CASE STUDY

Pupils aim high at Space to Learn Careers Conference

The careers conference, with its focus on space science, encouraged young people to explore careers in science and engineering.

Date

17th Sep 2024

Employer

Space to Learn is a National Space Academy project, supported by a variety of specialist partners and held locally at Aberdeen Science Centre.

School(s)

Aboyne Academy, Fraserburgh Academy, Hazlehead Academy and St Machar Academy

Industry

Engineering

Overview

S3 pupils from four schools across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire experienced a day at Aberdeen Science Centre to take part in the National Space Academy: Space to Learn Careers Conference. The focus of the conference was space science, with an emphasis on helping young people navigate their way into career pathways in the science and engineering sectors. The ethos of the Space to Learn programme is to remove barriers to opportunity and use the exciting context of space to inspire and broaden the horizons of the next generation.

Results and effectiveness

The day provided attendees with a variety of learning experiences, including:

A detailed insight into SaxaVort Spaceport, the first fully licensed vertical launch Spaceport in Europe, which is preparing for the first orbital test flight in Autumn 2024 at Lamba Ness in Unst, Shetland.

A personal pathways talk about the role of the Community Project Officer for SaxaVort Spaceport and how they bring communities together through education, sustainability, outreach, community engagement and visitor management to share the excitement of space.
Introductions to different companies through ‘Busking Stands’. Pupils were able to talk directly with people working within education and STEM. A passport system was used to encourage conversation and questions.

Pupils also had the chance to explore the exhibits at the Aberdeen Science Centre. A member of staff was hand to provide further information and demonstrations.

Additional benefits

The young people engaged well throughout the day, asking questions and showing enthusiasm for collecting stamps on their passports as they visited stands.

The conference provided them with an opportunity to learn outside of the classroom in a regional facility that is focused on STEM activities (Aberdeen Science Centre).

The event was carefully designed to be accessible and interactive; this was achieved by:

Offering travel and school teacher cover bursaries
Timetabling the event during the school day
Organising pupils into small groups to facilitate discussion and participation
Ensuring optimum ratios of employers to pupils
Briefing participating employers, so that they could engage with and involve the pupils.

Pupil participant

“I have loved today. I want to get a job as an Aeronautical Engineer so I was really happy to come here today.”