Member Article

AkzoNobel's science festival sponsorship leads to colourful experience

AkzoNobel has reinforced its commitment to developing ‘Inspiring and Colourful Communities’ in the north east by becoming a major sponsor of the British Science Festival which took place in Newcastle last week. The company is currently building a £100m plant in Ashington which will be one of the world’s most sustainable paint manufacturing facilities.

The festival allowed AkzoNobel to bring its innovations and knowledge to a whole new audience as part of the Public Day and Young People’s Program. Activities included workshops on colour and coatings, with participating pupils from local schools Bothal Middle School, Northumberland CoE Academy and Consett Academy taking part in practical experiments on colour mixing and ‘barnacle pushing.’

Andy Jackson, Project Director for the AkzoNobel Ashington facility, said: “Science plays a central role in many aspects of colour, so we were delighted to share our experiences and knowledge with hundreds of young people from across the North East.

“Given our presence here in the North East and the countdown to the opening of our manufacturing facility in Ashington next year, we were keen to be involved in a programme where we can see a direct way to inspire a future generation. AkzoNobel is all about being connected and engaged with the community. We saw a value through the British Science Festival in being able to show students that there are great opportunities to work in international companies right on their doorstep.”

The British Science Festival brought an end to a busy summer for AkzoNobel in Ashington. Art student Jade McCormack saw her winning design for a mural come to life in March when it was painted on Northumberland College’s building as part of AkzoNobel’s ‘Let’s Colour’ Project, following a competition voted for by the local community to choose the winning mural.

Then a summer school scheme, organised in conjunction with Ashington Learning Partnership (ALP), saw pupils from Bothal and Hirst Park Middle Schools take part in an exciting programme of experiential learning. It focused on developing practical maths and English skills and aimed to help students make a successful transition from the primary to secondary phase of education.

The community projects in the local Ashington area will continue into 2014 and beyond, when the new manufacturing plant will open.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Akzo Nobel International Paint .