Seung Joo Yang - Summer STEM Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

The STEM placement students are sending us weekly blogs all about their experience in the world of work! 


Work experience is great and it provides students with many benefits whilst gaining skills and helping choose the right future career path for pupils. Having work experience on a Curriculum Vitae will make a person stand out to employers as they will notice they have motivation and and a real passion for work. It will also help to boost a students confidence in themselves! 

See how Seung Joo is getting on with their STEM placement! 

Week One 

"On the first day, we went through induction. First impression of the company was that it was bigger than I thought it was. It had many different departments, all related to civil engineering. The next few days we were taken to different departments like railways, highways and geotech. We learnt about what they do in those departments and some insight to the projects they are working on at the moment. It was a great experience of an engineering company and I could see myself in an environment like this as an engineer working with other engineers on a single project." 

- Seung Joo Yang

Inspiring Young People Into STEM - Why Is It Important?

About Cathy Thompson: 

Profession: Qualified Careers Adviser 

About Cathy: Semi-retired, but still providing regular careers guidance to students at St Peter's Catholic School and involved in career development work at a national level. Was the Careers Lead at St Peter's for 8 years. Won a UK Career Development award in 2013 for our work engaging with employers, and a SATRO STEMX Award in 2017 for our work inspiring students to consider STEM careers. My careers provision was described as 'exceptional' by OFSTED in 2013 and our school maintains (with 2 re-accreditations so far) the Quality in Careers Standard. Have been invited to speak at a number of Conferences. 

Cathy's Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-thompson-65310656/


Tell us why you think it is important in today's world, to inspire young people into STEM and where applicable, why you and or your organisation gets involved and what you get out of it. 
We all recognise that school students initially, generally know about only a few job sectors (namely medicine, law and media!) and therefore it is our responsibility as careers advisers to ensure that we sign-post students to the wealth of other opportunities available to them in other sectors, and especially STEM-related. If we don't do this, where are these young people going to hear about these, which could significantly impact what subjects they are studying and what qualifications they need? Also, with the impending huge gaps in digital skills and other STEM areas, we need to inform the students about labour market information so that they can make informed decisions about their future choices. 
At St Peter's, we invite into school and visit a total of about 200 employers and organisations a year, so that students can explore what's on offer, and hear first-hand from people who are currently 'doing the job' out in the world of work. Of these employers, a high percentage are working in STEM posts. I think the first thing that intrigues students is the vast range of jobs and sectors which involve/use Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, including many of the 'arts' areas! Our students have found out about some very interesting STEM careers, including a clinical researcher, an architect, a sound engineer and designer, a civil engineer, a mechanical engineer, a medical scanners ops manager, a drilling engineer from BP, a doctor, an occupational therapist, a pilot, a telecoms engineer and a molecular virologist.  We work with SATRO, STEMNet (now STEM Sussex), the University of Surrey, past St Peter’s students (recent and those who have now worked for many years in STEM careers), our school parents, STEM-related apprenticeship providers, Inspiring the Future, Speakers for Schools.   Many of the STEM ambassadors/businesses we work with are women.  In fact, on our STEM networking activity, one year, all our engineers etc. were women!  We need to break stereotypes and encourage more female students to consider some of the great opportunities to work in STEM.

The benefit of these types of activities is well-informed students who can choose relevant courses and routes for their aspirations.  Whilst talking about routes, it is important also that students know that apprenticeships are becoming a truly viable alternative to university for some professional careers, with an increase in higher level, and in some cases, degree apprenticeships becoming more available.  Indeed, many employers are preferring this route, where they can ‘grow their own’ staff.   With degree apprenticeships becoming available in aerospace, architecture, nursing, and actuarial roles, for example, there is a conscious swing in the labour market to recruiting for these types of routes as opposed to recruiting graduates.

In relation to the above question, in your experience, what is getting better or worse and what in your view, are the barriers to sustained success and what do you see as the best way forward? 

Definitely ‘what is getting better’ is the range of STEM jobs on offer for our young people now!    Identifying the skill gaps has triggered an increase in opportunities for our students to ‘try out’ these types of careers on ‘Insight Days’, webinars and other kinds of work shadowing and work experience.  This said, some of these are very competitive and only open to students with relevant qualifications, though the climate is changing somewhat, providing wider access for students who may not possess the qualifications, but do have the personal qualities/employability skills which businesses are looking for.  This is also helping social mobility. 

