Dr Emily Grossman inspires young scientists at Leighton Park STEAM careers event

Over 200 enthusiastic students from five schools across Berkshire were lucky enough to hear molecular biologist, geneticist and television presenter Dr Emily Grossman deliver the inaugural STEAM lecture at Leighton Park School’s STEAM Careers Fair on Monday 2nd July.

Dr Grossman joins astronaut Tim Peake as one of the nation’s two Honorary STEM Ambassadors, and using her phenomenal talents, aims to ‘to show people just how exciting science is, and to make it more accessible by explaining complex concepts in a fun and engaging way’. Describing herself as a science communicator, she uses her website to explain, ‘I love bringing simplicity and clarity to others – that lightbulb moment when it all makes sense. I think of myself as a translator, a bridge between the scientific community and the public.’

Karen Gracie-Langrick, Leighton Park’s Academic Deputy Head, noted, ‘Emily’s talk was a fascinating insight into recent developments in science, in particular biotechnology and transformative medicine. It was a very accessible presentation and left us all with a sense of awe, wondering what will be possible in the future. Emily is a strong female ambassador for women in science and a real inspiration to all the students who saw her speak.’

Sponsored by Cisco, the lecture offered a light-hearted but insightful overview of pioneering biotechnology under the humorous heading, ‘How to Build a Human.’ Reflecting on the event Dr Grossman commented, ‘I was delighted and honoured to present the inaugural STEAM lecture at Leighton Park. It has been an amazing event and a privilege to be inspiring the scientists and engineers of tomorrow.’ Hema Marshall, Executive Lead for Inclusion and Diversity at Cisco UKI, said, ‘Dr Grossman’s lecture was a fabulous start to this annual series. Emily is a wonderful and engaging STEM role model and the excitement of the students was great to see. I especially enjoyed the different areas of stem cells and hearing about the new advances of how we could potentially re-grow our own body fact that Cisco is delighted to support this initiative as part of our broader commitment to encourage girls and boys to consider STEM careers.’

The STEAM Careers Fair is designed to offer insights into professions from across the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) industries. Visitors from Year 10 to the Upper Sixth at Leighton Park School, together with around 100 visiting students from The Abbey, Waingels, Emmbrook and St Joseph’s College explored their opportunities through a series of workshops and seminars. Waingel’s student Sapnaa said, ‘It made me think about all the different opportunities that were available to me.’ Leighton Park Sixth Former Zak commented ‘I am interested in finance, marketing and running my own business but I don’t know what area to follow yet. This fair has been helpful in giving me ideas.’ Fellow Lower Sixth student Wallance added, ‘I would like to study Maths and Economics and go into Econometrics after my PhD. I’ve enjoyed the fair today.’

Some of the UK’s best known STEAM organisations offered guidance and advice, including representatives from Unilever, Cisco, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and Costain. Academic partners such as the Universities of Southampton and Reading, and apprenticeship advisors such as Ask Apprenticeships provided information and support on the various routes into STEAM related careers.

The presentations were supplemented by the opportunity to browse a selection of stalls and for interested students to chat to professionals, ask plenty of questions and research the options for their future.

Sami Kanza, Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, returned to the Park as an Old Leightonian, one of several who were keen to give back to the community that supported them through secondary education. Embracing the Quaker testimony of sustainability Sami has found a niche that enables her to marry her values with her skillset. ‘My first degree was in Computer Science, but I do so much more than that now!’ enthused Sami. ‘I have teamed up with a Research Group led by chemist Dr Jeremy Frey, and I’m involved in projects as different as maximising crop yield for African farmers and developing ways to improve health and safety within scientific labs. It’s all about using technology to make a difference.’ Jeremy added, ‘It is as much an attitude as anything else. Start where your interest is, for your first degree, and then consider what people and technology can achieve together. Use your knowledge in a broader way. Where you start does not have to be where you end up; it’s about using the skills you learn on the way.’

Miguel Calvo, another Old Leightonian, now at LINX Print, a sizeable commercial print company, agreed. ‘I work with a team of chemists even though you might think within manufacturing it should be a team of engineers. We do have engineers, but we also need to develop ink that dries instantly and is perfectly adhesive without being sticky enough to come off on the consumer or to stick the products together on the manufacturing line. We were the first company to develop our own touch screen controls for industrial printing equipment. That’s software engineering that we’ve pioneered, even though we are printers, and we now provide tech support for our clients too. There are a huge number of STEM roles within STEM businesses that are not the obvious ones. I hope to inspire students to consider more of the options today.’

The careers event is one of a series of STEAM initiatives launched in 2017 by Leighton Park School, masterminded in conjunction with seasoned organisers and promoters of the ‘Big Bang’ brand, STEM Sussex. ‘Big Bang Interactive’, which takes place annually at Leighton Park School in March, was the first event of its kind to take place in Berkshire. Both of the Big Bang events contribute to the school’s bid to achieve official recognition as a Centre of STEM Excellence. Next year’s Big Bang Careers Fair will be on Monday 1st July 2019.