Biomedical Science Programme Leader wins award
The Big Bang Fair is the largest science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) event for young people in the UK. This annual event hosts exciting stage shows, interactive workshops, exhibits and national competitions, with over 70,000 people having attended in 2017.
Held at the NEC in Birmingham, Dr Coulthwaite from Manchester Metropolitan University led a team of volunteers to engage attendees in fun careers focussed activities. She shared her experience of the event:
“This is my third year volunteering at the national ‘Big Bang Fair’, and each year I have tried a different role. For my first year I designed and ran an interactive biomedical science activity with NHS Careers; next was in careers as a Science Industry Partnership (SIP) ambassador. This year the role of ‘careers captain volunteer team leader’ leapt out at me, and following a successful application and interview I joined the team! I worked with an amazing group of volunteers and staff from Engineering UK.
Each day was exciting and very busy. I talked to over 300 young people about STEM careers, plus talked to parents, carers and teachers too. It was fantastic to be able to share my passion and enthusiasm for STEM, and my own career and research experiences. In this new volunteer role, I was able to further develop my team leadership skills, in addition to developing team working, communication, networking, time management and problem-solving skills.
Overall, this was a brilliant volunteering experience that comes highly recommended. I am looking forward to the next event in 2019!”
Lisa added about the day: “I was pleased to see so many microbiology linked engaging activities for the young people to get involved with. Personal favourites included designing their own Petri dish contained microorganisms (brightly coloured modelling clay), making ‘infected snot’, and investigating disease outbreaks.”
Further to her experience, Lisa impressed at this year’s event, earning Engineering UK’s BigBang Fair Volunteering ‘Award for Special Achievement’. This award recognises Lisa’s achievement in being a team leader and for motivating her fellow volunteers during this event.
Lisa shared on Twitter:
Very Proud of my #volunteering #award from #EngineeringUK for #outstanding #leadership passionate and #committed #support to #motivate and #inspire #volunteers ?@BigBangFair? many thanks everyone ?? pic.twitter.com/iLFX6jsm4B
— Lisa Coulthwaite (@LCoulthwaite) June 26, 2018
Lisa said, “Volunteering is a fantastic way to develop your skills and build experiences, whilst making a difference and having fun too! The Big Bang Fair is an amazing experience with lots of different volunteering opportunities for anyone interested in engaging young people in STEM. I am very proud to receive this volunteering award and will definitely be supporting the Big Bang Fair again next year.”
We wish Lisa warm congratulations on her achievement and on promoting the profession at this event.