FUTURE TALENTED Summer Term 2019 - Issue 3 | Page 7

NEWS ROUND-UP MOTIVATED TO ACHIEVE Research from Education and Employers into how encounters with the world of work can change attitudes and improve academic attainment found that: 7 % of students who took part in three extra careers talks changed their future plans. 28 % of participating students questioned their career and education choices. 71 % of students said that the talks impacted on their attitudes towards school, work and their own abilities. 83 ECO-INNOVATORS COMPETITION FOR 7-19 YEAR-OLDS Could your students be responsible for the next iconic piece of street design? The government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles is looking for students aged 7-19 to create a design for on-street electric vehicle chargepoints that is innovative, iconic and beautiful, as part of a national schools’ competition. By 2040, the UK government has said it will end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans. To support this, many more public chargepoints will be needed to meet the demand from electric vehicle users. It’s crucial that these chargepoint designs use space efficiently, complement existing streetscapes and are user-friendly. There are two age categories (7-14 and 14-19) and the competition is quick, simple and free to enter. Competition packs include related lesson plans for teachers to provide cross-curricular linked learning. The deadline for entries is 18 October 2019. Download the packs and enter via: yearofengineering.gov.uk/feature/eco-innovators-competition THE PRIZES 1ST PLACE: winning design built as scale model by the National Transport Design Centre and displayed at the Milton Keynes Electric Vehicle Experience Centre, with STEM experience provided by BP Chargemaster  2ND PLACE: dual chargepoint installed at the school, plus an Electric Vehicle Experience Day from Octopus Electric Vehicles 3RD PLACE: Tesla Electric Vehicle Experience at the school and Tesla Work Experience Day % of students stated that the talks helped them make the link between employment and work. 16 % of students revised for 15-19 hours a week post-intervention, compared with 6% pre-intervention. THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT: CHOOSING YOUR UNIVERSITY Two apps that empower young people to make better choices about where to go to university and what to study have been launched by universities minister Chris Skidmore. Created by the winners of a government Open Data Competition, they set out simple, accessible information about graduate outcomes for prospective students: Think Uni by AccessEd offers students a personalised digital assistant, bringing together data on universities, courses and financial outcomes to explore and compare. TheWayUp! by The Profs is a game simulating different graduate career paths to help students make better choices, and set aspirational educational and career goals. www.access-ed.ngo/thinkuni thewayup.co.uk FUTURE TALENTED // 7