Tag: STEM

Edinburgh Tech Star wins at 2024 Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards

2024 Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards Winners Announced

Celebrating the Most Inspirational Women in STEM

The winners of the 2024 Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards have been announced, celebrating the most inspirational women working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Now in their 14th year, the awards shine a spotlight on the industry’s most exceptional talent from all stages of the career journey, from apprentices to C-suite, from the UK and beyond.

While the technology industry is pioneering, innovative and exciting in many ways, women only make up 26% of its workforce[1]. The absence of visible female leaders and role models remains a critical issue in the drive to attract, develop, retain, and advance the industry’s female talent.

A study of the everywoman in Tech community, in collaboration with Bupa, found that for 39% of women working in technology, the imposter phenomenon and the female role model deficit remained as their top challenges in achieving their career ambition.[2] 

The survey revealed that this scarcity of role models is prevalent across the board, with entry-level women recognising this in equal measure to women who have made it to the C-suite. The breadth and diversity of talent that the everywoman award programme uncovers every year continues to address a vital industry wide need.  

Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman comments: ““As everywoman celebrates its 25th anniversary we are reminded that the impact role models have remains as powerful today as when we started.

“Role models serve not just as beacons of achievement, but also as tangible proof that success is attainable, providing a roadmap that others can use to navigate their career progression.

“We congratulate this year’s winners, who are a powerful group of role models that embody what women in tech want to see more of and our male allies who have a critical role to play in changing the landscape of technology.”

The DIGITAL STAR AWARD was awarded to Rose Ulldemolins, Tech School Lead at Lloyds Banking Group, from Edinburgh.

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Since being reskilled Rose has done a variety of tech roles, from a full-stack Engineer to Engineering Community Lead and now to Tech School Lead.

With a passion for I&D, she Co-Chairs a 1,700 strong network ‘Women ConnecTech’, whose aim is to improve gender diversity in the industry.

This included running a program to upskill over 100 colleagues to be able to code. Following its success, she is now re-running this for over 250 people. 

Rose is relentless in her pursuit of gender equality, and fearlessly shares her vulnerabilities to establish safe and supportive environments where women can share their experiences and strive for excellence.

Yolande Young, CISO at Bupa Global & UK comments: “A huge congratulations to this year’s winners of the Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards.

“It’s testament to their achievements and the positions they hold, not just within technology, but also as positive and inspirational role models and leaders.

“The standard of entries was extremely high, reflecting the wealth of female talent in our industry. Everyone who was nominated should be extremely proud of their achievements. At Bupa we’re committed to ensuring that women are fully supported to fulfil their career ambitions. It was an honour to meet so many brave, caring, and responsible leaders who are working towards a bright future for our industry.”

With this year’s theme ‘Empower. Transform. Thrive.’, the 2024 Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards ceremony and dinner took place at The Park Plaza in London on 14 March 2024, after the annual everywoman in Technology Forum, where they welcomed over 600 tech industry leaders and stars.

To find out more about the winners or register your interest in next year’s awards, visit www.everywoman.com/techawards. 

@everywomanUK

#ewTechAwards 

Edinburgh schoolboys present sustainable building plans at the Houses of Parliament

A group of students from Scotland’s leading independent day and boarding school for boys, Merchiston Castle School, spoke at the Houses of Parliament in October as part of the British International Education Association’s Youth STEM Forum.

Five of Merchiston’s students were selected to speak at the Forum after winning the prestigious Sustainable Building Design Award in the British International Education Association’s international STEM competition.

Competing with hundreds of other schools from across the globe, including Poland, Pakistan, Canada and Spain, the Edinburgh pupils’ extensive research, pragmatic approach and pioneering design saw Merchiston receive the prestigious STEM award.

Fuelled by predictions that much of Leith will succumb to flooding by 2030, the boys designed a versatile, flood-resistant yet energy-efficient building.

The comprehensive final report showcased a meticulously crafted solution that could be adapted to diverse global locales, demonstrating the groups’ creativity, foresight, and pragmatism in addressing the climate emergency.

Mrs Chapman, Merchiston’s MerchiSTEM coordinator, said of the win: “The British International Education Association STEM competition allows pupils to come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems.

“This draws on and further develops a variety of skills our pupils already have, such as primary and secondary research, report writing, analysing information and visual presentation methods.