‘What is getting worse’ is where to find all these opportunities, and to make sure that students don’t miss them!  There are a number of good sites which students can visit initially, to explore the types of opportunities available, like apprenticeships.org, graduate-jobs.com, studentladder, but often, the onus is on the student to do some in-depth research on employer sites to explore the range of opportunities available to them.

In my opinion, the barriers to sustained success in informing students about STEM-related work is two-fold: ensuring that schools have the resources to forge important links with their local labour market and further afield, and ensuring that businesses are not swamped (as some currently are) with requests from students to do work experience, which often is requested for the term of a whole week or longer.

More opportunities for students to do short-term (a day or two) of work shadowing/work experience, and encouraging SMEs to participate in these is, I believe the way forward.  An important part of this is the activities which SATRO provide for our students, to sample and explore STEM roles and develop the skills required for these jobs.  They provide great experiences and SATRO offer opportunities for individual students, groups or whole year groups!  Our school has participated in these over a number of years now, hosting their sixth form Maths Challenge, and this year, Year 8 Construction Challenge (open to all local schools), booking their Business Game each year to help our Year 10 students to develop important entrepreneurial skills, and attending Teentech.  SATRO have provided mentors and placements for our students over the past years, helping to inspire students and advise them about STEM-related careers.

Working in partnership with our local businesses and organisations, including SATRO is the way forward.  School staff invariably have few hours allocated to them to provide such important experiences, so should welcome any help they may be offered! 

I am optimistic that if we provide these types of opportunities, we will help to address the STEM skills gaps and hopefully inspire our young people with an exciting future in front of them.

- Cathy Thompson

Inspiring Young People Into STEM - Why Is It Important?

About Dr Elaine Hickmott

Profession: Independent Talent Development Specialist 

About Elaine: Love STEM, learning and being creative. Through my consultancy I help people invest in their professional and career development. My adventure began with a PhD in Chemistry followed by experience as an industrial chemist and working in corporate business leadership roles. I've happily gone from boiler-suit to boardroom and beyond. 

Elaine's Twitter Handle - @ElaineHickmott 

Tell us why you think it is important in today's world, to inspire young people into STEM and where applicable, why you and or your organisation gets involved and what you get out of it. 

"When I started to write this piece I hit a block.  I have lots to say about STEM talent and its global importance but I just wasn’t feeling it.  All I could hear in my head was, “blah, blah, blah!”

So I took a mental step back.  Forget stagnant statistics and pipeline predictions; this had to be personal. 

I let my mind wander and imagined being reunited with my 16-year old self.  What would I say to her?

The answer is quite simply, “Thank you!”

Choosing to do three science A-levels all those years ago was an inspired move.  Not because I had a burning desire to become a Nobel prize-winning scientist or a globe-trotting engineer.  Because I somehow recognised a STEM-based education (though we didn’t call it that in the olden days) would be a powerful platform for building a successful career.

I didn’t have aspirations to change the world.  And I didn’t know any scientists or engineers.  My logic was straightforward...following the science path, although challenging for me (I was definitely better at languages), would be more likely to lead to better jobs.  Plus, I could come back to the other stuff later.

And guess what, I was right.

Starting with a foundation of science has helped me build a rewarding and varied career while making a difference along the way.  It helped me go from boiler-suit to boardroom; chemistry to colostomy bags; bullet proof vests to blast furnaces... and beyond.

Jump forward to present day and into the future, STEM is a thread which unites us all.  It’s everywhere every day.  In fact, it is so embedded in our lives that now, more than ever before, being switched onto STEM is definitely a launch pad for many amazing adventures."

In relation to the above question, in your experience, what is getting better or worse and what in your view, are the barriers to sustained success and what do you see as the best way forward? 

"Inspiration is a personal thing and where it comes from is unpredictable and often random.  Exposure to rich and varied experiences definitely increases the chances of those sparks and marvellous ‘aha’ moments.  This is true of life and it’s certainly true in relation to STEM.

Fortunately, over recent years there has been a marked increase in STEM-related experiences for young people.  Many of them involve interaction with real people who bring the human element needed for accessibility and engagement.

