The first award goes to Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise working across the UK & Ireland and beyond to inspire and support young women into STEM careers. The grant will help engage, inspire and educate nearly 600 young women to show the breadth of diversity and opportunities that exist within the Offshore Wind Sector STEM, across 12 inspirational events throughout the funds benefit area.
In reaction to the award, Anne-Marie Imafidon, Stemettes CEO, said: “Stemettes are delighted to be working with Ørsted on delivering their East Coast Skills Programme. The Offshore wind sector provides significant job opportunities in STEM now, and in the future. Stemettes mission is to inspire the next generation of women and nonbinary people into STEM.”
The second award this year goes to Haven High Academy, in Boston, Lincolnshire, which will be deliver a series of ten in-school STEM workshops to students in each year group. Each workshop will provide equipment and training on STEMbotics, using robotics and coding to ignite a passion for STEM and Computing. Using a variety of robots, students will design, build and code their own robots to complete a range of challenges.
Rachel Gibbons, Head of Faculty Science at Haven High Academy, said: “We are so pleased and excited about being awarded the STEM grant. Having the funds to bring specialist educators to the school to teach our students about robotics and drone use in STEM education and careers is amazing and I believe the students will benefit enormously, building knowledge, interest and aspiration.”
Other winners included Franklin College, in Grimsby, which will use its funding to deliver a programme of learning to sixth form students exploring the emerging hydrogen industry. Independent educational charity, Cambridge Science Centre, was also awarded funding to deliver a regional STEM Roadshow.
The four awards form part of the company’s £465,000 East Coast Community Fund 20-year annual commitment and is part of the community engagement programme for Ørsted’s Hornsea One and Race Bank offshore wind farms, which are located off the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast.
Imran Nawaz, Ørsted’s Stakeholder Advisor and Community Benefit Fund Manager, said: “It is important to support local projects and help equip young people with skills and knowledge needed to unlock STEM career opportunities.
“These projects will help upskill local young people and prepare them for a wide range of future careers, including those within a thriving renewable energy sector.”
The Fund is being administered by the independent grant-making charity GrantScape. For further information about the Fund and when and how to apply, please visit their website www.grantscape.org.uk or call them on 01908 247634.
