The initiative aims to engage 2,400 children in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects while promoting equality in access to subjects as diverse as bioscience, construction, biodiversity, and engineering, alongside those taught as part of the national curriculum.
Led by a specialist team of educational professionals, the partnership will seek to bring these subjects to life for primary and secondary school age children through a series of hands-on workshops in four East Cambridge schools, close to the site of Mission Street and BGO’s proposed 23-acre science and innovation district in Cherry Hinton.
Cambridge is home to one of the UK’s biggest clusters of science companies and a key component of the “Golden Triangle” of R&D cities alongside London and Oxford. Mission Street and BGO are part of the wider Cambridge science and innovation ecosystem, with the joint venture’s science park The Press in Foxton now nearing completion.
Artem Korolev, founder and CEO at Mission Street, said: “From foundation of the Company, Mission Street has been driven by the responsibility to help facilitate the immense potential for positive social change that innovation clusters can bring to their local communities. This is a particularly strong opportunity in Cambridge which is both one of the world’s leading science and innovation clusters and a City experiencing pressures and inequalities. We share the vision of the team at the Cambridge Science Centre and are excited to team up with them. Through a series of hands-on, engaging activities across four schools in East Cambridge, our collaboration with the Cambridge Science Centre seeks to introduce children of all ages to the breadth of what STEM has to offer, including those subjects that are not typically encountered as part of the national curriculum.”
Gareth Purcell, managing partner at BGO, added: “Our partnership with Cambridge Science Centre adds an exciting new chapter in BGO’s worldwide social and philanthropic mission to deliver meaningful enhancements in access and quality of education to the communities where we are invested for the future. The continued excellence in innovation upon which Cambridge has built its well-earned reputation will be reliant on the next generation of students whose knowledge of STEM subjects will spark the next breakthroughs in life sciences. There is no better place to propel these efforts forward than in this school district, and we are proud to fund this initiative alongside our partners.”
The programme will consist of three projects per term delivered through a diverse mix of learning styles, with the potential to include computing, design and technology, and art projects, and will continue during the summer holidays in community settings. The programme supports Cambridge Science Centre’s work in promoting access to STEM for over half a million children over the next ten years.
John Bull, CEO at Cambridge Science Centre, said: “Too many talented young people are turning away from STEM because they don’t get to feel the joy of discovery that it can bring. Linking to the upcoming science and innovation district that is on their doorstep gives us a chance to engage them in their local environment and to encourage them to see a future for themselves that is influenced by STEM. Our ultimate goal is to arrive at a place where young people, no matter their background, have their lives enriched through science – this project takes a step towards making that a reality for the children of East Cambridge.”
Improving access to STEM careers is crucial at a time when the UK is facing a shortfall of 173,000 workers in scientific industries, according to the Institute of Engineering and Technology, at an estimated cost of £1.7 billion every year.
Cambridge Science Centre is part of the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, a charity that brings together over 50 of the country’s largest science and discovery centres, science museums and scientific bodies to promote greater public engagement with STEM nationwide.
Top image: mock up of the Cherry Hinton development is attributable to Mission Street/Hawkins/Brown.
Bottom image: courtesy of Cambridge Science Centre
