Science Vale UK, The environment for global Excelence
Students use work experience to get the competitive edge
24th August 2010
From space robots to potential climate change solutions: students use work experience to get the competitive edge
Students from schools across the United Kingdom have spent part of their summer holidays programming robot prototypes designed to explore other planets and researching solutions to combat climate change.
The 70 GCSE and A-Level students have been taking part in work experience placements which are run by the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC’s) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire.
The placements which run each year from June to August range from space science, particle physics and laser science to photography and science communications, and provide unique opportunities for students to contribute to high tech science research to help prepare them for the competitive work place environment.
One of the placements involved producing a series of interactive, hands-on classroom activities using a prototype robot or ‘rover’ to help primary and secondary schools learn more about science, computer programming and technology. The rover which is controlled by a laptop was programmed by three teams of work experience students to perform tasks such as detecting types of liquids on a planetary surface. The students also worked on the design of the robot adding equipment to measure temperature and an infra-red range finder to tell the robot how close it is to an object.
“The work experience at STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory has been a really great experience and I’m glad I had the opportunity to work here. It has definitely made me consider a career in Space Science as I would love to have the knowledge of some of the top scientists here,” said Jessica Heath from King Alfred’s School, Oxfordshire.
Each person works alongside STFC scientists and engineers and is assigned a placement supervisor who also acts as a mentor.
“One of the key things we want to do is to motivate and generate interest in science and engineering for the next generation, said Brian Maddison, Placement Supervisor and Project Manager in RAL’s Space Science and Technology Department. “Science and technology bring huge benefits to our society and economy. In a recession this message is more important that ever. Young people not only want to find a job or a place at university, they want to learn new skills and be inspired into career choices – this is a step in that direction.”
“Most of the students are thinking about their future careers – what A-levels to do, what subjects they would like to study at university or what jobs to apply for,” said Jo Lewis, Education and Public Outreach Manager at STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. “By working in groups made up of students from different schools and parts of the country, they learn key project management, communication and team work skills much sought after by employers and universities. This also helps the students gain in confidence. It’s not easy meeting tight deadlines, and giving presentations to teachers, scientists and peers – the students have to do this from 8.30-5pm each day for two weeks or more! Having this kind of work experience on their CV can give someone the edge over other applicants.”
The work experience projects not only equip the students with new skills and confidence, but can be invaluable for scientific research.
The GeoEngineering for Climate Change (GE4CC ) work experience project is one such example. Working together intensively over a two-week period, the students investigated carbon capture and other technological ways of combating the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The students’ report will feed into STFC’s Futures Programme which looks at where research can be best applied in areas which make a difference to peoples’ lives.
In addition to programming robots and investigating carbon capture, some of the students worked on designs for a prototype beam monitoring device for ISIS, one of Europe’s leading particle accelerators specializing in novel research in areas such as medicine, energy, security and the environment.
“Work experience at STFC Rutherford Appleton laboratory has been one of the best experiences I have ever had,” said Vyoma Shukla from St Dominic’s Sixth form College in Middlesex. “Working on the beam monitoring project at ISIS has been a very challenging and enjoyable task. I have learnt the importance of analytical thinking to design and execute a programme, and working in a team under supervisors at ISIS has been enriching and has helped me to improve my communication skills.”
Publicly backed R&D in Science Vale UK boosts economic performance
9th August 2010
On 9 July David Willetts, the new science minister highlighted the importance of science in tough economic circumstances and specifically mentioned the Culham Science Centre and Harwell Campus, both of which are located within Science Vale UK.
In a keynote speech at the Royal Institution, Mr Willetts talked of the importance of science and technology as a driving force for rebalancing the economy. He said:
“This Government wants science to emerge from this period to be strong, sustainable and effective. Vince Cable and George Osborne both understand the key role of science, technology and innovation in rebalancing the economy.
I am an optimist about science’s capacity to do this, because the deep forces driving its growth and popularity are as powerful as ever. A very important stimulus for scientific advance is, quite simply, technology. We talk of scientific discovery enabling technical advance, but the process is much more inter-dependent than that. For example, imaging technology is driven by the demands of astronomers, and then enables those same astronomers to make new discoveries. It’s because of this process that we’ve been able to view this week those awe-inspiring images of the oldest light in the cosmos, gathered by the Planck space telescope. Meanwhile it allows medical imaging to advance along the way, almost as a by-product of our age old desire to look into the heavens.
That is why one of my ambitions is to try to ensure that the exciting intellectual advance of nuclear fusion – we are world leaders at Culham – also drives British technological and industrial development.