“Merchiston’s extracurricular STEM group, MerchiSTEM, embraced the challenge wholeheartedly, and we are incredibly proud of all they have achieved. Speaking at the Houses of Parliament about their design proposal was an incredible opportunity, and one I am sure the boys will not forget for some time!”

Fergus W, a member of Merchiston’s winning team, described the win as “incredibly rewarding”.

He added: “Speaking at the Houses of Parliament was a huge privilege, and we were very proud to be there – and grateful to our teachers for their support.

“As young people, we think it is very important for us to share our opinion on serious, current issues such as Climate Change as this will impact our future.

“We hope that we are listened to and considered in any future planning to do with sustainability so that we can contribute to planning and preparing for our future.”

Charity calls on First Minister to back young people as the solution to transforming the nation’s dying high streets 

Scottish charity TechFest is calling on First Minister Humza Yousaf to support its vision of transforming high streets throughout Scotland before it is too late, and they die completely.

TechFest promotes STEM to school pupils throughout Scotland. The TechFest Blueprint Challenge is back this year to support all S3 – S6 pupils as they play their role in saving the country’s high streets.  

The competition, aligned with the CREST Awards and grounded in STEM, asks students to come up with realistic ideas for regenerating failing high streets.

Sarah Chew, Managing Director of TechFest, said: “Scotland’s high streets are dying, and regenerating them is a huge challenge. We need the First Minister’s help to place this at the forefront of the national and local agenda.

“Young people and their fresh perspectives deserve to be heard by decision-makers and they might just have the answers and ideas that will help transform high streets throughout the country.”

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Scottish Charity, TechFest, is urging the First Minister Humza Yousaf to get behind its goal and ambition to help transform high streets throughout the country.

Following a successful pilot year which brought a range of creative designs by students across Scotland, TechFest is once again challenging secondary school students across the country to redesign their high streets as part of TechFest’s Blueprint Challenge: A Future High Street.

TechFest’s Blueprint Challenge is a collaboration with Bluewater, a specialist private equity firm focused on global energy. The initiative has been developed through Bluewater’s charitable division to inspire children to think about future energy and how this can be integral to a better environment and social agendas.

However, this year as pupils return to school, the charity has written to the First Minister urging him to help raise awareness and drive positive engagement with Local Authority planners throughout the country to support the regeneration of Scottish high streets and give young people a seat at the decision-making table.

Bringing life back to the high street has been a hugely challenging task for local authorities and TechFest’s Blueprint Challenge has been designed to champion ideas that can help regenerate towns and cities throughout the country.

The competition is open to all S3 – S6 students who want to share their ideas on how to create a high street that allows society to thrive while celebrating the natural world at the same time.

Pupils are asked to take into consideration ‘’modern problems’’ surrounding architecture, economic stability, power generation and consumption, and how they can bring energy, technology and nature together to create a high street that meets Net Zero targets and encourages nature and community to grow.

The goal is a modern and progressive high street that is not simply about retail.

Sarah Chew, Managing Director of TechFest, said: “We need the First Minister’s help to place the transformation of our high streets at the forefront of the national and local agenda.  

“In the past decade there have been continued discussions, debates and reports on how to transform our high streets and make them fit for the future but despite various thought-provoking think tanks and reports, sadly we have seen little to no action.  

“The Scottish high street is in crisis, and we need urgent action to save them, that is why the TechFest Blueprint Challenge is a huge opportunity to champion the youth voice and help transform how we use our high streets.  

“Young people deserve to be heard and we need the First Minister to bring our high streets further up the agenda and help us develop more positive and meaningful engagement with local authorities across Scotland.”  

Schools have until September 11th to register a team ahead of the project launch on September 12th.  

Teams will work together to create a project summary by the end of November, followed by a presentation day in December, where they will display their projects to a panel of experts, with a further opportunity to display their work as part of TechFest’s Science Festival in May 2024.  

The competition is curriculum-aligned, and students and teachers will receive comprehensive support materials, including a series of online webinars with industry professionals and an opportunity for students to showcase their skills to the local community.

“Scotland has a strong heritage for innovation and shaping the modern world,” Sarah Chew added.

“The TechFest Blueprint challenge offers a huge opportunity to develop progressive and ground-breaking ideas that can be held up as best-practice throughout the world, whilst engaging with young people in a fun, meaningful and impactful way.”

