Member Article

e4e sponsored Big Bang Fair a huge success

A record-breaking 2,350 pupils from schools across the East Midlands came together at this year’s Big Bang Fair East Midlands, which was sponsored by Derby City Council’s Enterprise for Education (e4e).

The event, which took place at the Derby Roundhouse for the fourth consecutive year, encourages young people to pursue careers in the STEM industries (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

The event, which attracted 1,000 more pupils than the previous year, showcased the fantastic work carried out by student STEM clubs, along with the companies and institutions that are innovating, researching and manufacturing across the STEM spectrum.

More than 60 exhibitors attended, including Rolls-Royce, Derby University, JCB, Up an’ at ‘Em History, and Exotic Zoo. A highlight of this year’s event was the Derby Village, which showcased the opportunities available to young people looking to pursue a STEM career in Derby.

E4E sponsored the ‘Derby Competition’, which sees Derby schools compete for a place in the national event.

Entrants were asked to use STEM to identify and create a product to improve an aspect of the transportation network within Derby city. This could be aimed at any transportation manufacturing industries or infrastructure, including supply chain companies.

This year’s winners were the City of Derby Academy, who took the award from West Park School, winners for the previous two years.

Commenting on e4e’s involvement in the Big Bang Fair East Midlands, Mike Copestake, chair of the e4e board, said:

“This year’s Big Bang Event was an incredible success and it was inspiring to see the enthusiasm that young people across the region have for STEM careers.

“Not many people know this, but Derby pays the highest wages in the country for people working in the STEM industries and business like Rolls-Royce and Bombardier employ a massive number of people and offer fantastic career prospects.

“Around 12% of people in Derby work in STEM careers, twice of that in Cambridge, so it’s vital that business leaders across the region come together to help young people – and in particular young women – understand the opportunities that are available on their doorstep and make the most of these fantastic career prospects.”

Paul Broadhead, head of community investment and education outreach at Rolls-Royce, said:

“STEM subjects open windows of opportunity that you could never dream about. When I joined Rolls-Royce I never imagined I’d have the chance to work in places like Singapore and India and I credit a lot of it with my passion for science and maths.

“STEM can provide some of the most fulfilling, rewarding careers around and it’s so important that business leaders in the area do all we can to make youngsters aware of the fantastic opportunities available to them.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Donna Hill .