IBioIC and representative SME member companies will be featuring in the upcoming Chemistry @ Work day, which focusses on delivering an engaging demonstration of chemistry and the circular economy to over 200 school children and their teachers.
Raising awareness about the industrial biotechnology (IB) sector as an attractive and accessible future career opportunity is high on the agenda for the IBioIC Skills Team. Without an increase in recruitment to courses at all levels, the number of industry-ready graduates will not meet the demand of this growing sector. Our efforts must start with engaging the next generation and those that influence their career decisions.
The circular economy is yet to be embedded in the curriculum for excellence, and this represents a significant barrier to inspiring the next generation of IB employees. This event seeks to demonstrate the breadth of the subject, with groups rotating through five 30 minute interactive workshops over the course of a day, interwoven with careers stories, routes to employment and company profiles. There’s also time for pupils and teachers to browse an exhibition area manned by support organisations such as Skills Development Scotland, Social Mobility Foundation, Developing Young Workforce. As a take-home gift, all pupils and teachers will receive a goody bag, full of useful materials and experiment kits to explore at home or in the classroom.
It’s important to IBioIC and organisers at the University of Strathclyde, including Dr Jane Essex, a lecturer in Chemical Education at the University, that this event is accessible to all. Jane has recently featured in an article in Chemistry World (June 2019; Access all areas), which updates readers on the quest to make chemistry education accessible to all - “Science feels, to many people, like a very elitist, exclusionary practice, and teachers and families are pre-selecting their child with special educational needs out of being interested in doing science”.
Date: 13 and 14 June
Time: 9.30 – 2.50
Venue: Royal College, University of Strathclyde
Event Sponsors
• Royal Society of Chemistry
• IBioIC
• Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
• Skills Development Scotland
For more information please contact skills@ibioic.com
