£21m given to promote STEM in higher education

Six universities will gain a share of £21 million to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in a national programme co-developed with the Royal Society of Chemistry and other learned societies.

The six partner universities will develop and initiate activities in their regions as part of the STEM programme, funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales.

The Universities of Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester Metropolitan, Southampton and Swansea will act as focus for regional activities to engage local workforces in higher education learning, enhance the undergraduate student experience in the STEM disciplines by helping students develop the skills required by employers, and engage young people in STEM disciplines and widen participation in these subjects among school students.

The national Higher Education STEM Programme is a three-year initiative aiming to generate interest in STEM subjects among young people, enhance higher level skills in the workplace and increase accessibility of higher education courses in these subjects. Though focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, it will primarily support chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics.

The six regional 'spoke' universities will work collaboratively with other higher education institutions (HEIs) in their region, while the University of Birmingham will serve as  the 'hub' of the programme, acting as co-ordinator and being responsible for the dissemination of good practice across the regions. Regional events will be held throughout November and December to bring together HEIs and discuss priorities for regional activity.