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Funding for Research into low calorie chocolate, a KTN initiative

Research into low calorie chocolate

Skirting Science is a starting point to try and help young girl students to see the impact of science and new technologies on the career openings of the future. As a new age unfolds,  where the financial success of the world economies is  based on  rapidly expanding new technologies,  it is time to ensure that science is perceived as a core subject for many career paths and not just for geeks.    A new initiative  KTN, Knowledge transfer network,  is a new body recently launched  in order to help companies to share technologies that may have applications in more than one industry and which underlines the government’s commitment to support industry lead science and technology. This network of networks is designed to encourage all businesses to  exploit the latest technologies to drive their economic success. https://www.innovateuk.org/-/knowledge-transfer-networks#

Creator of Clumsy Ninja and Grand Theft Auto Graphics makes $527m

With  news that  NaturalMotion ,  the company behind some popular gaming graphics founded by  a doctoral researcher in Zoology, being sold for $527m, young entrepreneurs might be well advised to think twice as to their choice of HE and FE. Skirting science brings together students, research scientists and commercial organisations to allow the students to see STEM subjects  in action outside the classroom environment.  With a new era of technology based enterprises bringing innovation to all sorts of commercial applications, STEM education may be a key element for more and more of those wishing to set up business ventures.

http://www.balderton.com/portfolio/naturalmotion

Over a million job vacancies in ICT !

Over a million job vacancies in ICT !

Skirting Science aims to help inspire young female students to consider career opportunities in the light of STEM linked workshops. At a time  of chronic unemployment in much of Europe, especially in the under 30s age group, it is hoped that this project will help young women to find fulfilling and secure employment in the future. Since it is reported from Davos this week that there needs to be further action to remedy the  skills shortage in the ever expanding  fields of technology and communications, the role of Skirting Science seems even more pertinent than ever.

The problem is well set out in the report ‘Making Education Work’ chaired by Sir Roy Anderson (http://uk.pearson.com/making-education-work.html). The transition from job-destructive technology to income creative development may well be painful process, but without the skills to equip the youngsters of today for this brave new world, employers will have to search hard for the right skills.

Skirting Science works!

Good news for everyone who has attended Skirting Science: the more employer contacts you recall having whilst at school, the more you’re likely to earn when in full-time employment as young adults! In March, the internationally-influential peer-reviewed Journal of Education and Work published Taskforce research team findings that illustrated the connection between school-arranged employer contacts (such as work experience, careers talks, workplace visits) and later wage premiums of up to 18%.

 Read the full report here

 

School Girls Make Science History!

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Friday 13th  is unlucky for some, but last week schoolgirls participating in “Skirting Science” (an event to encourage girls to study science) made science history during an exciting interactive workshop run by researchers from Cardiff University. 

The research group, headed by Dr Marc Pearton, has been developing a method for delivering pain free vaccination with needles that are so small they can only be seen with a microscope. The school girls succeeded in producing the micro-needles using the new techniques developed at the University of Cardiff.  Dr Pearton said “This is the first time, anywhere in the world, that these micro-needles have been manufactured outside of a research lab!”