Edinburgh Science inspires young people to get hands-on with STEM

• Edinburgh Science inspires young people to get hands-on with STEM at this year’s Career Hive
• This year’s panel speakers include a molecular biologist who started out grilling at Nando’s, an entomologist at National Museum Scotland, a climate activist, a celebrated wildlife filmmaker and a BBC software engineer who did an apprenticeship alongside schoolwork
• Careers Hive offers a unique and fascinating insight that showcases
• STEM skills as transferrable to a wide range of sectors
• Schools only 28 October – 1 November Public Open Day on Sat 2 November

www.sciencefestival.co.uk

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Edinburgh Science is pleased to announce the return of its annual Careers Hive, a week-long free schools event with a Public Open Day on Saturday 2 November.

Initially developed in 2016, Careers Hive inspires S1-S3 pupils to pursue a STEM-based (science, technology, engineering and maths) career through hands-on activities and discussions with early-career STEM professionals.

Careers Hive continues to work to showcase STEM skills as transferrable to a wide range of sectors and that further study of STEM subjects is helpful in many future careers.

Between 28 October and 1 of November at the National Museum of Scotland, Careers Hive can be accessed by prebooked school groups only with a Public Open Day on Saturday, 2 November. The event is set to welcome over 3,500 students across the week.

This year’s panel speakers come from a diverse range of backgrounds showing that there is no one path to a career in STEM.

They include Hannah De Angelis who dropped out of school at 15 and went from Nandos griller to Molecular Biologist via a degree in Pharmacology; Software Engineer Apprentice Abdurahman Khan whose unique path led him to now work for the BBC.

Also joining panel events will be biologist Milo Phillips, Digitisation Co-ordinator for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, who is working to make the RBGE Herbarium available to everyone, everywhere; Modern Apprentice of the year SVQF Level 6 2024 Iona McGhie who is training in mechanical engineering whilst on apprenticeship with premium drinks firm Diageo; Electronics Manufacturing Engineer and Scottish Graduate Apprentice of the Year 2023 Fatima Asif;

Joining them will so be award-winning climate activist, environmental scientist, and ethical influencer Laura Young aka Less Waste Laura who started, and continues to lead, the campaign to see single-use disposable vapes banned across Scotland and the UK; and documentary director, tv presenter and wildlife photographer Libby Penman whose new documentary Back from the Brink, showcasing the amazing work of conservationists fighting to save wildlife across Europe, is now available on BBC iPlayer.

Pupils will be able to experience:

• Grand Gallery Interactive Exhibition with four themed zones where they engage with STEM professionals and try out different hands-on activities related to real jobs, e.g. perform a keyhole surgery, insulate a house, build a robot or assemble a model of a space satellite.
• The Think Tank, a dedicated space for pupils to informally chat one-on-one with STEM professionals and ask the questions that matter to them most.
• Panel Discussions in the Auditorium during which they hear from early-career STEM professionals from a range of industries about their education and career stories.

Laura McLister Director of Programmes and Operations at Edinburgh Science said: “We are absolutely delighted to be back again in this amazing venue to run Careers Hive with so many fantastic volunteers, chatting and inspiring young people to the diverse opportunities available in the STEM sector.

“Our world is facing so many challenges for the future and STEM technologies, industries and organisations will be here to tackle them, but without dedicated and trained people we can’t overcome these challenges.

“Careers Hive is here to demonstrate that STEM professions need all sorts of skills and strengths from all sorts of people and are a real opportunity to young people thinking about their futures.”

A teacher participating in Careers Hive said: “One pupil told me as we entered the Museum ‘to be honest, I’m here for the day out of school’. Come the end of the visit, he was telling me which STEM careers he was interested in, and how the event changed his perceptions about STEM.

“It opened all the pupils’ eyes to the wider range of STEM jobs rather than just a scientist or an engineer.”

Edinburgh Science school projects reach around 60,000 people every year.

Careers Hive 2024 supporters:

Baillie Gifford, BlueFloat Energy & Nadara Partnership, Edina Trust, City of Edinburgh Council, Hitachi Energy, Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious, British Army, Edinburgh Airport, Institute of Acoustics, Maths Week Scotland, Muirhall Energy, Seebyte, STMicroelectronics and Vattenfall