British Science Association

As we bid farewell to 2024, here’s our final blog post of the year, wrapping up all the incredible milestones the BSA and our partners and communities have achieved. 🎄 From British Science Week highlights to our education and grant programmes, we’re proud to work towards a future where science is more relevant, representative, and connected to society. We'd like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support and interest in our work. We hope to keep you engaged and inspired for many years to come. Read below! 📖  https://lnkd.in/eJNEDU3G

"It’s not only engineers and scientists who need to feel confident and part of the technological revolution going on around us… everyone needs to feel they’re part of technology, science and engineering. Businesses need to be able to take their STEM teams from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible, and put into place the training and support needed." - Chi Onwurah Earlier this year, the Royal Academy of Engineering published their EDI Engine report, which gathered evidence showing the benefits of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to engineering businesses.   Last week we co-hosted an event with the Academy in Parliament, bringing together a panel of business and policy experts to discuss the report’s findings and their experiences of how EDI benefits engineering and the wider STEM sector. Panel Chair Baroness Brown Julia King DBE FREng FRS FMedSci, a materials engineer, was joined by Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West and also an experienced Chartered Engineer; Sarah Sharples FREng, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Transport; Henrik Hagemann, Chief Innovation Officer and co-founder of Imperial College London spin-out company Puraffinity; and Daphnée Benayoun, Associate Partner and Paris Office Director at Dalberg, the consultancy which produced the EDI Engine report for the Academy. Thank you to the panel for their insights! Our summary of the conversation can be found on the BSA blog: https://lnkd.in/erFjjH7c

Today we’re announcing our latest cohort of Honorary Fellows! For 2024, our Honorary Fellowships committee have named science writer and broadcaster Alom Shaha; business leader and former British Science Association Chair Gisela Abbam FRSA; and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Swansea University's Professor of Digital Policy Tom Crick MBE. Each year since 2001, we’ve asked our staff, trustees, stakeholders and supporters to nominate individuals for an Honorary Fellowship who are then selected by the committee. The Fellowship recognises people who have made a significant contribution to advancing our vision and mission. Hannah Russell, Chief Executive of the BSA, says: “We are so pleased to be welcoming Alom, Gisela and Tom as British Science Association Fellows. It’s a Fellowship that recognises significant contributions made towards our vision: to create a future where science is more relevant, representative and connected to society. “In different ways, through their different institutions and bodies of work, our new Fellows have worked and continue to work hard to bring people and science together, to engage, connect, and open doors, challenge stereotypes or further the inclusion and diversity of science. We are proud for them to be joining us and excited to work with them toward our shared goals.” Find out more about our 2024 Honorary Fellows: https://lnkd.in/ehjTewKB

📢 The BSA are pleased to launch a new evaluation report in partnership with UK Research and Innovation and Science Ceilidh revealing the impact of the Highlands and Islands Climate Change Community Grant programme, empowering local groups to tackle climate issues with researchers since 2021. Thank you to The Scottish Community Development Centre for producing the report! The scheme has supported community groups in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland since 2021 to work with researchers on projects that tackle a local climate change issue that matters to them.  The findings from the report demonstrate the value of equitable partnerships in driving meaningful climate action.  Key findings from the report: ✅Community groups led budget decisions, enabling them to plan and achieve their goals. ✅Community groups and researchers developed strong, equitable and collaborative partnerships. ✅1-to-1 support & peer learning built confidence to drive local change and engage in research. ✅Capacity-building grants addressed systemic challenges, especially in marginalised communities. Kate Orchard, Head of Community Engagement at the British Science Association, said: "At the BSA, we are committed to improving the connections between the public and research, particularly in ways that will bring the voices of those who are often not heard to the forefront. The Highlands & Islands Climate Change Community Grant scheme has been a fantastic programme to work on, and has demonstrated the real value in supporting communities and researchers to work more closely together, and so I’m delighted we are able to share this report. " Read about the report below.

