November 2011 - University of Worcester

NEWSSTEM support for schoolsto continue after Universitysecures new contractSchools across Herefordshire and Worcestershirewill benefit from another four years of Science,Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) support.OpenEventsThe final two Open Events of 2011are taking place in November.They take place on:The University of Worcester has held the STEMNET contractfor the past three years, providing free help and encouragementfor schools, including access to STEM Ambassadors.During that time it has helped six teams to reach the finals of thenational STEM Challenge competition, including Blessed EdwardOldcorne Catholic College in Worcester, which recently won Challenge 6.The University’s STEMNET contract has been renewedfor another four years, further cementing the University’scommitment to helping schools succeed in this area.The STEM subjects are at the centre of the University’s currentprogramme development with many innovative opportunities nowavailable for people looking to train as teachers in STEM-basedsubjects, to improve the depth of their subject knowledge as currentteachers or to promote the STEM subjects and careers in STEM withchildren and young people in schools as STEM Ambassadors.Vacancies are currently available for flexible Physics, Maths andDesign & Technology PGCEs, starting in January. In addition, anew subject knowledge enhancement pilot programme forserving teachers and returning teachers looking to teach Physics,Chemistry or Maths is currently actively recruiting. There are nofees payable for these subject knowledge enhancement courses.STEMNET works primarily with schools and colleges, helpingyoung people and their teachers access a range of STEMEnhancement & Enrichment (E&E) opportunities includingSTEM Clubs and links with STEM Ambassadors.“The emphasis of STEMNET’s work is on helping schools communicateto young people the importance of the STEM subjects for theirfuture lives, whether that is in a STEM related career, or just assavvy consumers of services and commodities,” said Linda Scott,STEM Support Manager at the University of Worcester.“As the STEMNET Support Centre for Herefordshire and Worcestershirewe provide teachers with free assistance in identifying whatSTEM activities can most benefit them and their students.”“We are always looking for more people to join the STEM Ambassadorprogramme,” Linda added. “The minimum requirement is one contact witha school in a year, which fits well into companies’ corporate responsibilityportfolios or can be linked to existing community commitmentssuch as offering work experience placements to local schools.”Wednesday 16 Nov, 1-5pmSunday 20 Nov, 10am-3pmFor further details call the Events Team on01905 542276Thank you for supporting Open Events.SummonFrom 1 November,Library users areable to search acrossapproximately 97%of library resourcesin one search, using…SummonUsing the latestharvesting andsearch technology,Summon provides a single search for 97% of the library’sresources, delivering a Google-style experience which ranksthe results in order of relevance and availability. Summon is anextremely powerful tool which will bring all of our resources directto your desktop, from books and journal articles, to podcasts,conference proceedings, newspaper articles and much more.Try it here:http://summon.worc.ac.uk/Or for further information:http://www.worcester.ac.uk/ils/summon.htmOr emailaskalibrarian@worc.ac.uknewsandviews@worc.ac.uk / NOVEMBER 2011 / 11