South Yorkshire Hosts Its Biggest STEM Careers Event To Date

South Yorkshire’s largest STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) career showcase ‘Get up to Speed with STEM’ welcomed more than 6,500 young people and educators to the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham. The event provided young people from both primary and secondary schools with a unique opportunity to explore a wide range of career opportunities and take part in interactive activities that expanded their understanding.

Held over two days (18-19^th March), Get up to Speed included over 55 exhibitors and 14 major attractions designed to give young people in South Yorkshire and the surrounding areas the very best, most interactive experience of working in different industries and careers.

Peter Edwards, CEO of the Work-wise Foundation, said:

“As CEO I get to see first hand what an incredible amount of work goes into this event, which wouldn’t happen without its sponsors, volunteers, our staff and the supporting businesses. This year we have had more demand from schools and it has been great to welcome more exhibitors than ever before. Everyone remembers the person who encouraged and inspired them to seek a particular path in life and we have seen lots of examples of this happening over the last two days, which is really satisfying for our team and the businesses involved.”

Exciting and interactive activities included the AMRC Training Centre showcasing an innovative Virtual Reality welder and attendees been given the chance to try out 3D pens, Kids Invent Stuff had a whole range of interactive activities and there was a chance to build a LEGO tower.  Young people learned more about robotics from engineers at Accu and got the chance to try out an exciting new robotic football game.  Pupils also learned through movement with Onboard Skate Park and had the chance to take part in a personal training session with a world champion MMA fighter.

Get up to Speed offers a unique opportunity for businesses to connect directly with future talent, showcasing their innovations while helping to bridge the skills gap in STEM. Over the past 16 years, this interactive showcase has introduced STEM career opportunities to more than 55,000 young people, parents and teachers.

Over 80 local business people also took part in a Business Breakfast on day two of Get up to Speed, which was held in the main hall at Magna Science Adventure Centre.

At the Business Breakfast visitors heard from a number of keynote speakers, including Master Cutler Professor Keith Jackson, who discussed the important role industry leaders and educators have in inspiring the next generation.

Professor David King, from the University of Sheffield, shared his research on how robotics can extend human capabilities, giving real life examples of how they can prevent loss of life in dangerous situations, such as bomb disposal and nuclear decommissioning.

Professor David King explains:

“The focus of my research is on exploring the next frontier of human-machine interaction and how we can extend human capabilities with robots, not replace them. Humans are creative and robots have extensive speed, consistency and efficiency capabilities, so bringing them together means they can really benefit from each other’s strengths. Technology and innovation have the opportunity to save people’s lives and the future involves humans and robots working together to augment the workforce and expand possibilities.”

Machine Learning Engineer from AESSEAL, Elliot Fisher, continued the theme on robotics and the development of AI-powered employees. He said: “There is huge excitement around AI and automation and we use it increasingly often within our processes. It isn’t the case that robotics are replacing people, but that they are optimising productivity, whilst humans are essential to exercise good judgement and add value to a business.”

This year’s gold sponsors of Get up to Speed included AESSEAL, Capabilities Beyond Engineering, Sheffield Forgemasters, Stream7 and The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, alongside silver sponsors including Forged Solutions Group, Dragonfly PR, The UK Atomic Energy Authority and Hydra Creative. Bronze sponsors include AMG Chrome, , LAND AMETEK, Vulcan to the Sky Trust,  Withers & Rogers LLP, as well as the AMRC Training Centre, Howmet Aerospace and Made in Sheffield.

For more details about Get up to Speed go to https://www.getuptospeed.org.uk/

To become a sponsor at next years event, contact info@work-wise.co.uk