few places left so please e-mail me to join us on the call.  Click here for the agenda. 

If you are new to Teleconferencing and are not sure how to take part it’s easy, all you need is a telephone and computer.  All your questions should be answered in the Teleconferencing FAQ’s. 

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We are also busy in preparation for the STEM Partnership Forum Event – Developing STEM in the East Midlands, The Race to the Top - Friday 28^th November, Rolls-Royce plc. This is your opportunity to hear more about the Government’s plans for developing STEM skills and to assess how the East Midlands is performing, with keynote speaker Professor John Holman, National STEM Director, DCSF. Click here for the agenda.

We have been overwhelmed with the number of delegates registered, so ensure to book your place so you don't miss out by clicking on the register button above.

Rhaana Starling and Phil Evans are astrophysicists at the University of Leicester. They study gamma ray bursts detected by the Swift spacecraft.  Click the above link to see their ‘day-in-the-life’ video, the second one in a series of 7, produced by BBC’s Brady Haran.  

We are on the look out for more people like Rhanna and Phil.  If you think, you would make a great 'day-in-the-life' case study, or know someone that would, please e-mail me with details.

Click here to watch the 'day-in-the-life' video of scientist Aziz Aboobaker.

Next March, two exceptional young people will be crowned the UK Young Scientist of the Year and the UK Young Technologist of the Year and will win an array of amazing prizes, as well as opportunities to represent the UK youth science and technology at fairs and events internationally. The National Science Competition, a DIUS initiative which is being coordinated by The BA, is open to all 13-19 year olds who have taken part in a STEM scheme, competition or activity.

The National Science Competition is deliberately broad in the subjects it covers and in its entry criteria to ensure that anyone within the age range who would like to enter can do so. Projects and activities completed for other competitions and schemes may also be eligible for entry into this competition. The online entry form is now live and will close on 28 November 2008.

The best entries will be invited to attend the UK Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair in March 2009, where the finalists will be judged by a celebrity panel of scientists and engineers. So please do encourage talented young people in our region to enter. For more information about this competition, please go to www.nationalsciencecompetition.org

The Space Academy team are gearing up for the launch event on 2 October 2008 by Ian Pearson, Minister of State for Science and Innovation at the National Space Centre, Leicester.  This will be a significant day as the UK’s first Space Academy is officially open for business.  Students and teachers can expect a number of events throughout the year as part of this ground-breaking strategic STEM initiative.  The Space Academy is a partnership between the National Space Centre, the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester, the Science Learning Centre East Midlands and STEMNET, and is funded by emda. 

The academy has a novel structure including dedicated Outreach Post-doctoral Researchers at the partner universities bringing cutting edge space science research into the classroom.  This aims to enrich student STEM learning and will provide teachers with exciting examples of using these subjects in STEM lessons.  We also aim to get industry more involved with outreach activities by facilitating workshops and events linking them with higher education and further education institutions. 

As project manager of the Space Academy I am enormously excited at the potential of this project as I believe that with the expertise we have on board it is without a doubt going to be an outstanding success – watch this space! 

Sarah Hill, Project Manager