The Annual Huddersfield STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Conference held at Huddersfield New College in conjunction with Royds Hall Community School has once again proven itself to be a successful vehicle for encouraging pupils from the local area to take up STEM subjects at Further and Higher Education, with 400 guests attending on the night!
The Conference had a variety of industry and educational leaders from the STEM community contributing to workshops, talks and exhibitions. Students from across Kirklees attended alongside their parents, teachers and careers advisors, and were able to explore the options that were available for those wishing to enter STEM industries.
Guests took part in engaging workshops designed to give them ‘tasters’ of their chosen careers, and each student was able to attend up to three workshops on the night.
School pupils were invited to attend workshops delivered by Huddersfield New College, aimed at inspiring pupils to explore STEM subjects such as Games Development, Maths, Psychology, Science and IT at A Level or BTEC.
Nigel Wright was on hand to introduce Syngenta’s well-regarded apprenticeship programme, and to give advice on skills and qualifications employers look for when recruiting, alongside some top interview tips and representatives from the University of Huddersfield talked to potential students about a number of the STEM course pathways available to undergraduates, with two popular engineering workshops, led by Dr. Leigh Fleming and Professor Ian Glover.
It wasn’t just students who were taking part in the event, as three specially held workshops were attended by teachers and trainee teachers, including a workshop run by Dr. David Wilkinson from West Yorkshire STEM.
Peter Kennedy, Huddersfield New College Deputy Principal, said “The 2015 STEM Conference in collaboration with Royds Hall School has built on previous years’ events and is hugely beneficial to our local community. It’s a unique event that caters for the needs of pupils in the Kirklees area who wish to move into STEM related careers. With Huddersfield's great reputation for creativity and innovation, and it's industrial heritage, it's a pleasure to be able to support our community to flourish in both traditional subjects and new technologies, and to support our young people to go on to achieve great things in STEM related fields. I already look forward to next year's event!”
