Students from the Greensward Academy attended thee 2019 IET Faraday Challenge, supported by the CSES
On 30th January 6 year 8 students attended the Faraday Challenge, run by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Chelmsford, supported by CSES. The students (Isabella Vitney, Noah Garner, Jack Kelley, Austin Bateman, and Charlie Bracken) were given a problem to solve (the details are sworn to secrecy, as this is part of a National Competition) making use of circuits and various construction/engineering materials. They were expected to work as a team; design, create and promote their idea, keep to a budget, and obviously, come up with a solution.
12 students from the Greensward Academy attended the CSES Schools' Competition
On Friday 28th June, 12 Greensward students attended the Chelmsford Science and Engineering Societies’ Annual Schools’ Competition. The event was hosted by Anglia Ruskin University where the students presented the 3 projects they had been working on, either in STEM club, or as part of the Engineering Education Scheme, to a range of judges from the local science and engineering community.
Read more: Greensward Academy at the CSES Schools' Challenge

We are pleased to inform you that due to the success of the Facebook Digital Skills workshop, our partners Braintree District Council are now hosting a Google Digital Garage! This opportunity is also open to anyone.
Get new skills for a digital world! Braintree District Council are partnering with Google Digital Garage to offer FREE training to help grow your career or business.
Join the session at Colchester Institute (Braintree Campus) on Tuesday 17 December and take part in up to three workshops.
Register now for your FREE place via Eventbrite. This is an opportunity not to be missed: tickets are limited to 60 per session.
Read more: More FREE Digital Skills Training – this time by Google

We are pleased to advise that our partners, Braintree District Council, are working with Facebook to deliver a FREE Digital Skills training course in November in Braintree. Details are below and bookings can be made on the Eventbrite page. This event is open to anyone and we look forward to seeing you there!
Are you equipped with the digital and soft skills necessary to thrive in the new economy?
Whether you are a start-up founder, executive, manager, employee or student who is about to begin your journey into the world of work, the skills you need to prosper and thrive in today’s digital world have changed.
New technology is being developed at lightning speeds and yet the growth of the necessary digital and soft skills has not kept pace with the ever-accelerating digital economy. This digital skills gap could cost the UK economy £141 billion in GDP growth according to Accenture.
Great news! The FREE Digital Skills Workshop by Facebook (in partnership with Buzzstart Academy) is coming to Braintree Campus on Tuesday 19th November to help equip you with some of the fundamental digital skills needed in the new economy and you are invited!

Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity
The coming year (2020) is a big one for CSES: it's our centenary. It also marks the 100th anniversary of the first radio entertainment broadcast by Dame Nellie Melba from the Marconi works at New Street, and the exciting news that Chelmsford will be hosting the 2020 British Science Festival.
All of this is brought together as Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity.
CSES will be holding its usual programme of talks, socials and school activities, but look out for more events throughout the year as the celebrations take place. With our partner organisations we will be holding special events, some of which will continue in the future.
Our events pages have all the details.
- The first talks include electromagnets, space/time and Big Data.
- We have scheduled a full social programme including Café Scientifique and the annual Christmas Party.
- We will be taking part in PhysicsFest in October.
- My Smarter Essex is back. We will be running this in early 2020: please look out for further details.

Are you able to help for 5 evenings in Nov and Dec 2019?
Teledyne e2v (Te2v) and CSES are launching an engineering challenge that will see local schools working with Te2v apprentices and CSES volunteers to develop prototype solutions to real engineering problems faced by Te2v production staff.
This will be a pilot scheme which, if successful, will be run annually. We are starting with a small number of local schools and need CSES volunteers to help the apprentices to mentor the student teams.
Can you help? Remember that any time spent volunteering counts as Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Read more: Mentors sought for Teledyne e2v schools' engineering challenge
The Imagine! STEM Club is a new CSES/ARU event for school students and young people
The inaugural launch of the Imagine! STEM Club took place at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) Chelmsford campus over three days (29-31 July 2019). Over twenty students aged between 12 and 15 attended with an approximate 50% male-female ratio.
CSES Imagine! STEM Club was conceived and planned in consultation with ARU and Essex County Council (ECC) with the aim of promoting STEM learning and career options to young local school students and home-schooled students. CSES Council Member Bob Easby drafted the programme together with Professor David Humber from ARU, who were keen to show off their new £4 Million SuperLab, and Ed Bye, a CSES member who works with Schools and ECC providing specialist STEM support. The interactive practical sessions were delivered in the SuperLab by David Humber, Bob himself and Paul Cotton the SuperLab Manager at ARU, with some additional help and support from some enthusiastic ARU Ambassadors.


In Analysis HESA's Annual Report, Study in UK Highlights the Increased Number of Female Students Enrolling in Postgraduate Study.
With the release of HESA's (Higher Education Statistics Agency) annual report, Study in UK has looked at the figures and drawn a number of conclusions in terms of student numbers in a range of disciplines. More details can be found at the link below:
Study in UK: Female Students Enrolled in Science Programs in Steady Increase
Congratulations to everyone who won an award at the 2019 Schools' Competition, which took place on Friday 28 June 2019 at Anglia Ruskin University.

A Research Opportunity at the Essex Record Office for Master’s or Ph.D. Students Interested in the History of Science and Technology
Within the varied holdings of the Essex Record Office (ERO) are a number of collections of value for researching the history of science, technology, engineering and medicine. These include over 100,000 photographs from the Marconi Company, dating from the 1890s to the 1980s.
In collaboration with the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS), the ERO is offering the chance for a Master’s or Ph.D. student to spend four weeks (or equivalent part-time) investigating the potential of collections held at ERO for research in science, technology and engineering subjects, and to raise awareness of and engagement with particular records – primarily the Marconi Photographic Archive.
- The Internet: is it Still Good For Us?
- CSES Hosts IET Faraday Challenge 2019
- Go4SET mentor sought for Woodlands School (Apr-Jul 2019)
- Now taking bookings for the Annual Dinner 2019
- Chelmsford Science Festival 2019
- Images from space – with technology from Chelmsford
- The Schools' Competition 2019 is now open
- Introducing a STEM Club with a difference...
- CSES is looking for a new Secretary
- Save the date: Schools' Competition 2019