Cambridge Consultants invited Year 7 students from Bottisham Village College, Netherhall School, Stephen Perse Foundation Senior School and Swavesey Village College to apply to attend a STEM project day. They were challenged to identify an issue that affects people in their day-to-day lives and design a technological solution to solve that problem.
The winning students visited the Cambridge Consultants office in Cambridge Science Park and were treated to an activity-packed day, where they had the opportunity to meet employees in different roles across the organisation, learn about the product design process and get stuck in to an engineering design project.
Richard Hall, Chief Operations Officer for Cambridge Consultants, said
Today has been a great opportunity for us to inspire a love of STEM in the next generation – and in turn to be inspired by their creativity, innovation and excitement. Getting involved with Launchpad has enabled our staff to feel that they are giving something back and using their talents to the fullest.
The students were tasked with designing a tool that would help people with one arm to eat a boiled egg more easily. After meeting with end-users to understand their challenges and experiences, the students investigated current solutions available on the market and then worked together to brainstorm and design their products. They also had the opportunity to produce egg holders with a 3D printer and learn about robotics, including how to programme a robot arm to move lego bricks.
Year 7 students from Stephen Perse Foundation Senior School, said
The day has been good because you have many opportunities and things to do, like talk to different engineers. It has been great for teamwork and to try out new things. We like STEM because you can understand the world better, and things that we did can be used in many jobs.
The five students from Netherhall School really impressed the Cambridge Consultants judges with their personal development throughout the day, as well as their teamwork, presentation and problem-solving skills. They will attend a prize trip that will take place in July, alongside students from other schools and colleges that are taking part in Cambridge LaunchPad.
Laura Heard, Head of Product Design at Netherhall School, said:
What an amazing, well-structured day and an inspiring introduction to potential future careers. The activities were interactive and engaging and I think all the students will take away new skills. As a teacher, we are always looking for ways to inspire our students – this day succeeded!
Anna Aldred, STEM Outreach and Cambridge LaunchPad Project Manager from Form the Future CIC, said
Cambridge Consultants created a programme of activities that tested a wide range of the students’ skills including teamwork, innovative thinking, presentation and communication. The students rose to the challenges magnificently, pushing the boundaries of their existing knowledge and skills to show very positive personal development over the course of the day.
If you’re interested in being involved with Cambridge LaunchPad next year, please get in touch with Anna, our STEM Outreach Project Manager at aaldred@formthefuture.org.uk for more information.
