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Westminster Higher Education Forum Keynote Seminar: Priorities for STEM subjects in higher education: employability, female representation and engaging industry in course design th Timing: Morning, Thursday, 14 April 2016 Venue: Sixty One Whitehall, London SW1A 2ET
Agenda subject to change
8.30 ‐ 9.00
Registration and coffee
9.00 ‐ 9.05
Chair’s opening remarks Amanda Dickins, Deputy Director for Science and Society, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
9.05 ‐ 9.15
Trends in STEM and what is needed from the higher education sector Professor Sir John Holman, Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of York; President‐Elect, Royal Society of Chemistry and Founder, National Science Learning Centre
9.15 ‐ 10.00
STEM graduate employability and the demands of industry How ready are graduates of STEM disciplines for the labour market and do reports of a ‘STEM skills gap’ reflect the reality of recruitment in STEM sectors? Do universities need to take further steps to support graduates’ employability, including soft skills, careers advice and industry relevant skills? In light of concerns from some employers about unmet demand for employees with high level analytical skills, to what extent do STEM degrees address this problem and how can additional analytical elements be included in STEM degrees? In light of suggestions that arts subjects should be added the STEM umbrella so as to reflect the creativity and innovation required by many STEM jobs, to what extent does the concept of STEM remain relevant to employers or higher education providers? Do higher education institutions provide sufficient opportunities for work experience as an element of degrees, and should employers be encouraged to work with universities to provide placements and industry lead programmes?
Amy Smith, Head of Recruitment, Framestore Michael Gallimore, Deputy Head, School of Engineering, University of Lincoln Tim Smith, Chief Executive, Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership Johnny Rich, Chief Executive, Push Questions and comments from the floor with Professor Sir John Holman
10.00 ‐ 10.45
Women in STEM: education, careers and retention How successful are current initiatives to encourage girls and other underrepresented groups to consider STEM careers, such as those run by the National STEM Centre and the WISE Campaign, and what further steps can be taken to expand these programmes? What more can be done to tackle the relatively low numbers of girls choosing STEM A‐Levels, and what can be learnt from schools where there is a higher uptake? Does the current representation of STEM jobs in the media and popular culture affect the uptake of these roles by women, and how can STEM be better and more realistically marketed? What are the key factors leading to the limited retention of women in STEM sectors and should firms in these sectors act to ensure that STEM jobs represent viable long term careers for women and support thier progression to senior roles? How can the representation of female academics in the STEM fields be improved and how successful are programmes like the Athena SWAN Charter Mark in addressing this? How sufficent are current campaigns in addressing the needs of different women ‐ including with reference to BAME, LGBT+ and socio‐economic status?
David Lakin, Head of Programme Development, STEMNET Katie Hassell, Spacecraft Thermal Engineer and Outreach Officer, Airbus Defence and Space Dr Lucy Jones, Vice Dean, Education, Faculty of Science Engineering and Computing, Kingston University London and Member, WISE Campaign Charles Tracy, Head of Education, Institute of Physics Questions and comments from the floor
10.45 ‐ 10.50
Chair’s closing remarks Amanda Dickins, Deputy Director for Science and Society, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
10.50 ‐ 11.15
Coffee
11.15 ‐ 11.20
Chair’s opening remarks Amanda Dickins, Deputy Director for Science and Society, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
11.20 ‐ 11.45
The Wakeham Review: Key findings and next steps Sir William Wakeham, Author, The Wakeham Review of STEM Degree Provision and Graduate Employability Questions and comments from the floor
11.45 ‐ 12.30
Keeping STEM degrees up to date and sustainability going forward How can universities ensure that STEM degrees are kept up to date with innovations in a fast moving field? How should employers and industry bodies play a greater role in curriculum design and delivery to ensure relevance? Should key stakeholders in STEM sectors have a role in accrediting degrees or contributing to benchmarks for accreditation, and how could this be implemented? How should new forms of higher education provision, including Degree Apprenticeships and online courses, be regulated and accredited in STEM sectors? To what extent do the growing number of alternative options for STEM education represent a challenge to higher education institutions, and is this a particularly a problem in more technical subject areas ‐ for example mechanical engineering?
Rosalind Azouzi, Careers and Education Manager, Royal Aeronautical Society Dr David Fox, Industry Associate, Royal Society of Chemistry and Founder, Vulpine Science & Learning Sarah Jones, Education and Skills Manager, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Questions and comments from the floor
12.30 ‐ 12.55
Government priorities for the future of STEM education Amanda Dickins, Deputy Director for Science and Society, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Questions and comments from the floor
12.55 ‐ 13.00
Chair’s and Westminster Higher Education Forum closing remarks Sir William Wakeham, Author, The Wakeham Review of STEM Degree Provision and Graduate Employability Jonny Roberts, Associate Editor, Westminster Higher Education Forum
