18/11/2022
My STEMM Future - an overview
For young Black people a career in STEM can seem out of reach or inaccessible. This is often due to a lack of representation in the sector and other structural inequalities. Currently, only 6% of British students enrolled onto STEM related subjects at UK universities are Black.
My STEMM Future is a collaboration between Wellcome Connecting Science, scientists at the Wellcome Genome Campus and The Youth STEMM Award.
The Youth STEMM Award (www.ysawards.co.uk) is a national, skill-based award for students aged 13-19, designed to support and inspire the next generation into Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM). Participants work towards a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award by undertaking STEMM-based activities at school, at home, or online.
Working with 15 schools across London, Luton and Kent, we are funding over 300 students to take part in the YSA scheme. By providing a bespoke programme of talks, STEM activities, skills workshops and mentoring from campus staff, in a range of disciplines, we aim to empower and support the students to complete the award and create a portfolio of activities to support sixth form and university applications.
Speaker Brief
To inspire our cohort of students, we are hosting a monthly guest STEMM speaker, to talk about their field of work and career journey to date. Through this, we are hoping to showcase a diverse range of specialists and provide opportunities for students to ask questions and make connections with STEMM professionals.
We require the following from our guest speaker:
• An inspiring and accessible 35 – 40 minute talk suitable for GCSE and A-level students (ages 14 +) followed by the opportunity for students to ask questions.
• Your talk should provide an overview of the STEMM field that you currently work in, an insight into your work (past and present) and information on your career journey. Please include some highlights and, if appropriate, any challenges.
• Presentation slides to illustrate your talk. Ideally more images than text. We request that there is some interactivity for the students. We can ask multiple choice quiz style questions using the poll function on Zoom webinar or ask open-ended questions, where participants can respond in the chat box.
• A short biography and image to advertise your talk to the students and to introduce you on the day.
• Any recommended links or reading where students can find out more about your specialism after the event.
If you have any questions about the programme, please contact Cindy Smidt in the Science Engagement and Enrichment team on cindy.smidt@wellcomeconnectingscience.org