Local children get a taste of STEM on first Campus safari
Cambridge Biomedical Campus organisations join forces to inspire local school children about jobs in health and life sciences
A class of 9 and 10-year-olds from Trumpington Park Primary School has become the first in the region to enjoy a Cambridge Biomedical Campus work-experience ‘Safari’ – a new initiative that sees different organisations on the Campus pair-up to inspire the next generation of children about a career in life sciences and healthcare.
The first Campus Safari was funded by CBC Ltd and organised by education non-profit Form the Future. It saw thirty-one children split their day between AstraZeneca and the MRC Biostatistics Unit.
The class started the morning at AstraZeneca’s new global R&D headquarters in the Discovery Centre, where they met some of the company’s scientists and enjoyed a ‘hands-on’ experience in the ‘AstraZeneca STEM Inspiration Lab’ – a dedicated learning space for school children. There they were taught about the process of medicine-making and practiced their pipetting skills. This was followed by a trip across the Campus to the MRC Biostatistics Unit for an action-packed carousel of interactive activities on the theme of having fun with statistics. The activities included competitive ball throwing, duck counting and taking on the role of Dr Marble to find the best treatment for patients. There was also a tour of their real-world research unit, followed by a Q&A with staff, where the students learnt what it’s like to be a researcher and heard about the many different paths to working in science and technology.
Form the Future exists to help students in the East of England access hard to reach careers through immersive encounters with real role-models. The organisation conducted pre- and post-visit surveys to evaluate the impact of the encounters and gain insights into how this initiative can help to introduce young people to the wealth of exciting jobs on their doorstep. Despite living alongside one of the world’s leading science Campus’s, many school children still lack the ‘science capital’, role models and information they need to access this thriving sector.
Campus Safaris are aimed at key stages 2 and 3 (ages 7 to 13) and are designed to help schools with the significant cost of taking a class to work-experience days and to optimise the students’ time by enabling them to visit more than one organisation in a day.
A second Safari will follow later this year, where a different class from a different local school will enjoy different activities at two different organisations on the site.
Anne Bailey, CEO at Form the Future, said “The pilot marks a significant collaboration between global life science leaders and Form the Future to build more bridges for young people living next door to cutting edge research, enabling them to see and experience science as a career pathway open to them in the future.”
Alison Quenault, Communications Manager at the MRC Biostatistics Unit said: “We were delighted to be part of this exciting pilot event and to welcome the students to our Unit. The children were really enthusiastic to get involved in our activities and it was great to chat with them about the life of a statistician.”
Lisa King, Director UK STEM & Community Engagement, AstraZeneca said: “In addition to our own STEM Inspiration Lab programme for local schools, working collaboratively with our CBC partners really enhances the student experience. It provides a great way to broaden the range of roles and organisations the students are exposed to in one visit, helping to inspire and inform their future career pathways.”
CBC Ltd’s Managing Director, Nick Kirby, said “We want everyone in the region to think that a job in science and healthcare is for them. It’s not just about inspiring those who want to be scientists and lab technicians. Our organisations also need talented people to run their catering, keep their sites secure, maintain their buildings and design new ones, manage their staff and communicate with the public. The best place to start has to be our local schools and Form the Future was the perfect partner to help us make that happen.”
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