Tag: TechFest

Charity launches global Digital Science Festival to boost STEM for all

  • Techfest, a Scottish charity, is set to launch a worldwide Digital Science Festival to promote STEM access to everyone.
  • Scotland’s Digital Science Festival (SDSF) is an exciting, virtual event that aims to bring science straight into homes through expert talks, interactive workshops, and an online escape room.
  • The festival will feature a range of speakers including TV Doctor, Tharaka Gunarthne, YouTuber, Dr Tom Crawford, and BBC Blue Planet’s, Doug Allan.
  • SDSF is designed to make STEM accessible and inclusive for all ages.  
  • Sarah Chew, Managing Director of Techfest, said: “Scotland’s Digital Science Festival is an opportunity for people of all generations to discover the excitement and possibilities that STEM can offer in today’s digital world. By making these fields more accessible and engaging, we hope to spark a lifelong curiosity that leads to innovation and empowerment.”

Scottish Charity, TechFest, has organised a free Digital Science Festival to take place on the 1-8th November to encourage engagement in STEM for all ages.

The week-long festival will be hosted entirely online including workshops, presentations and interactive sessions, led by professionals across STEM.

The festival will feature a variety of speakers who aim to demonstrate the relevance of STEM subjects in everyday life. One of the speakers, Dr Tom Crawford, also known as Tom Rocks Maths on YouTube, will be combining his passion for mathematics and Pokémon.

Additionally, Doug Allan from BBC’s Blue Planet will be attending the festival to discuss “An Eye Below Zero, a Long-Term Look at the Poles.”

Other speakers at the festival include Scottish Influencer of the Year 2024 and climate activist Laura Young, and Dr Vivienne Ming, a visionary neuroscientist and AI expert who works towards unlocking the human potential.

The festival will close with the unique ‘Universilly Challenged’ pub-style quiz experience, hosted by the one-of-a-kind science troubadour Jonny Berliner and renowned biologist Simon Watt.

TechFest is a charity focused on making STEM more engaging and inclusive for everyone throughout the country and beyond whilst helping to connect STEM to various sectors.

Scotland’s Digital Science Festival has been developed to address the accessibility barriers for rural communities and provide a global platform for participants to join from anywhere in the world.

Sarah Chew, Managing Director of TechFest, said: “I’m incredibly proud to launch Scotland’s Digital Science Festival, powered by TechFest, in our efforts to bring fun and engaging STEM discussions to people across the globe.

“It is vital that we have more initiatives like this to inspire the next generation of talent and encourage people of all ages to engage with and rediscover their love for STEM.

“We want to challenge outdated perceptions that STEM subjects aren’t ‘cool’, are male-dominated, or too difficult by showing their relevance to exciting career paths demonstrated by our speakers.

“The power of connectivity allows us to bring these incredible speakers and activities directly into homes around the world free of charge.”

Edinburgh students challenged by Scottish charity to share ideas on the future of energy, medicine and science

  • Scottish Charity, TechFest, is encouraging Edinburgh students aged between 16-18 to participate in its global essay competition, STEM Next, to share their cutting-edge ideas on the future of industries across energy, medicine and science.   
  • Techfest is transforming STEM education and delivering a new generation of talent. STEM Next is back this year to encourage young people across the world to consider their future under three categories: Energy in Action, Medicine & Life Sciences, and Chemistry & Biological Sciences.  
  • The competition is aligned with the CREST Awards and grounded in STEM, allowing students direct access to industry professionals as part of their essay research. STEM Next has a registration deadline of June 21.   
  • Sarah Chew, Managing Director of TechFest, said: “STEM Next allows students to develop meta-skills that will benefit them for their entire careers, whilst they consider the future of key industries they’re preparing to lead.” 

TechFest is challenging Edinburgh students to compete against other young people across the world in STEM Next, an essay competition that encourages entrants to discuss the future of the industries across energy, medicine and science.     

TechFest is a charity focused on making STEM education more engaging and inclusive in schools throughout the country whilst helping to connect STEM to various sectors. STEM Next is a collaboration with various partners including: Airswift, CNOOC International, Ocean Winds and Thistle Wind Partners. 

The competition is a solo digital project that requires independent research and writing, and is open to students aged 16 – 18 across the world.  

Entrants are invited to submit an essay between 1000-3000 words that addresses one of the provided essay questions, with three categories available: Energy in Action, Medicine & Life Sciences and Chemistry & Biological Sciences. 

In addition to developing their researching and writing skills, STEM Next also connects young people with industry professionals to learn first-hand about their chosen industry.   

TechFest will make introductions that will provide entrants with valuable career insight alongside shaping their interviewing skills as part of the research requirements.  

Sarah Chew, Managing Director of TechFest, said: ”STEM Next is a challenge grounded in STEM that has been developed in collaboration with industry and education to deliver the future workforce. 

“The competition’s interviewing aspect provides industry with a great opportunity to connect with young people and attract the best and brightest talent who will be the next generation of industry leaders.” 

The Aberdeen-based charity is still looking for industry professionals to volunteer their time for these interviews and is calling for anyone with expertise or work experience in Energy, Life Sciences, Medicine, Chemistry, Psychology, Neuroscience, Space Science or Biological Sciences.  

Sarah added: “We are still keen for anyone who has the time to engage with these young people to sign-up as these early industry relationships can help forge a spark that will inspire a new wave of problem solvers and decision makers in STEM.“ 

Ruth Cameron, Managed Services Director EMEA at Airswift, said: “STEM Next is creating the next skilled workforce that will help to solve current and future problems across industries.

“This partnership perfectly ties into one our objectives at Airswift of transforming lives through the provision of international workforce solutions for STEM industries.” 

Victoria Allan, Buzzard Onshore Mechanical Support Engineer at CNOOC, said: “At CNOOC, we are focused on delivering safe and sustainable energy for all.

“As we see this shift being adopted across the energy industry, we need bold and practical ideas from young people during this vital transition period and look forward to seeing the world’s best ideas from this year’s entrants.”  

Roger McMichael, Stakeholder Manager at Ocean Winds, said: “Ocean Winds is leading the global energy transition into a greener future, and we believe there is no better insight into this challenge than from the fresh perspective of young people.“ 

Kirsty Macaulay, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Thistle Wind Partners, said: “As an Edinburgh-based organisation focused on offshore wind development, we are excited to see a range of thought-provoking ideas from Scottish young people. Our nation has a strong heritage for innovation and shaping the modern world.” 

Young people competing in the STEM Next competition are eligible for CREST Awards. It also provides an opportunity for students to add additional achievements to their UCAS application.  

Moreover, the 1st place winners in each category will be awarded £200 of Amazon vouchers. 2nd place winners in each category will be awarded £100 of Amazon vouchers, and 3rd place winners in each category will be awarded £50 worth of Amazon vouchers.  

The deadline to register interest for STEM Next 2024 is June 21, with the project launching on June 17.  Students and volunteers can register for STEM Next via the TechFest website: 

https://techfest.org.uk/education/ages-over-11/stem-next-essay

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.”

 _________________________________________________________________________________

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.”