National Higher Education STEM Programme

Overview

The National HE STEM Programme was a three-year initiative funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales (HEFCE/HEFCW). It started in August 2009 and completed in July 2012. The Programme aimed to increase and widen participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and enhanced the skills and knowledge base of the workforce in these areas. Although focused around the STEM subjects, it primarily concentrated its support on the disciplines of Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics with concomitant benefits to the STEM sector as a whole.

The Programme took forward activities in three related strands:

• Activities to widen participation within the STEM disciplines at HE level amongst students of traditional age

• HE curriculum developments focusing upon course delivery and design, student support, and knowledge and skills

• Activities to encourage those currently within the workforce and society without a Level 4 qualification to engage in further study to develop enhanced knowledge and skills.

The National HE STEM Programme:

• adopted a holistic approach to increasing and widening participation amongst school-age students

• examined the current undergraduate curriculum at the time and explored the teaching of the critical STEM skills to ensure graduates of all ages were adequately prepared for their workplace

• encouraged Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to engage with employers on a regional basis and develop flexible and tailored programmes of study to meet regional skills needs

• delivered the programme in collaboration with six regional spokes, four professional bodies and their subject centres

For more information, please visit: www.hestem.ac.uk

London Engineering Project (LEP)

The London Engineering Project (LEP), managed by the Royal Academy of Engineering, was the pilot project for the engineering strand of this Programme. The National HE STEM Programme took ideas, approaches and effective practice learnt thorough the LEP's work and adapted it for the needs of the HEIs involved with the National HE STEM Programme.

The London Engineering Programme won an award at the London Education Partnership Awards on Monday, 7th June 2010 under the category Inspiring journeys: excellent professional practice in curriculum support for STEM. The LEP shone out as an example of a well-rounded partnership between universities, employers, third sector organisations, and primary and secondary schools, which delivered improvements across all phases to widen participation in engineering in higher education.

For more information, please visit: www.thelep.org.uk

Role of the Royal Academy of Engineering in National HE STEM Programme

The Royal Academy of Engineering lead the engineering strand of the Programme, building on the effective practice of the London Engineering Project. It supported the National HE STEM Programme through collaborations with the HEIs to encourage the exploration of new approaches to recruiting students and delivering programmes of study in engineering. It enabled the transfer of good practice across the HE STEM sector, facilitating its wider adoption, and encouraged innovation. The Programme did not seek to undertake short-term interventions, but focused upon sustainable activities with the potential to achieve long-term impact within the Higher Education sector.

Projects funded under this Programme

The Royal Academy of Engineering received funding through the Programme to support engineering activities in England and Wales. The Academy opened three calls between March 2010 and March 2011. The main purpose for these calls was to support the transfer and wider adoption of the best practice learnt through the LEP into the wider engineering HE sector and other STEM subjects. As a result of these calls, the Academy funded 5 large and 61 small scale projects worth £678k.

Projects ranged from HE Innovation, Education Research, Engineering for Society, Engineering Outreach, and Employer Engagement. They included examples like training undergraduate students as Student Ambassadors to assist outreach activities in local schools, or creating new engineering modules in upcoming technologies like Nuclear Island, to name a few. For more details and a complete list, please visit http://www.thelep.org.uk/national/projects

The HESTEM team also performed an overall evaluation once all the 65 evaluation reports were submitted in April 2012. This helped the team to observe and learn any common themes or lessons that are emerged from the process.

Completed Project Case Studies

Each project fell into one of the following areas that can be seen below. If you click on each of them it will take you direct to the case studies under each heading:

• HE Innovation Projects

• Education Research

• Engineering for Society

• Outreach

Upcoming Events

National HE STEM Programme - 3 Days Conference

Dates: 4 - 6 September 2012

Venue: University of Birmingham

Organised by: National HE STEM Programme

Further Details:

Closely following the themes of the Programme, the National HE STEM Programme conference will provide the opportunity for Programme projects to present their work to an audience of STEM practitioners from across the UK.

This conference will act as a focal point for the activity that has been commissioned and supported by the Programme over its 3 year duration. It will celebrate the achievements and successes of the projects, whilst also looking at how the HE environment has changed since the Programme’s inception in August 2009, and how the work of the projects is helping shape the future of Higher Education in the UK.

Further details including how to register for the conference, how to present your project at the conference, what are the criteria and guidelines for submission, delegate rates, etc. are now available on Conference Page here.

If your project is supported by The Royal Academy of Engineering and you have any questions, please feel free to contact the National HE STEM Programme team.

To find out more about the engineering component of this Programme, please visit the LEP National webpage.

If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact the National HE STEM Programme team

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National Engineering Programme Barrow Engineering Project BEST Programme Connecting Teachers Education for Engineering (E4E) Engineering Engagement Project Engineering Further Education (EFE) London Engineering Project HE STEM Programme HE Innovation Projects - Case Studies Education Research - Case Studies Engineering for Society - Case Studies Outreach - Case Studies Engineering in a Box: Wales