Because the IET bridges the gap between curiosity and careers

Competitions like the IET Faraday® Challenge Day, fill in the gaps left by today’s curriculum by enabling students to gain hands-on experience they might otherwise miss out on, says teacher George Evans.

The importance of STEM activity events

Evans has seen the benefits of STEM competitions like the IET Faraday® Challenge first-hand, and believes they’ve taken on the important role of enabling pupils to really engage with STEM subjects in a practical and meaningful way.

“This is something that’s been lost due to the focus on GCSE results. At secondary school, the curriculum doesn’t give us much time for practical work. And so, we end up with students who may want to go into engineering because they’re good at science or maths but may not have ever had the chance to get their hands dirty,” he says.

“They’ve got the conceptual part of it, but maybe not the core skills the generations before typically had. Today there is less knowledge of how things work and how to build them. Can they forge a bit of metal, or know how to use a lathe? So much is lost.

“Today’s pupils miss out on some of the opportunities their parents or even grandparents had to attend regional ‘engineering days’ or simply learn practical skills in wood - or metalwork classes. They were considered essential skills for life, let alone being able to access and unlock the ability to later move into a STEM-focused career. By having competitions like the IET Faraday® Challenge we can get more children interested and engaged in STEM, through contextualisation.

“We’re not trying to push them towards these careers but rather show them what the possibilities are. Given this, I believe pupils are more likely to look into things like engineering courses, or STEM clubs, where they can go on to learn more.”

Keeping the STEM thread alive

Evans looks at STEM as a thread that needs to flow throughout a child’s education in order to inspire, inform and influence their later life. If you take Grimsby pupils as an example, he notes that more likely than not STEM knowledge will have an impact on their working life.

“That thread is super important for these students’ futures. If they stay local, the likelihood is they’ll be involved in engineering or technology either directly or indirectly,” he explains. “They may go on to make wind turbines, or manage a wind farm, or they may become a hairdresser and many of the people they’ll speak to on a daily basis will be working in that world. Having a basic understanding of what they might be doing is beneficial in its own right!”

Evans feels that in more recent years that important STEM thread has been weakened, and this is where the work of organisations like the IET has become so important. This is because activities like IET Faraday® Challenge support the grassroots work teachers like him are undertaking to ensure the thread doesn’t break.

Supporting grassroots

Passionate that pupils need the opportunity to experience practical STEM activities, Evans runs a STEM club after school at Havelock Academy, where he’s enabled students to try their hand at everything from soldering and geotagging through to exploring augmented reality, programming and 3D printing.

Events such as the IET Faraday® Challenge give teachers like Evans the momentum to run such clubs, he says, as well as giving the children an opportunity to engage even further in the world of STEM – and without a financial cost that may impact their ability to participate.

“It’s great because we don’t have to ask our students or their parents for any contribution to take part. They’re fully funded by the IET, which enables all students to participate.

“Without organisations like the IET providing that link and structure, I do wonder if some of those grassroots elements would get lost,” he continues. “It enables us at the grassroots level to network and share ideas. The teachers will take each other’s email addresses; talk about the things we’re doing in our clubs and borrow ideas from each other.

“We made it to the UK final at Silverstone, which was a fantastic opportunity for these children. They came home buzzing, and you know they’re looking at the options and opportunities for careers within engineering off the back of that,” he adds.

A far-reaching impact

The impact of such events is far-reaching Evans notes, pointing to the fact that previous participants will go out of their way to speak with the current competitors about their experiences, as well as share with their friends.

“It gets the kids thinking about the opportunities and options out there,” he says. Participation in the competition also excites the school leadership he adds, explaining that this ensures their backing and support of extra-curricular STEM activities like his club.

Activities like those the IET puts on for pupils help to ensure technology and engineering companies have a secure pipeline of future STEM talent, which is why it’s so important for industry to help fund them.

“Engineering and technology impacts everything in our daily lives – from how we get to work to how we heat our homes. Therefore, we will continue to need not just people that can maintain the technology we currently use, but also that can improve on these solutions and design new ones.

“This is why it’s important for people to donate to the IET, as the organisation supports the teachers who nurture pupils’ interest in STEM skills and gives these kids the opportunity to try new things.”