PROFESSOR Pooran Wynarczyk, director of the Small Enterprise Unit (SERU) at Newcastle University Business School, and her work on the Formula One in Schools Technology Challenge has been acknowledged in a new national report, launched at ‘Higher education & the third sector: Making access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) happen’ conference in London.
The report entitled ‘Unblocking the pipeline: How the third sector can increase higher education participation in STEM, sponsored by the National Higher Education STEM Programme, refers to Professor Wynarczyk’s ‘role-model platform for young scientists initiative’ as an example of good practice.
The platform builds upon a key strand of Professor Wynarczyk’s research that assesses participation in STEM information education and extra curricula activities, and the impact this has on future education and career aspirations amongst young people.
Her research in this area links closely with the Formula One in Schools Technology Challenge, a global STEM initiative that seeks to provide a multi-disciplinary learning experience through the appeal of Formula One, with the purpose of promoting a positive perception of STEM, particularly amongst the younger generation.
The North East Regional Finals of the Challenge was held at the Business School in February this year, where over 80 pupils from schools around the North East took part to collaborate, test, manufacture and then race miniature Formula One cars.
Professor Wynarczyk commented:
“I am delighted that the research and work we’ve been carrying out at Newcastle University Business School has been cited within this recent report.
“The initiative and the annual competition we host at the Business School is always a hugely successful activity where we see many of the region’s young people put on a display of their scientific and creative talents.
“The research is part of a wider goal to engage higher education institutions, like Newcastle University, with young people to help encourage and grow their interest in the areas of science, maths and technology.”