Uni Genius 2024

 Uni-genius  supporting low income students towards equal opportunity in STEM

The key successes from last year on Post 16 Genius have been students receiving fantastic work experience opportunities and performing really well during them. We were able to offer 132 work experience placements last year, for our Year 12 and 13 students, over the summer holidays. Thank you to HSBC, National Grid, GHO Capital, Circana and Coller Capital for offering these fantastic placements for our students. The feedback on students' performance, engagement and delivery of their work experience projects was exceptionally high this year with many partners stating that the students they had were some of the best they have ever had. We also have had a brilliant total of 46 applications to Oxford and Cambridge from students on both our STEM@Oxford and STEM@Cambridge programmes. We look forward to providing you an update in March after we have caught up with students in February. We also look forward, in March, to sharing with you the other fantastic institutions which students have applied to.

We have had a successful launch event of the Junior Genius Scholars Programme, as well as a wonderful Dream Careers Essay Competition. Both the parents, guardians and students attended the programme launch at St John's College, University of Cambridge. The students and parents participated in induction activities, a Robotics STEM Masterclass, and attended a Studying in STEM panel from students at Cambridge University. There was also a tour of St John's College and other key parts of Cambridge University. It was great to have both students, parents and guardians participating in all activities, particularly in the Robotics class. We have found that once you get the parents and guardians on board, and invested in our programmes, the students really shine as the parents understand the impact and value of the programmes too.

Last year was a brilliant year for our school's programme, Pay it Forward, and the first term of this academic year on the programme got off to a great start. We have completed all of the year 11 Career Development Workshops in our schools. The schools in the year 11 cohort are in a variety of locations nationwide such as Wolverhampton, Durham, and Newcastle. We have completed the Career Mentoring Programme and STEM in Action Day for one of our year 10 schools Sandhill View school in Sunderland and have begun Career Mentoring at Dukes Academy in Northumberland and Ark Alexander in Hastings. The Mentoring Programme has proven to be the most impactful part of the programme for the students and also was very beneficial for mentors who participated in it to develop management, communication, and planning skills. Last year the programme was also able to increase its impact due to the generous donation of the programme's sole funder, the Hadley Trust. The programme was able to increase its support from four schools to eight schools in England as well the amount of support we provide. We have now added on more support to this programme by providing an additional Career Development Workshop and Mentoring Day in the summer term of year 10 as well as engaging summer challenges to compliment the final Career Development Workshop day in year 11.

Thank you to all of our partners and supporters last year for your generous time and donations towards our programmes. We look forward to continuing to make an impact via our programmes with you this year.

Last year we delivered year two of five of the HSBC Future Genius programme alongside HSBC Digital Business Services. This programme is for 54 students. The programme aims to upskill students with the key employability skills needed for the future of work. A big focus is on digital and technology skills, which are now needed in every job, as well as commercial awareness of different industries, presentation skills, teamwork, career advice and discovery and job application process preparation. The end of the second year of the programme also marks the end of the core programme. The students started the core programme at the beginning of year 12 and completed it when they finished school in year 13. The second year of the programme consisted of a summer work experience, networking events and a programme graduation. This year's summer work experience was all about commercial awareness where students worked independently on a research project in their first preference business areas from Legal through to Cyber Security, as well as attending workshops and shadowing in these areas. The programme graduation and awards were a highlight of this year, particularly the student speeches where the programmes three top performers shared what they learned and advice for themselves and the whole cohort as they entered university and their next steps.

The students have now gone to university and graduated onto the three-year alumni programme. The alumni programme activity has begun with a 12-week programme where students are given a mentor from HSBC departments that align closely with their career interests or have been assigned a mentor from another company or organisation that better aligns with what they want to do. The mentoring programme includes four one to one mentoring sessions as well three employability skills masterclasses. The aim of the mentoring programme and masterclasses is to support students with career advice, how to find and source internships and work experience, as well as upskilling on how to be successful with these job application processes.

Generating Genius Conference and Awards Ceremony at the House of Lords

One of the key highlights for Generating Genius students, partners, supporters, and our team, was our inaugural Conference and Awards. From engaging panels exploring 'How to Generate Genius for the future economy' to compelling presentations by our talented Engineering and Technology student award winners, the day was a testament to the power of collective brilliance. The student debate which explored solutions to climate change brought a vital perspective to the ongoing conversation about shaping our future. We not only celebrated the exceptional achievements of brilliant minds but also fostered a sense of community. The student presentations and academic posters showcased the incredible talent that our organisation is privileged to support.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our students, supporters, and sponsors at the National Grid, AKO Capital, The Hadley Trust, Salesforce, HSBC, and Barings. Your invaluable contributions as panellists, keynote speakers, awards presenters, and attendees played a pivotal role in making this event a resounding success.

We have now reflected on the success and ways we can make this event better and are looking forward to hopefully more of you joining us for this year’s conference and awards.

We need your support so we can reach wider across the regions of the UK.