Friday 14 February 2025
West Midlands students introduced to STEM careers
On Wednesday 12th February, the WMG OutreachLink opens in a new window Team hosted an Engineering Industry Day at the Degree Apprenticeship Centre, at The University of Warwick.
The team welcomed over 100 Year 8 and 9 students from across the West Midlands, including those from Barr’s Hill School, Eden Girls School, Yardleys School, Harris C of E Academy and West Coventry Academy.
The event aimed to inspire students from groups under-represented in STEM to consider careers in engineering ahead of them choosing their GCSE subjects.
This project was led by Marie Diebolt, the Outreach Project Officer on the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Link opens in a new windowInspiring Young Engineers project. The project aims to foster a positive culture of engineering in young people and create the future engineering workforce.
On the day, students were welcomed by Professor Kerry KirwanLink opens in a new window who encouraged them to reflect on what their career path might look like. They met employers from various engineering sectors including RambollLink opens in a new window, JLRLink opens in a new window, Aston Martin Lagonda LtdLink opens in a new window, Legacy Manufacturing Solutions LimitedLink opens in a new window, CapgeminiLink opens in a new window, and SAPLink opens in a new window, and WMG apprentices.
They also met with students from CyberWomen at Warwick and Warwick Women in Engineering, as well as staff from the Degree Apprenticeship team and the Sutton Trust Pathways to Engineering Access programme.
WMG’s Outreach Project Officer, Marie Diebolt, who organised the event, explained: “Bringing together academia and industry to educate young people and support them making informed choices is essential to prepare the next generation of engineers. WMG has a successful track record of working closely with industry partners and some of the best researchers in their fields, to do just that.
“We aim at supporting those under-represented in STEM throughout their school and university journey. Hopefully we will see some of these students back on our campus, in Year 10, for the WMG work experience and, in Year 12, on the University Pathways to Engineering Access programme, before applying to one of our Degree Apprenticeship or engineering courses.”
Find out more about WMG’s Outreach programme here: Outreach and Widening ParticipationLink opens in a new window