Business Minister Richard Lochhead joins pupils in Edinburgh to celebrate STEM innovation

Pupils from schools across the Edinburgh and Southeast City region joined forces to showcase their innovation and learning from their involvement in Stemovators.

Schools have been taking part in the award-winning schools STEM outreach programme throughout the year culminating in a celebration event in partnership with HCI Skills Gateway.

Nearly 250 young people and teachers gathered across two events at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and Tait Hall in Kelso in the Scottish Borders to exhibit their Climate Smarter projects and compete for competition prizes. Industry volunteers and partners provided challenges which gave the young people an insight of the different career paths available through studying Science Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

Business Minister Richard Lochhead, who joined the event in Edinburgh, said: “It is truly inspiring to see the incredible work being delivered through the Stemovaters programme to showcase the many opportunities in STEM. The Scottish Government’s funding for the Stemovaters programme aims to ensure as many children as possible are able to access and enjoy activities that bring STEM subjects to life. Events like this celebrate innovation and talent and demonstrate the power of partnerships in building a more inclusive and skilled future workforce in Scotland.”

Thomas Wild, Head of Stemovators, said: “The projects, in partnership with our industry funders, inspire pupils and helps them develop valuable skills and knowledge whilst encouraging uptake in STEM subjects and careers. The celebration event is a culmination of the project and gives an opportunity where young people can showcase their innovation and hard work whilst learning more about different career and education pathways.”

Pupils have participated in the Climate Smarter project which focuses on sustainable materials, energy storage and ‘smart’ technologies. This enables schools to create a tabletop model of their future eco-school, as their entry for the celebration competition. Support for this project comes from HCI Skills Gateway to allow Stemovators to provide schools with free resources.

Prize winners (Edinburgh):

• Climate Smarter 1st Prize – Trinity Primary School
• Climate Smarter 2nd Prize – St Mary’s Primary School
• Climate Smarter 3rd Prize – Lasswade Primary School
• STEM Challenge 1st Prize – Trinity Primary School
• STEM Challenge 2nd Prize – Law Primary

Prize winners (Borders):

• Climate smarter Winner – Lauder Primary
• Climate smarter 2nd – St Peter’s Primary
• Climate Smarter 3rd – Clovenford Primary
• STEM challenge winner – Reston Primary
• STEM challenge runner up – Selkirk High School