Successful year for STEM programme in caithness, sutherland and orkney

They’ll be the workforce of tomorrow – and now schoolkids across Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney are being given the chance to develop skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) that may be vital in their future careers.

This year, thousands of early years and primary school children across the north of Scotland have tried out special ‘lend-a-lab’ materials developed by the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) to help inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and renewable energy experts.

Whether it’s building bridges with blocks, coding, or even making a lemon-powered clock, all the activities in the ‘classroom in a box’ have been designed to spark interest in STEM and to build teachers’ confidence and knowledge in subjects they may not be familiar with.

The lend-a-labs are just one part of a programme being delivered by a team of specialist outreach coordinators working across the UHI partnership, each committed to promoting STEM skills and careers and supporting teachers in educating children in these crucial subjects.

Their roles are being supported by more than £1 million funding provided by offshore wind developers, led by the West of Orkney Windfarm alongside Buchan Offshore Wind, Ossian, Northland Power and Thistle Wind Partners.

“It is great to see the impact this programme is having locally,” says Ria Kirkpatrick, a former teacher and full-time coordinator based in Orkney.

“I’ve a special interest in maths and have developed a series of ‘maths tales’ along with another teacher to get wee ones thinking about maths in a fun way. In simple terms it is a story book with characters and suggested mathematical activities/questions for practitioners to use while playing in their settings. The maths tales are now included as part of our lend-a-labs offer.

 “The labs are a fantastic resource. We have established a new centralised STEM store where we keep and maintain our lend-a-labs when not in use, and our collection now covers 14 different topics at different levels across all of the STEM areas. They are like a big toolbox we can use with teachers and pupils to get everyone enthused about science, technology, engineering and maths.”

 In Caithness and Sutherland, the programme is being delivered by full-time coordinator Mara Gibb, who grew up in the region and studied science at Heriot-Watt.

Alongside the lend-a-lab, Mara has engaged closely with the RAF Youth & STEM team to develop UK wide education materials on hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.

“It was great to work with the RAF to create a range of learning materials exploring hydrogen and alternative fuels, to help school children learn about how it is sourced, and the challenges and considerations that come with,” Mara says.

 “We’ve developed these learning units for secondary pupils, each taking about an hour to complete, and covering elements such as net-zero, jobs and careers, characteristics and behaviours, uses in transport, plus links to further education in related subjects.

 “As a chemical engineer it has been great to share my passion on the subject, and we’re now developing a set of hydrogen resources we can share with primary level children too. It can be a complex subject, so we have to make sure it is appropriate for the wee ones!

 “I really love this role – it is so diverse and rewarding, and as a full-time coordinator I have been able to support other small projects such as with the space cluster and the IGNITE festival,” Mara concludes.

 UHI has delivered a STEM outreach programme to early years settings and primary schools for a number of years, originally focussed across the Highland Council area.

The three-year funding package provided by the wind farm developers in 2023 allowed UHI to extend its outreach programme to schools in Orkney, the Western Isles, Shetland, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perthshire local authority areas, and more recently Aberdeenshire.

The majority of the UHI STEM Outreach team are part-time, with both Ria and Mara’s full-time roles supported through additional, targeted support from the West of Orkney Windfarm.

Dawne Bloodworth Head of STEM Development at UHI, said:

“Our focus is inspiring the next generation, and generous industry donations have enabled us to ensure a regional approach to our STEM outreach activities. We are looking forward to the launch of several new lend-a-lab boxes in 2024/25, which include a set of three early years mathematics activities, ‘Maths Tales’, which UHI launched during Maths Week Scotland in September.

 “From January, marine themed activities (based on content from the Scottish Association for Marine Science) will be available, followed with content on hydrogen and renewables, and then space. We would be delighted to hear from industry partners who may want to support these developments or who wish to hear more about the overall programme and how they can get involved.”

 Stuart McAuley, Project Director at West of Orkney Windfarm, said:

 “It is great to see so many young people getting excited about learning new subjects and skills and we are delighted to be supporting this programme.

 “The north of Scotland will play a vital role in the delivery of offshore wind projects in the future, and we hope that many of the primary school children being educated in STEM subjects today will find fulfilling renewable energy careers in Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney in the decades ahead.”