SciFest is back!

The University of Wolverhampton is gearing up for an event filled with experiments, explosions and a very big robot.     

The University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering will be hosting its annual outreach event with an array of fun and free activities with schools and members of the public around science, engineering, technology and maths. (STEM)

A dedicated program of activities for West Midlands based schools and sixth form colleges will take place throughout the week with a program of STEM workshops designed to encourage student interests in these subjects and increase knowledge in a fun and interactive way.

The week of activities begins from Tuesday, 7 July with GCSE day, which aims to enhance the GCSE science curriculum for year 10 students with classroom demonstrations and experiments.

Wednesday, 8 July will be A-Level day dedicated to A-level and BTEC students studying STEM subjects with a range of activities to motivate and challenge students and their learning ability.

Primary day will follow on Friday, 9 July for Year 5 and 6 children to enhance the Key Stage 2 science and engineering curriculum.

On Saturday, 11 July, the University’s city campus will be opened up to the general public where visitors can take part in free workshops, experiments and games designed to bring STEM subjects to life.

Family Day will also welcome special guests to the campus including BBC Children’s Television presenter Radzi Chinyanganya , Tom Pringle, also known as “Dr Bunhead” and the eagerly anticipated Titan the Robot.

Dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering, Professor Nduka Nnamdi Ekere, said:“SciFest week is the University’s premier event for the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

“The event reaches people of all ages and from all walks of life, sending a clear message that STEM subjects are interesting, enjoyable and rewarding.

“SciFest is in its 4^th year and we have been successful in encouraging thousands of people from across the region to think about a future in one of these key subjects which are critical to the UK economy.

“The Faculty is proud to be hosting this hugely successful annual event and we look forward to seeing all of the fun and exciting activities take place throughout the week.”

Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science and Microbiology and part of the outreach team, Martin Khechara said: ‘Scifest is our flagship showcase event for promoting the public understanding of the science in our community.

“It brings the public together our greatest communicators to celebrate all that is amazing about science.

“It’s the fourth year that myself and the Science shack outreach team have been involved and were looking forward to the best year ever’.  

SciFest 2015 is sponsored by the Black Country Skills Factory - a Local Enterprise Partnership initiative aimed at addressing skills shortages in the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) sector in the Black Country.

The Skills Factory’s school engagement programme focusses on increasing the number of young people wishing to consider HVM as a career choice. Through Manufacture your Future careers guidance resources, the team will be signposting teachers, parents and pupils to the variety of well-paid career opportunities available within the sector and the importance of STEM subjects at school.

Colin Parker, Project Director of the Black Country Skills Factory, said: “We want to ensure that High Value Manufacturing is a prominent part of the Engineering and Science offer at Scifest 2015.

‌“What is really key is the linkage between the school curriculum subjects and how they feed into the ‘real world’ of industry”.

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For further information please contact Iyma Atiq in the Media Relations office on 01902 32 2448