This week I want to highlight a very exciting event that is taking place in our town this summer. Crawley is to host a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) festival on the 5th July 2012. This festival aims to make young people and the community aware of the diverse and rewarding career paths in STEM by showcasing innovative and engaging projects from local businesses.
The event will take place at The Hawth Theatre as the culmination of a variety of inspiring shows and workshops during June in local schools, STEM Clubs and within the community. Crawley will also host the regional Big Bang Fair for schools throughout the South East.
Support from local businesses will help link young peoples’ aspirations to the first class careers offered by our world-renowned locally based companies. By coming together, Crawley’s youth and local companies can help invest in the future and this has my wholehearted support.
I hope this festival will provide the starting point for an increased take-up of STEM-related degrees and courses in higher education and vocational qualifications. It is very important that young people study these courses so they can continue to ensure that Great Britain remains at the cutting edge of technological advances.
The Government has recognised how important the field of science and research is to our economy by ring fencing the science and research budget. This means £4.6 billion will be spent on supporting the highest value scientific research.
An extra £100 million has also been made available this year for science capital development supporting the commercialisation of research and accommodation for innovative small and medium sized enterprises. These measures will help to ensure that the United Kingdom remains a world leader in science and research.
This country has produced many great scientists and this Government is taking the essential decisions to support the next generation of pioneers. ‘Graphene’ is just one example of these efforts being made to attract and keep revolutionary scientific projects in the UK. This new material is expected to replace silicon in computer chips and the Government is providing the £50 million funding to ensure this product will continue its development in Great Britain and hopefully soon progress to our factory floors.
I hope projects like this and the events of STEMfest this summer will help inspire the next generation of scientific pioneers, some of whom I hope will come from Crawley, and maintain Great Britain’s status as a global scientific leader.
If you are in education, an educator or entrepreneur and what to find out how you can be involved please email at: henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk