Thursday 22nd April was Earth Day 2021. This special day has been chosen by Edinburgh Science to announce details of its annual Careers Hive, a week-long free event run by Edinburgh Science Learning, the education arm of Edinburgh Science Foundation and one of the UK’s leaders in science education.
With help from a film prop-maker who worked with Marvel, Research Technician working on anti-Covid drugs and among others ex-LUSH Aroma Chemicals Creative Buyer, Careers Hive offers pupils at Secondary level a unique insight into STEM-based careers.
First developed in 2016, Careers Hive inspires S1-S3 pupils to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and maths, that takes the acronym of STEM, through activities, discussions and workshops. The importance of career events such as this cannot be underestimated.
Careers Hive crucially addresses the issue reported that a fair proportion of students say that they would have made better choices had they had better access to higher quality information and advice in school. This relates to many vital STEM-based subjects such as medicine and dentistry, maths or economics.
This year’s digital event, that was developed in close collaboration with schools to ensure the best result to characterise Edinburgh Science’s projects, aims to reach 3,000 pupils live and all schools in Scotland with a pre-recorded offer. The event will see teachers becoming more integral to their pupils’ experience of Careers Hive as they deliver the workshop supported by the Edinburgh Science team.
Learning Programme Manager Augusta Macdonald said “2020 has demonstrated that the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) are not abstract but have a direct impact on our lives, and STEM professionals have been at the forefront of tackling the challenges we’ve faced in the past year. It’s technology that’s kept us connected and that allows us to deliver Careers Hive in an innovative new format, reaching more students than ever before and providing a great opportunity to help young people realise the wealth of meaningful career options available to them.”
As part of Careers Hive, school children will have discussions with young STEM professionals early in their careers via interactive video. This year’s speakers include representatives from Scottish Water, National Museum of Scotland, Public Health Scotland and University of Dundee such as Kirsty Cookson, Research Technician, Drug Discovery Unit, University of Dundee; Jenny Stark, Outreach and Communications Manager at COAST (Community of Arran Seabed Trust); Alice McGillicuddy, Workshop and Community Manager, Edinburgh Tool Library; Olivia Sweeney, Junior Evidence Consultant at Resource Futures ; Joshua Redpath, Flood Risk Management Team at Scottish Water and Elena Höge, CEO and Founder of Yaldi Games.
In a digital space called World Challenges Immersive Environment, that is built in the new platform Gather.Town, pupils will create an avatar and have the freedom to walk in and out of conversations as they explore exhibits and interactive content on a range of topics. STEM professional volunteers will join them live digitally to answer pupils’ questions. The online environment will also include games, videos and other content relevant to different areas of STEM including engineering, space, medicine and energy production.
World Challenges Immersive Environment will be hosting a video version of the annual Think Tank in the digital exhibition space where pupils can have more in-depth chats with volunteers to find out how they got where they are in their career and what they love about their jobs.
To get everyone inspired by STEM, pupils will be encouraged to return to Careers Hive with their families and friends on the Open Day on 1st May to showcase what they have learned.
Schools interested in taking part in Careers Hive are invited to get in touch with the team on careershive@scifest.co.uk.
Dates: 26th April – 1st May 2021
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 