The #BSF25 Award Lecture applications are closing tonight! You have until 23.59 today to put yourself forward. We're excited for you to join us next September 🤗 #earlycareerresearchers #publicengagement #sciencecommunication

We're so impressed with a Gold CREST Award submission by students aged 17-18 in South East Wales. Dementia is a disability that impacts a person’s loved ones, as well as the patient. It can cause memory loss and an inability to recognise faces – distressing for everyone involved, and not something people with dementia can overcome themselves. Finding a solution to this problem is what drove a group of eight students to explore the possibilities of futuristic medical technology, and design a prototype of AI Facial Recognition Glasses. Zhi, Sophie, Evelyn, Teagan, Katie, Joe, Ellie and Charlie worked on their project with Engineering Education Scheme Wales Ltd / STEMCymru, an educational charity that supports young people to discover how valuable a career in engineering can be. The group envisioned a theoretical company which would design and make the glasses – Theia: AR Technology. In Greek mythology, Theia is the goddess of sight. Four members of the team, who all attend Coleg Gwent, a further education college, submitted their work for a Gold CREST Award. Evelyn was the company’s founder. It was direct experience with dementia that inspired her idea for the final product. She told us: "I have family members and friends with family members suffering from dementia. [I’m] aware of the lack of medical devices or treatments helping individuals with dementia."   Teagan, the group’s researcher and evaluator, echoed that there is a “lack of support such as devices and tech” for patients, and Sophie, the team leader and project manager wondered if “technology is not considered as a way to help” because dementia most commonly affects older people. One of the key benefits for students working on a Gold CREST Award project is that it can help shape their career aspirations. Students from this group plan to go on to study, and aim for careers, in law, finance, child nursing, and other fields. In our latest blog, you can find out more about their fascinating project, its potential impacts, and how the experience of team work and the skills the students developed while working toward their CREST Award will support their futures: https://lnkd.in/dNnuYZDM

📢#STEM #teachers and #educators!   We're keen to hear your thoughts on which social platforms you prefer for getting information and updates from us.   Check out our survey here, it should take just five minutes to complete:   https://lnkd.in/eeR-faih #STEMeducation #socialmedia

This critical conversation was recently hosted by 3M and The British Science Association.   💬 Does Britain have the talent, skills, and regulatory framework to become an AI superpower?   Catch up on the discussion, expertly moderated by Jane Wakefield, featuring insights from our CEO Hannah Russell, Paul Cardno, Global Digital Innovation Leader, 3M Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Senior Sales Director - Modern Work & Generative AI, Microsoft EMEA, Will Dunn, Business Editor, The New Statesman.   👉 Let’s keep the conversation going. What are your thoughts?

Today we’re announcing a groundbreaking public engagement investment in nine community research networks across the UK. The five-year £9 million programme will enable communities to set research agendas and develop the knowledge, skills and tools to act on issues that matter to them. The networks are led by community organisations and are deliberately cross-sector. Novel combinations of charities, local authorities and research organisations will work together to build capacity and capability for community-led research. UKRI Chief Executive Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser said: "I am delighted to see the launch the second phase of UKRI’s Community Research Networks programme, in partnership with The Young Foundation. "At UKRI we strongly believe that R&I should be by everyone, for everyone, everywhere. This programme offers a step-change in the way UKRI funds R&I to reflect this priority. We are putting money into the hands of communities to tackle the issues that matter most to them." The Young Foundation, a not-for-profit conducting community research and driving social innovation, will support the networks to drive change, capture their learning and convene people from across the sector to support, champion and build on this work. Helen Goulden OBE, Chief Executive of The Young Foundation, said: “We know that local communities and citizens understand local needs best and are fundamental to tackling complex societal issues. Which is why the Community Research Networks programme is so important as we hope to actively contribute to a new and evolving national infrastructure to support community research across the UK. “This is core to The Young Foundation’s strategy, and as delivery partner we are proud and pleased to be working alongside UKRI to support this work over the next five years – and beyond.” The investment will reach all four nations of the UK and deliver on UKRI’s mission to transform tomorrow together by placing research and innovation at the heart of society and the economy. Visit our website for more, or see more details of the networks below.

AI is the conversation everyone's having. Or is it? ⚙️ The BSA recently co-hosted a panel discussion, Charting the Path Forward: A Call for UK Leadership in AI and Innovation, with our strategic partners 3M, and New Statesman.   In this blog, our CEO Hannah Russell sums up her key points from the co-hosted event.   Why are so many people concerned about, or totally disengaged, from AI? How can we help change that?   https://lnkd.in/ekGYJbTf