Schools and colleges from across Leicester and Leicestershire were invited to describe how they would make small changes to improve the sustainability of an everyday item or process, with the winning teams attending Charnwood Campus Science, Innovation and Technology Park for an immersive science filled Industry engagement day.
The six schools, DeLisle College, Judgemeadow Community College, Martin High School, Rawlins Academy, Woodbrook Vale School, and Wreake Valley Academy also received £1000 of STEM equipment.
The We Discover Life Sciences STEM Sustainability Challenge is a partnership between the Leicester and Leicestershire Careers Hub, Charnwood Campus Talent and Skills Institute and the Leicestershire Education Business Company (LEBC) to deliver the WeDiscover Life Sciences STEM Challenge to bring employers together with local educators to engage Year 9 students STEM activities. The students were treated to a wide range of demonstrations by STEM Ambassadors, covering an array of STEM subjects, from engineering to precision medicine.
Kindeva Drug Delivery demonstrated how to test the delivery of medicines to the lungs, such as asthma inhalers, with an example of the equipment that is used for routine testing in the laboratory which can measure where materials are likely to deposit in the lungs. This shows how you can use science to simulate what happens within the human body enabling routine analysis to be undertaken, providing valuable information about the product we are testing over time and different storage conditions to demonstrate the stability of the product and support new product submissions or approved products.
Being able to ensure that medicines reach the patient in perfect conditions is essential, Almac demonstrated how tablets are packed into a blister pack. The students were able to operate the machine and see, on a small scale, the type of machinery that is used on a daily basis to bring medicines to market.
Our genes determine everything about us, and we can now use information about people’s genes to design medicines that will treat diseases more effectively. This is called precision medicine. The Institute for Precision Health showed students how their genes make them different by doing a simple test for whether they have a gene that makes certain foods, like the lovely Brussels sprout, taste bitter or delicious!
Gerarde Manley, Careers Hub Lead, said: “The WeDiscover Life Sciences STEM Challenge is about young people working together with industry on shaping ideas for simple sustainability projects that will make small differences to the world around them. The immersive day at Charnwood Campus had demonstrated the huge variety of skills needed across a range of STEM subjects”
Gosia Krais, Commercial and Marketing Director at Charnwood Campus, said: “Leicestershire is a hub of STEM-related industries and inspiring the next generation is essential for the health and propensity of our region and the planet. Activities delivered in partnership with industry and academia across our region will make a huge difference in developing our next generation of STEM leaders and employees.”
Rachael Clarke, Interim CEO at LEBC, said: “This has been a fantastic day, with students having the opportunity to meet and interact with STEM Ambassadors from a wide range of local life science companies and practice their presentation skills. We are incredibly grateful to Charnwood Campus, Kindeva Drug Delivery, Almac, Medilink Midlands, Charnwood Discovery, University of Leicester and Loughborough University for their time and input today and inspiring our future STEM workforce.
Helen Derbyshire, R&D Staff Scientist at Kindeva Drug Delivery, added: “Involvement and engagement of young people in STEM is vital to continue the work in research, development, manufacturing, and sustainability to ensure we continue to help both people and the planet.”
Melanie Davidson, CEO at Medilink Midlands, said: “The WeDiscover STEM Challenge is an exciting opportunity for young people to understand and explore career opportunities in life sciences, as well as providing their school with a chance to benefit.”
Frances Weldon, Associate Director-STEM Outreach at Almac Group, said: “Events such as the WeDiscover STEM Challenge are important to inspire the next generation and provide opportunities to develop key employability skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking and leadership.”