We hosted our first Destination Leeds workshop, entitled Choosing the Right STEM Degree, on Saturday, 12th December. It was pleasing to see 71 of our Year 12 students join this event. Students heard from Leeds University Departmental Admission Heads across STEM subjects and from the Careers Department about the wide variety of areas that different STEM subjects can take you into. The highlight for the event for many students was the final section where they were matched into their chosen degree subject and or area of interest, to meet current students and find out what it is like to study these subjects.
We have been busy supporting the final set of UCAS applications by our Year 13s for university. It has been great to have our partners at University of Leeds, UCL and Peterhouse College at Cambridge University provide such great information and support to our students to ensure they make the right degree choice for them and apply to the best possible university they are capable of getting into. We look forward to receiving all the information around our offers to our Year 13s next year.
In January our Year 12s have some exciting sessions on both our STEM@Cambridge and our Destination Leeds programmes. We will also open up some of our work experience opportunities for application and look forward to preparing our students to get used to applying for jobs. The process will be just like applying for an Internship or Graduate position and our students will be given feedback throughout the process.
Student Feedback:
Student A
‘I want to give a prodigious thank you to The Black Heart Foundation and Generating Genius for this extraordinary, life-impacting scholarship! I am beyond grateful for this blessing. Since the age of 16, I have had to work in retail to support my educational needs, which included everything from funding essential educational trips to purchasing textbooks and train tickets for my medical school interviews. Working part-time alongside my A level studies was difficult and studying Medicine at Nottingham University is proving to be the most significant academic and social challenge yet, especially during a pandemic. I understand what a privilege it is to be able to study this profession and how hard I have worked to be in my position. Therefore, with the financial stability that this scholarship provides, I can dedicate 100% of my time towards my degree, and so giving me the time to focus on becoming the best doctor I can be. Being able to effectively balance my studies alongside my university’s social, volunteering and mentoring opportunities allows me to make the most of my time here, as well as engage in roles that help to support prospective STEM students to achieve their goals. Once again, thank you so much for this support. I strive to repay your generosity and thus contribute to helping future generations of underprivileged students.
Student B
‘I will be eternally grateful to the Black Heart Foundation for their generosity and care. This scholarship has given me a level of financial freedom I’ve never experienced in my life. Growing up in a low income single-parent household has meant always juggling my education and financial worries with little time for aspirations or hobbies. With this support I can now focus more on my career prospects and extracurricular activities. I’ve always felt like I have to work twice as hard for the same opportunities but with this scholarship, I feel on par with my peers. I am now able to fully engage with my course material, making my dreams of becoming a medical researcher more tangible. Thank you.’
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Black Heart Foundation for the second year in a row of supporting Generating Genius students who need it most with scholarships to have the financial support and confidence to achieve degree success in STEM. They also are a key sponsor of Uni Genius and support our university preparation and career discovery programmes which prepare our students to get into and aspire to study STEM degrees. Over the last 2 years the sponsorship from Black Heart has supported our A-level booster revision classes where our students are tutored in small groups of 4 or 5. This support is akin to what students in independent and private schools receive as part of their schooling and it is extremely impactful in making sure every student gets the individual support and guidance they require to achieve their personal best.
We have now engaged 137 students on our activities as part of our programme with Grid for Good. We are well on our target to ensure a minimum of 550 students get to engage with the career development opportunities as part of this programme during this academic year. This month's events included an Energy Insight talk and workshop evening which 72 students attended as well as a smaller, more in depth, two day Data Science challenge and workshops for 22 students.
We are looking forward to getting started on providing students with individual mentors from National Grid starting in January for a 12 week Career Discovery Mentoring Programme. This programme is aimed at first year students to help them start to figure out what kinds of jobs and industries they may be interested in and application preparation for competitive summer internships.
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