New partnership aims to guide young people into rewarding STEM careers

New Scientist and STEM Learning have agreed an exciting new partnership which will help increase their joint support of young people in pursuing a rewarding career and life-long interest in STEM.

As part of the two-year agreement, STEM Learning will become an official Event Partner of New Scientist Live. This annual festival of ideas and discovery inspires young people by featuring hands-on activities, interactive experiences and performances promoting the many wonders of STEM.

New Scientist Live 2024 features two public days on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October and a dedicated Schools’ Day on Monday 14 October. STEM Learning will be present throughout the event, accompanied by many exciting speakers and STEM careers advisors to provide practical advice to young people, parents, carers and teachers.

Both organisations will work together to share resources, programmes and initiatives more widely to an audience of students, teachers, parents and carers with the aim of supporting young people to make well-advised STEM career choices.

They will also collaborate to increase the number of STEM Ambassadors  – role model volunteers from industry who visit schools and colleges to open young people’s eyes to the many possibilities of a varied STEM career. All of these initiatives will have a strong focus on engaging under-served communities and driving diversity in STEM.

Roland Agambar, CEO of New Scientist, said: “New Scientist is delighted to be entering into this important partnership with STEM Learning. As the leading weekly science brand, we feel it is incumbent on us to address the challenges of driving increased engagement and diversity within STEM.

“New Scientist Live is our biggest outreach activity and a core aim of the event is to inspire young people and underserved communities to embark on studies and careers within STEM. Inspiring the next generation and building a diverse talent pipeline is a shared objective of many of our event partners, speakers and exhibitors.

“The UK economy desperately needs more people with STEM qualifications entering the workforce and our partnership with STEM Learning will enable us to offer vital advice to young people considering their educational and career paths. Parents, carers and teachers are key influencers when it comes to guiding young people in their study and career choices: New Scientist Live uniquely attracts these key groups and our partnership with STEM Learning will enable us to support these important stakeholders more effectively.”

Séverine Trouillet, Chief Executive at STEM Learning, said: “For many years now, STEM Learning and New Scientist have shared a common goal of encouraging and supporting young people to pursue studies, careers and a life-long interest in STEM.

“So this collaboration is a natural step, and we’re absolutely delighted to partner with an organisation which aligns so closely with our goals and is so well-established and renowned in the UK and beyond.

“Our aim is to make teachers, students, parents and carers aware of the fantastic possibilities and rewards of an exciting STEM career and ensure they can easily access these opportunities too.

“We’re celebrating our 20^th anniversary this year and this sort of initiative is exactly the type of project we love being involved in. For example, earlier this year we launched Destination STEM which directly reaches out to young people to help them explore pathways in STEM careers, develop STEM skills and connect them directly with STEM employers.”

Find out more about Destination STEM and join us at New Scientist Live 2024