Online Coding Summer Camps for kids

  • School’s out – but fun learning continues through coding summer camps
  • Virtual workshops for STEM stars of the future

A series of virtual summer camps to help children learn computer coding, game development and programming skills has been launched by Glasgow-based British Youth International College (BYITC).

Children aged 8 to 14 can sign up to the camps, which are hosted online, so are accessible to young people in any location.

The 2023 BYITC Summer Coding Camps last three days, with the first camp focusing on games and running on the 24th, 25th and 26th July.

The second Coding Camp takes place on 31st July, 1st and 2nd of August and will focus on Python – a popular programming language that can be used for a wide variety of applications, including building websites and creating software.

BYITC founder Dr Rashmi Mantri said: “The school holidays are the perfect time to combine fun with fascination – and our Summer Coding Camps will have plenty of both!

“The idea is to introduce young people to the world of coding and games development, while also powering their imaginations with a combination of hands-on activities, interactive workshops and project-based learning.”

Young people taking part in the BYITC Summer Coding Camps will use apps that introduce kids to coding, such as Scratch and Thunkable,9 and game creation platforms such as Roblox. Python programming topics will also be incorporated.

“We’ve carefully crafted the camp curriculum to provide a holistic learning experience that encompasses coding concepts, game design principles and the practical application of programming skills,” Dr Mantri said.

Each day of the Summer Coding Camps will run from 11am to 1pm and then 2pm to 4pm.

Dr Mantri, who has a PhD in Computer Science, founded BYITC in 2015 to teach maths using a counting tool that has been used for millennia – the abacus. BYITC has since expanded into online courses in English, programming and cyber security and runs 10 franchises globally – including Dubai and Sri Lanka.

Supermaths is BYITC’s most popular teaching programme and offers a mix of weekly teacher-led abacus maths classes and online tutorials.                                                                                                                                                             Thought to have been first used by the Babylonians, an ancient Middle Eastern civilization, as early as 2,400 BC, the abacus is known to be highly effective at training the brain to make mathematical calculations involving huge numbers.

For more information on the 2023 BYITC Summer Coding Camps visit:

https://www.byitc.org/glasgow-summer-games-dev-boot-camp-classes/

For more information, please contact Dr Rashmi Mantri, Managing Director at British

Youth International College, 267 Colston Road, Glasgow, G64 2BD.

Email: rashmi@byitc.org

Phone: 07423 215 162

www.byitc.org

www.supermaths.co.uk

Edinburgh Dynamic Earth programmes to help UK become a science superpower

From ‘Science Orchestras’ to ‘Science and Supper’ – Science and Discovery Centres across the UK have built programmes designed to reach under-represented young people in their communities

The Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) has released the results from 16 diversity and inclusion programmes for young people run in Centres across the UK. The activities have specifically been built to help tackle the diversity challenges currently faced throughout the Science Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) sector.

The programmes, funded by the Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), have been developed to help nurture and support the creative thinkers of today into diverse scientists, researchers, and innovators of the future.  

Over 10,000 children, young people and their families from traditionally under-represented and marginalised communities took part in the programmes, where they were encouraged to explore STEM on their terms in fresh, inclusive, and exploratory ways.

The ASDC and STFC supported projects dovetail with the March 23 Diversity and Inclusion STEM Report, released by Greg Clark MP, Chair of the House of Commons  Science & Technology Committee which states “STEM still has a diversity problem”.

Shaaron Leverment, Chief Executive of the ASDC commented “UK STEM industry and research is one of the most innovative and exciting sectors, but if it is to flourish for our future, there is no doubt that diversity is an issue.

“Our collective vision at ASDC is for a society where science is accessible, inclusive, and valued by all as a fundamental part of everyday life. This STFC-funded project shows how science and discovery centres provide so much more than just a fun day out – they open up new relationships and pathways in STEM across all ages, genders, backgrounds, geographies and abilities.

“We’re excited to see the mix of creativity and ingenuity of the outreach programmes run by our members. They are supporting a sense of belonging, value and ownership in STEM for a new cohort that may indeed become the future STEM innovators and solution-finders of tomorrow.”