I’m a firm believer in clusters – best defined as a low-risk environment for high-risk activity
First, it makes sense for government to back shared facilities – research platforms if you like – which private companies could not develop on their own. So I’m delighted that a state-of-the-art laboratory is opening today at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The new £26million lab is next to the Diamond Light Source, the ISIS neutron source and the Central Laser Facility. It will allow researchers to work side-by-side with beam line experts in fields ranging from drug development to novel materials. (They might even find that the most important room on the site is the coffee bar, as at the Hauser forum in Cambridge.) To date, experimentation at Diamond alone has helped firms like Rolls Royce to apply synchrotron techniques for aerospace and energy applications; Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline on drug discovery and development; Johnson Matthey on improved emissions control catalysts. This is how publicly backed R&D boosts economic performance – one OECD study found that a 1 per cent increase in public R&D increased overall productivity by 0.17 per cent.”
Making the International Space Innovation Centre a reality
8th August 2010
David Willetts, the science minister has announced that a £4.9m contract has been awarded to build an Earth Observation Hub at the International Space Innovation Centre at the Harwell Campus in Science Vale UK .
The hub will enable the UK to manage spacecraft operations and process the information collected by future space missions.
The contract has gone to a consortium led by Astrium and the hub will be amongst the first in Europe that will actively encourage direct collaboration between government, industry and academics.
Mr Willets said:
“The Earth Observation Hub will help UK scientists make the most of the wealth of information we are collecting about our home planet, in vital areas such as monitoring the effects of climate change or so we can respond quickly to natural disasters throughout the world.
“It’s the important first step in making the International Space Innovation Centre a reality, linking regional space capabilities and promoting knowledge-sharing between academia and industry. This will support further growth in a sector already worth more than £6 billion a year to our economy.”
Nexeon Sets Up Shop at Milton Park
6th August 2010
A company set to make a huge difference to our experience of using mobile phones, laptops and the other gadgets of everyday life, has relocated to Milton Park. Nexeon Ltd has moved its research scientists, cell fabrication, and pilot plant to facilities on Milton Park that have been extensively refitted. From here, Nexeon can accelerate its development of next-generation lithium ion batteries with longer lifetimes and more power.
The new facilities give Nexeon the ability to produce more material for sampling to the global corporations interested in evaluating and adopting the new technology. More efficient dryrooms and heat recovery systems reduce energy costs and carbon footprint.
Nexeon has seen a great deal of interest in its new technology that uses silicon instead of carbon in lithium ion batteries. Global automotive companies are looking for ways to improve the power to weight ratio of vehicles, and Nexeon’s approach could see even faster introduction of practical electric vehicles.
“We’re delighted with our new home”, says Ian McDonald, Director of Engineering and Operations at Nexeon, who masterminded the operation. “It represents an important milestone in our development which began at Imperial College London. We now have room for further expansion.”
Science Vale Bikes to Work
15th July 2010
The three premier science parks in the south east of England celebrated Bike to Work Week on 23 June with a joint Science Vale UK Bike to Work Day.
MEPC Milton Park, Harwell Campus and Culham Science Centre cycled to work with the incentive of a free breakfast at the end of the journey.
There were three cycling routes and each science park group had two ride leaders, one for the front of the group and one for the back. The leaders met the cyclists at each location before the groups split and cycled to their own respective science park.
The event encouraged cycling at all levels of ability and was open to everybody.
For more information about the day at each science park visit:
Access university expertise
9th July 2010
If you haven’t sought the advice of a university expert before, two new voucher schemes make it easier to access university expertise.
The Consultancy Voucher Scheme (ECIF) offers small to medium-sized companies (SMEs) a “voucher” of up to a maximum of £4,000 which will purchase approximately 8 days’ worth of time on a specific programme of consultancy work. SEEDA will be awarding at least 20 vouchers in the first instance, with a limit of one voucher per company.
Eligible companies must have:
■ fewer than 250 employees
■an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros
■at least 75% of their ownership not owned or controlled by a company that is not an SME
Priority will be given to companies that:
■have not previously received consultancy or contract research services from Oxford Brookes University
■are based within 60 miles of Oxford Brookes University
Sustainability-themed Innovation Vouchers (SEEDA)
In addition to the above, Innovation Vouchers specifically on the theme of sustainability are available, also for a value of up to £4,000 and funded by SEEDA. The sustainability-themed vouchers are available for consultancy work undertaken on the themes of Construction, Energy and Waste. For these vouchers, the consultancy work is not exclusive to Oxford Brookes and can be undertaken with any university/Knowledge Base Partner in the United Kingdom, provided the applicant is based within the South East Economic Region (excluding London). Applicants must not have had significant prior interaction with the Knowledge Base Partner.
For more information visit the Oxford Brookes University website