STEM Cohesion Conference 2009

The inaugural STEM Cohesion conference was held at the National STEM Centre from 15-16 December 2009. The conference, opened by John Holman, National STEM Director, and expertly chaired by the writer and broadcaster Vivienne Parry, brought together colleagues from several organisations working to develop STEM capability both nationally and across each region. Delegates included colleagues from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, network of Science Learning Centre, Regional Development Agencies, STEMNET, and the LSIS post-16 STEM Programme.

Presenters from several Lead Organisations gave delegates an update on progress across the STEM Programme, and included Kate Bellingham (National STEM Careers Co-ordinator), Dr Nick Bowes (ACME), Professor Matthew Harrison (Royal Academy of Engineering), and Dr Rosalind Mist (SCORE).

The key activity of the conference was the work done by delegates to examine the priorities for STEM in their region, and plan collaborative support for schools and colleges to help meet these priorities.

Deborah Fraser of the East Midlands Development Agency summed up the importance of this work, describing the event as "An excellent opportunity for thinking time. Got lots of ideas from other regions, and developed good 'next steps' plan."

Speaking before the event, Jenifer Burden, Director of the National STEM Centre and host for the conference, emphasised the desire amongst STEM support organisations to work together, "There are strong relationships between STEM partner organisations. This conference will act as a springboard to embed two-way communication between the national STEM Programme and regions, which will be followed up through regional STEM cohesion groups. We also hope that the conference can provide an opportunity for delegates to prioritise collaborative planning for regional STEM development activities, which they can take further with other organisations throughout their regions."

Further information on regional STEM cohesion groups will be added to this website during 2010.