Five of the programmes that have made an impact on their local communities are:

  • Aberdeen Science Centre – launched ‘Supper and Science’ which worked with families within the top 20% of the Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation and were affected by the cost of living crisis, and encouraged them to take part and learnt to cook whilst also learning about the impact science and technology have on their daily lives.
  • Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh – in partnership with Tinderbox Sparks Youth Orchestra, formed a resident ‘science orchestra’ with 20 young people to highlight the connection between music and science, as well as compose music for Dynamic Earth’s new climate change planetarium show ‘Don’t Panic’. The orchestra performed for family and friends, as well as composing ‘Seascapes’ – a haunting accompaniment for footage of deep-sea creatures taken by the Schmitt Ocean Institute.
  • Jodrell Bank in Macclesfield – offered free trips for over 500 school groups and 80 families. Additionally, secondary school students participated in a ‘Girls Night Out’, an event celebrating women in science past, present and future and encouraged women to consider STEM careers, as well as supporting the centre in its mission to make ‘Space for everyone’.
  • National Space Centre IGNITE in Leicester – inspired by a young boy who wanted to go to attend ‘Space Club’ in Coalville but was unable to, the centre developed a community programme for children to get excited about Leicester’s role in space. The programme also demonstrated what career opportunities are available on their doorstep and the diversity of jobs available across the space sector.
  • We The Curious in Bristol – launched the ‘Space Science in Time of Crisis’ workshops with Year 9 and Year 10 students from Bristol who were encouraged to explore ‘Should space science be a priority in the current time of crisis?’ and develop a TikTok style video to share their perspectives.

Vanessa Vazquez, Community Engagement Coordinator at Aberdeen Science Centre commented on the initiatives “The STFC Impact Project brought science to communities, creating equal opportunities for all. It sparked curiosity, encouraged experimentation, and empowered individuals to take ownership.

“We witnessed incredible transformations, from a disinterested child becoming engaged and excited to them volunteering for experiments. This project went beyond checklists, exemplifying our dedication to uplifting communities. We will continue to make a positive impact, bringing joy and empowerment to every opportunity we encounter.”

Neville Hollingworth, STFC Public Engagement Manager, said: “We are incredibly proud to mark over a decade of successful collaboration between STFC and ASDC with these excellent results.

“In order for UK science and innovation to thrive, it is essential that communities who are under-represented in the STEM sector are engaged with the amazing stories that the science and technology community has to tell.

“These collaborations between STFC, ASDC, and community groups, young people, and families have inspired people across the UK to take an active role in science and provided fantastic opportunities for the benefit of all of society.”

Tennis Scotland provides advantage to youngsters in deprived communities

New partnership programme with UK charity

Tennis Scotland has partnered with ‘Rackets Cubed’ to enhance the lives of school children in deprived areas of the nation through an innovative tennis programme which aims to support fulfilment of academic potential whilst improving physical and mental wellbeing.

Rackets Cubed, a UK-registered charity currently operating South of the border, delivers integrated programmes comprising of racket sports, STEM education and nutritious meals as part of its weekly activities.

Founded in 2016, the organisation has a vision of ensuring that primary pupils perform to the best of their ability by benefiting from participation in sport, enhanced extracurricular lessons and an introduction to healthy eating: driven by evidence that active children perform better in school, whilst a healthy diet has been proven to have a positive impact on classroom behaviour.

Research suggests that children in disadvantaged areas are less likely to participate in physical activity outside of school, subsequently leading to issues such as low self-esteem and obesity which can impact their academic achievements and overall wellbeing.

Designed to provide stability and project sport as a positive vehicle for change in communities, Tennis Scotland launched pilot sessions of the Rackets Cubed programme in Glasgow yesterday, with pupils at St Paul’s Primary School in Shettleston alongside students at Antonine and Camstradden primary schools in Drumchapel, the first to benefit from the initiative.

The Drumchapel programme will see students continue their development outside of official school hours at Drumchapel Tennis Club; a facility that has been selected as an ‘aspirational’ venue to host the sessions, aiming to increase youngsters’ confidence in joining and participating in activities at local community clubs.

Capitalising on increased interest in tennis and substantial growth of club memberships in recent years, the governing body also plans to roll out the programme over the next 12 months to continue increasing the provision of tennis activities to underrepresented groups, having already engaged around 350 youngsters from socially deprived areas last year through the LTA SERVES initiative.

Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland, said: “Tennis Scotland’s mission is to Open tennis up, and this exciting programme will enable us to take tennis to more disadvantaged communities and use tennis the vehicle to raise wellbeing and attainment of young people.

“Over the last couple of years during the covid pandemic, many children have been less active and missed out on education. This exciting programme is a great opportunity to increase children’s physical activity, wellbeing and support extra education and nutrition resulting in a positive impact on the children.”

Geoff Newton CEO of Rackets Cubed: “Rackets Cubed is delighted to be partnering with Tennis Scotland to offer opportunities to young children from disadvantaged backgrounds to learn a new skill, and help open up tennis to a wider audience.

“Combined with additional tuition in a STEM subject, and a nutritious meal, all in an ‘aspirational’ location, we are delighted to launch the first programmes in Glasgow and look forward to working closely with Tennis Scotland to develop many more.”

Twinkl Scotland partner with MOBIE

Architect and TV presenter, George Clarke, with his charity, MOBIE, have been working with Twinkl Scotland to create a selection of educational resources on housing innovation. 

Free-to-access learning materials for pupils by MOBIE and Twinkl Scotland will be available from today (21st April). MOBIE, (the Ministry of Building, Innovation + Education) was created to engage children with innovative housing designs, and give younger generations exposure to the housing industry.

Through collaborating with Twinkl Scotland, the George Clarke founded organisation hopes to attract more young people to the world of home, architecture and the built environment. The arrival of these resources is appropriately on the United Nations’ World Creativity and Innovation Day on the 21st of April.  

The freely available learning materials are suitable for ages four to 12. The theme of the resources is ‘Building our Future’, inspiring learners to apply their knowledge of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics through a combined approach referred to as STEM.

George Clarke and three young engineers and architects guide classes through each design challenge and provide advice for learners. The resources have a particular focus on constructing homes sustainably.

George Clarke is a TV presenter and architect, best known from appearing on his Channel 4 programmes including The Restoration Man and George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. His passion for housing and design is evident in his programmes.

Because of this, creating educational resources for children is a great way of making these technical topics accessible.

George says: “I am so thrilled that the MOBIE team collaborated with Twinkl to create this inspirational ‘Building our Future’ programme, enabling our youngest learners to explore environmental design ideas for our homes.

“I am amazed at the incredible range of challenges for each class, from nursery under five-year-olds to those about to go on to high school.

“I would like to wish good luck to all the pupils and their teachers. We sincerely hope that our resources will ignite passions for innovative housing and inspire the next generation of architects and designers.”

Michele McGarvey, the Country Manager for Twinkl Scotland, adds: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with George and his MOBIE team to create these materials. Children really are our future, and to provide them with resources that will inspire them to build innovative sustainable housing is wonderful.”

Twinkl was founded in 2010 with a mission to ‘help those who teach’. For further information about Twinkl Scotland’s Partnerships, please visit their website.

Dynamic Earth helps power the future as Scotland’s Science Centres unite for National Climate Campaign

The National Climate Campaign empowers underserved communities across Scotland with climate change knowledge

Dynamic Earth have delivered a packed programme of events and experiences exploring climate change including the delivery of STEM kits to a local children’s hospital, as part of a National Climate Campaign uniting Scotland’s Science Centres.

The kits, designed for young people, contain a variety of activities and experiments focusing on earth and environmental sciences, with connections to climate change and marine environments.

These boxes give young people the chance to explore connections between ocean depth and pressure, experience augmented reality colouring-in, build their own rope and more, bringing science directly to them wherever they are.

Alongside their STEM kit distribution, Dynamic Earth delivered a series of in-person events and digital programmes reaching over seven thousand people as part of a campaign, building on the legacy of COP26 alongside Scotland’s other science centres.

The centre has been running climate change workshops with community audiences and family learning activities with local primary schools, reaching groups including the Edinburgh Young Carers Project Care for Carers and the Citadel Youth Centre.

Brought together by Glasgow Science Centre, the centres have joined forces to inform, inspire and empower a diverse audience to tackle the climate crisis and ensure the discussion on climate change remains open.

Working together to further climate science education in their communities, the National Climate Campaign saw each centre deliver a coordinated and interactive campaign of over 89 events, reaching over 13,000 members of underserved and underrepresented audiences by the end of March 2022.

