Education
We are a key provider and coordinator of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education activities and support in Essex. These are for students at school and home, and are designed to both stimulate an interest in STEM and to open possible career paths.
» See upcoming CSES events for schools, children and families
Including our flagship annual TEXPO, projects and online competitions throughout the year.
Out-of-school clubs, masterclasses and projects to enhance learning with fun, practical activities.
Financial and in-kind support for your STEM Club, project or activity at school.
Interactive conferences attended by students, industry partners and the public sector.
A FREE annual CSES/ARU lecture from a high-profile speaker, open to all schools.
Careers guidance, STE(A)M activities, ideas and other material for all ages both in school and at home.
Take inspiration from what others have been getting up to.
Talk to us about dedicated support, resources, projects and competitions for your school.
Images on the theme of Fresh Air, Fresh Thinking
We were absolutely delighted to receive such incredibly high-quality – and clever! – entries to our second Photographic Competition, this year on the theme of Fresh Air, Fresh Thinking to accompany our Affiliate Schools Project. As you will see below, these convey some very powerful messages, and should give us all pause for thought.
You can see all of the photographs at our web gallery here.
Congratulations to our winners, whose entries are shown below. They have received Amazon vouchers to the value of £60 (first prize), £30 (second prize) and £20 (third prize). We look forward to running another competition this year.
November 2021 — we were delighted to be informed that Sarah Mirkin (Year 2/3), one of the winners of our Imagine! STEAM online competitions earlier in the year, was recently invited to Downing Street for an audience with the Prime Minister ahead of his attendance at COP26.
There is more information here:
https://twitter.com/borisjohnson/status/1453708293671636997?s=21
She was also lucky enough to be interviewed for Sky News, along with other children:
https://schools.firstnews.co.uk/fn-education-tv/fyi/fyi-episode-146/#fvp_FYI-TX146_FIRST-NEWS
Our congratulations and thanks to Sarah and her mother, who very kindly told us that "initiatives such as yours ... help the children feel part of something important and feel heard contribute in many surprising ways".
Following a careers talk from CSES, Solomon Malih (Year 12/13) completed a successful Nuffield Research Placement over the 2021 summer holidays. He has kindly told us his story here...
Over the summer, I had the privilege of completing a Nuffield Research Placement. The Nuffield Research Placements are an excellent opportunity to spend two weeks with a subject specialist or industry expert working on a live research topic. As for what you do on this two-week placement, that can vary. I know one placement which was centred around artificial intelligence, whilst another was more practical and involved designing a solution to a real-world engineering problem. Some will be more research-based than others, but they will all likely involve reading academic literature, collecting primary and secondary data, and working with the software used in academia and industry.
I spent two weeks investigating the use of quantum computation for particle physics with a research fellow at the University of Cambridge. Some of the theory and mathematics involved was at an undergraduate or even post-graduate standard, but my supervisor was very patient with me and willing to explain things multiple times if needed. My supervisor's work involved testing a quantum physics concept known as a gauge theory using quantum computation. The particles involved in testing the gauge theory can be modelled as quantum gates, which I implemented in a quantum circuit and simulated using Qiskit, an open-source SDK (software development kit) that provides tools for working with quantum machines.
At the end of the placement, I had to produce a 10-20 page research report outlining my project's aim, findings, methodology, and more.
We are pleased to advise that our Centenary Photographic Competition 2021 is open for another four weeks, to allow as many people to participate as possible following the summer holidays and busy start of term.
The deadline for entry has now been extended to Friday 15 October 2021.
The competition, with this year's theme of Fresh Air, Fresh Thinking is open to anyone in full time or part time education in Essex and explores the key link between the creative arts and STEM.
We want you to take photographs that express what air pollution means to you, or how it impacts our health or our environment, and the negative or positive roles that technology can play.
Read full details here and submit your entry here (please make sure to read the FAQs, terms and conditions first!)
Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult announces apprenticeship vacancies
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult has opened its first apprenticeship vacancies at its Braintree facility, working on the development of vaccines. This would be a fantastic opportunity for someone in the local area. Please note that deadlines are very close (early-mid September 2021), but there is still time to apply!
Follow the links below to see further details and to apply:
- Apprentice Engineer
- Technician Scientist Apprenticeship
- Apprentice Quality Technician
- Human Resource Apprentice (Level 3)
These are an excellent chance to work at the cutting edge of science and medical technology.
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult is one of a network of elite technology and innovation centres established by Innovate UK as a long-term investment in the UK's economic capability. Applying business-led research, Catapults help businesses transform great ideas into valuable products and services to compete in the global markets of tomorrow.
- Fresh Air – Fresh Thinking
- Centenary Photographic Competition 2021
- IET Engineering Stories Podcast
- Spring 2021 Imagine! STEAM Competition winners announced
- Southend Virtual Careers Fair
- Sandra's Story: Science Experiments
- STEM Ambassador Programme Launches Online Mentoring Scheme
- Trust Science: Help Make Essex Covid-Safe
- CSES Imagine! Plastic – Friend or Foe?
- CSES Imagine! Environmental Challenge