Young people interacting as equals with others outside of usual school, family and peer groups; getting involved with new STEM-related experiences help to generate a positive energy.  A positive vibe which helps create a fertile ground for inspiration to strike.  It’s brilliant. 

But... Yes, you knew there was a ‘but’ coming! 

My personal perspective is that there is a challenge linked to context.

STEM is a big picture subject.  It’s not just about becoming scientist x or engineer y.  For example, if you watch a recent episode of the BBC’s Supermarket Secrets, it perfectly demonstrates the breadth and power of STEM in one sector alone.  And it shows that harnessing the power of STEM is not only about becoming a scientist or engineer.

Artificial intelligence being used to monitor customer behaviour while still upholding data protection rules.  Think feet.  Virtual reality taking the place of marketing focus groups.  Cauliflower waste being turned into a sustainable material for keeping vegetables fresh.  The circular economy in action.

Giving a wider context of where a STEM education might lead could actually act like a mini Trojan horse.  Reaching and resonating with young people in a different way.  Ultimately creating those unexpected sparks of inspiration which help people to set off on their own personal STEM adventures."

- Dr Elaine Hickmott 

Benedikt Schultes - Summer STEM Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

The STEM placement students are sending us weekly blogs all about their experience in the world of work! 

Work experience is great and it provides students with many benefits whilst gaining skills and helping choose the right future career path for pupils. Having work experience on a Curriculum Vitae will make a person stand out to employers as they will notice they have motivation and a real passion for work. It will also help to boost a students confidence in themselves!

                                         

                                          See how Benedikt is getting on with his STEM placement! 

Week One

"I have already learnt a great deal about microelectronics in the few days that I have spent at the University of Surrey so far. Dr Radu Sporea and his PhD student, Eva Bestelink are both extremely kind and helpful in the placement. Eva has quickly taught me all I have to know about thin film transistors (TFT), source-gated transistors (SGT), amplifiers, circuits, and the physics behind these devices, as well as how to program them into SILVACO DeckBuild and TonyPlot using ATLAS and SPICE. I started by building a simple TFT and analysed its source and gate voltages and progressed onto analysing the output characteristics of SGTs, or running circuits and analysing their current-voltage characteristics through the transient piecewise linear method. I have gotten many research materials as well as a student card (giving me access to the university library), so I have more than enough resources to learn from and write my report. I cannot wait to start the actual research part of the project soon, now that we have covered all the required knowledge. Both Radu and Eva are impressed with the progress I have made and we are in a good position to progress very soon. Finally, I also got some time to work on a fun little side project, where I have to build a circuit and solder the components together to make and LED dice." 

Week Two

"My supervisors Radu and Eva were away on a conference in Spain for a few days this week, which meant that I got some reading and research to do at home to prepare for the 'actual' work that lay ahead. I felt very ready after the few days just revising and learning from home, as there was a lot of interesting content covered in the first week which I now grasped fully and was eager to start the research part of the placement. At the end of the week, we started by analysing the transfer and output characteristics of an enhancement mode and a depletion mode SGT. I faced quite a few challenges with the depletion mode SGT, as it is supposed to be normally on a device, meaning that there is always current flowing through it, however, there was a problem with the doping in the code, and it took a while until we had identified what it was and got the code working again. Once we were happy with the two devices, we were able to plug them into the circuit and analyse the DC characteristics, showing that the devices were very good at amplifying signals." 

Week Three 

"This week was very challenging. We started off by testing a control device that we can later compare to the new device and see if the improvement that we expect is really there. This was also important to check all the code and make sure that everything is working so that we can test the new device as best as possible. Both the DC and AC analysis involved a lot of troubleshooting, and nothing worked out the way we wanted it to at first. In the end, there was a short line of code in the DC analysis which was not supposed to be there and had severely affected our results, and we were using values that were off by only 0.01 in the AC analysis, which changed the output from 200 to 20000, or more. I learnt a lot about what its like to do proper research this week, and how you have to always stay focused, creative and work well in a team in order to solve the challenges that you face, otherwise it will be much harder to solve them." 

Week Four 

"This was my last week at the University of Surrey, and it was definitely the most interesting because we started getting some results. The week was mostly running simulations in the background, while I plotted data from the previous simulations. We found very high gain in some devices, and more linear behaviour in other, which is what we were looking for. 

We tested many different amplifier circuit configurations and devices, leading to different and interesting results. Finally, we ran the simulations in SILVACO, but plotted the graphs in Origin, because it was much better for processing data that way. Although we did not entirely find what we were looking for yet, I am really glad to have been a part of the foundational research for this project, and I'm excited to hear about where it will go next, and will definitely stay in touch with Radu and Eva. I loved my SATRO experience, and would definitely recommend it further."

- Benedikt Schultes 

Volunteers Week 2019

Here at SATRO, we owe a huge thank you to our volunteers. They are vital to us and we certainly couldn’t do what we do without them! We know it is important that volunteers feel valued and that their employers know their staff have had a productive and positive experience with us. Many of our volunteers sign up so they can ‘make a difference’ to young people and are frequently surprised by how much they have learnt from the experience themselves. 

We asked Steve from UNUM who volunteers as a Mentor for SATRO why he does it? Here's what he had to say... 

"The most important factor to consider for me is the balance between your own personal development and feeling like you are giving something back. The opportunity to work as a volunteer (Mentor) for SATRO arrived through my workplace Unum, who have very strong partnerships in the local community and a strong culture of giving back. What I have gained from the experience of mentoring Year 10 & 11 students at Therfield School has been, improved listening skills, patience, resilience, perseverance and finally reward. To be a part of a young person’s development at such an important point in their lives is truly a privilege." - Steve, UNUM

Volunteers Week 2019

Here at SATRO, we owe a huge thank you to our volunteers. They are vital to us and we certainly couldn’t do what we do without them! We know it is important that volunteers feel valued and that their employers know their staff have had a productive and positive experience with us. Many of our volunteers sign up so they can ‘make a difference’ to young people and are frequently surprised by how much they have learnt from the experience themselves. 

We asked Nick from Sanofi who volunteers as a Mentor for SATRO why he does it? Here's what he had to say... 

"Next week I'll be visiting with my year 11 student for the last time as she starts her GCSE's the very next day. It's been an amazing journey for us, it all began with a tour of the school where she declared "This is like meeting my dad for the first time" I replied with the obvious dad joke, "I'm pretty sure I'm not your father!" and our relationship went from there with the same openness and innocence as that opening conversation.

I joined SATRO thinking that it would be like Good Will Hunting, I thought there would be this Math’s genius who needed help setting their talent free, but I quickly realised that there were more pressing issues that the school wanted our help with.

It was confirmed after a few visits that the students of the scheme were in a special group of students who had difficult backgrounds and as such they wanted us to be there for them. That was a relief to me as it meant that I went from trying to push complicated ideas and concepts to just being there. And I made the amazing student a promise at that point (more on her later), I'm going to prove to her that in her life there's going to be a guy that always shows up, that's it, I'm going to relentlessly show up for her, listen to her and show her that we can be nice, dependable and be there for her.

Turns out that was all she ever needed, no algebra on a blackboard or hypothesis, she just needed to know that she was worthy of being listened to, and hopefully those GCSE's will take care of themselves as a result... (fingers crossed)

So if you're thinking of volunteering.. go do it, it might just change lives." - Nick, SANOFI 

Volunteers Week 2019

Here at SATRO, we owe a huge thank you to our volunteers. They are vital to us and we certainly couldn’t do what we do without them! We know it is important that volunteers feel valued and that their employers know their staff have had a productive and positive experience with us. Many of our volunteers sign up so they can ‘make a difference’ to young people and are frequently surprised by how much they have learnt from the experience themselves. 

A thank you note to our wonderful Volunteers from our Chairman, Howard Railton: 

“What SATRO delivers reflects the fantastic pool of Volunteers that we have who give so much of their time and enthusiasm to help us deliver a wide range of outstanding programmes.  STEM education and skills are a national crisis. Our Volunteers understand that the long-term future of business, innovation and invention in the UK depends on trying to do something about it. SATRO is engaged at the grass roots of education and delivers effective and inspiring STEM programmes for young people. We can only do this by harnessing the knowledge and professional experience of our volunteers without whom, SATRO would not be able to do any of these wonderful things.  Thank you all.” - Howard Railton, SATRO Chairman.