The programme strived to make science more relatable and helps learners build up their science skills to understand the world around them.

Elsewhere in Scotland, Glasgow Science Centre have been hosting weekly community visits and film screenings, shining a light on the importance of science in the community and engaging with groups who are unlikely to visit Glasgow Science Centre regularly and can be most affected by climate change and its effect on lifestyle.

In total Glasgow Science Centre have facilitated 16 community group visits this year to the Science Centre, including visitors from Glasgow Disability Alliance, Yorkhill Green Space and African Challenge Scotland.

They have engaged 374 people who may have not visited the centre before, while also offering 3,000 primary school pupils in remote, rural and deprived areas access to their online interactive ‘Learning Labs’.

A highlight from Aberdeen Science Centre’s 20-event programme was last month’s Supper and Science Evening, where families came together to cook an evening meal at Northfield Academy.

While the meal was cooking, Science Centre staff ran a series of climate-themed workshop activities, including one where they recreated an oil spill with feathers and soap, to give the children some hands-on climate science experience.

In Dundee, the team created 150 climate-themed community kits for young people, containing a mini solar-powered windmill as well as other items to show how earth and environmental sciences connect to climate change and marine environments, while also engaging over 1,000 primary school pupils in activities during COP26 Schools Week.

Eilidh Massie, Marketing Director at Dynamic Earth said: “It is so important for people to not only learn about our amazing planet, but also to understand that the Earth’s climate system is something we have taken for granted for too long.

“At Dynamic Earth we’re committed to reminding people, young and old, that we need to act now before the damage is irreversible.

“It has been a fantastic opportunity to work collectively with Scotland’s Science Centres as part of the National Climate Campaign to further these messages.”

Stephen Breslin, CEO of the Glasgow Science Centre said: “We set up the National Climate Campaign to ensure that there is a legacy of climate engagement left behind after COP26.

“We hope that by providing communities across Scotland with our knowledge and resources, we can act as a magnet for climate engagement and help empower young people to make considered decisions and learn what climate change means for them.”

Environment Minister, Mairi McAllan said: “Young people have been among the strongest voices calling for urgent global action to address climate change.

“This campaign will make sure that young people in communities across Scotland continue to play a key role in our journey to becoming a net zero nation, delivering a lasting legacy for COP26, and making their voices heard loud and clear.”

For more information on the National Climate Campaign and Scottish Science Centre’s climate change education programming visit:

https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/discover/our-world-our-impact

Preparing pupils for careers in tech

£1.3 million for computing in schools

Every primary and secondary school across Scotland will receive support to refresh computing science for pupils.

Backed by up to £1.3 million from the Scottish Government, secondary schools can bid for grants of up to £3,000 to purchase additional computing science equipment, devices, software or teaching resources.

Every school will also receive two class sets pocket-sized computers that introduce pupils to how software and hardware work together.

In August 2020, Mark Logan’s independent Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review recommended increased investment to improve computing science provision in schools.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “It is essential that we have as many talented young people leaving schools with the skills Scotland’s technology sector and wider economy fundamentally depends upon.

“This investment aims to refresh computing science lessons for learners –  equipping them with the skills they need for careers in tech.”

Toni Scullion and Brendan McCart part of the Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science (STACS), an organisation based at the University of Glasgow to spread best practice in computing science in schools, which has received a Scottish Government grant of £67,500 to set up and run the STACS programme, said: “We are delighted to be appointed as co-leads of STACS.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Computing Science and we are looking forward to working with the dedicated teachers across Scotland who are delivering Computing Science in schools.

“This initiative recognises the importance of Computing Science as a subject in schools and the integral part it plays in Scotland’s ambition for a Digital Nation. Computing Science in education has a key role in helping to engage, nurture and inspire the next generation of talent and that journey starts in the classroom.”

The Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review of the Scottish tech ecosystem by Mark Logan, commissioned by the Scottish Government, with recommendations on how to develop a world-class tech sector.

Mark Logan, chair of the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, said: “It’s vital to the future supply of talent into Scotland’s tech sector that Computing Science at school level is elevated to the same level of importance as other STEM subjects. 

“The additional funding for Computing Science announced by the Scottish Government and the formation of STACS, which makes teachers major participants in advancing the subject in Scotland, are key building blocks on the way to that goal.”