Tech City Investment Organisation hosts event to encourage local young people to opt for a career in technology

London, 15 September 2011: Leading technology companies including Facebook, Intel, BlackBerry, Cisco and Thomson Reuters today launch a series of initiatives to inspire young people to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects. The event, hosted by Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) at Central Foundation Girls’ School in Tower Hamlets, showcases the latest technology innovations coming out of Tech City and the potential of technology as a career path.

More than 50 students will participate in the event in Tower Hamlets alongside the companies and local Tech City organisations such as Playmob and Apps for Good and the National HE STEM Programme. STEM skills are critical to the future success of the UK economy, and TCIO hopes that by showcasing both local innovation and global technologies, students will be encouraged to consider careers in the technology and digital industry. While recent reports show that A-level applications for STEM subjects are on the rise[1] the UK continues to rank outside the top 15 in maths and science results, according to the OECD, lagging behind nations including China, Japan, Poland, Estonia and Germany[2].

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said: “Technology and digital companies will play a central role in securing our economic future. It is crucial that students are aware of opportunities to build careers in these sectors, and are equipped with the skills employers need to succeed. By introducing young people to local job opportunities and supporting private sector schemes that focus on STEM skills development, this initiative will promote opportunity and foster growth.”

Eric van der Kleij, CEO of TCIO, said: “Since November, we’ve seen a rapid rise in the number of new technology companies in the area. This event is about supporting the growth of Tech City at a grass roots level. Tech City thrives on creative, technically-savvy talent, and by demonstrating opportunities in this field to young people, we help to establish a burgeoning base of home-grown digital expertise”.

At the event, participating companies will announce the following:

• Facebook  and Apps for Good launching a training course that enables young people to design and develop new social applications. Recruitment for the first pilot is now underway, taking place at A4e in Brixton, South London with unemployed 16-25 year olds. Participants will be taught how to design create, test, release, evaluate and maintain their own Facebook application. The course curriculum was developed by Apps for Good in collaboration with Facebook and leading UK social media company, Techlightenment. Details about how to set up and run a course will be made available to developers and educators via Apps for Good and Facebook so courses can be run all over the world. The course is designed to give young people across the world the opportunity to learn cutting-edge critical thinking and technology skills that are essential in today’s knowledge economy.
• Thomson Reuters will sponsor three London schools – Central Foundation Girls’ School, St Matthew Academy and The Bridge Academy – through Apps for Good. The project aims to inspire young people to embrace technology and to develop apps that can make a real difference in their lives and the lives of others, and the sponsorship will fully fund the project in the three local schools. 
• BlackBerry is launching Blackberry Hands-On Workshops, aimed at teaching 11-14-year-olds the basics of mobile technology. It includes the chance for students to take apart a BlackBerry and see for themselves how it all works. More than 40 BlackBerry employees will deliver workshops to over 600 students, coinciding with the British Science Festival.
• Cisco  is announcing today that it will be investing in the creation of new Cisco Networking Academies across several schools in Tower Hamlets. Cisco Networking Academy is a global education programme that teaches students how to design, build, troubleshoot and secure computer networks for increased access to career and economic opportunities. Cisco currently has over 650 UK academies and will provide the knowledge, training and where appropriate, equipment, as part of its investment.
• e‑skills UK and a partnership of employers right across the economy, including IBM, the BBC, Capgemini, Cisco, Deloitte, HP, John Lewis, Microsoft, National Grid and Procter & Gamble, are launching “Behind the Screen”, a programme to transform the IT curriculum. New GCSE and A-levels will cover computational principles, systemic thinking, software development and logic. Coursework will develop deep analytical, problem solving and critical thinking skills. Industry-backed challenges will encourage creativity, entrepreneurship and team work. Teachers will be supported by employers, and students will have access to a rich online resource pool – including online lessons from national and international experts.
• East London-based Playmob  are launching their first social game, WeMonster, the first of a series of awareness raising games that allow the player to do real world good too. A fun and educational game that involves players having a pet monster in which they set off in a quest to rebuild the forest, WeMonster helps players learn about the importance of trees, while a percentage of any funds spent on purchasing in-game items and goods will go towards planting trees for real. The students attending the event today will be among the very first players to test and critique the game. PlayMob will soon launch a platform allowing any game to link to charity and raise funds for good causes.
• Intel is launching the Intel STEM Fairs toolkit in partnership with the British Science Association, an online tool (www.stemfairstoolkit.co.uk) to help teachers spark more interest in science fairs amongst students and to create their own science fairs, helping to make a real difference in their schools. Intel and the British Science Association recognise the need to spark more interest in STEM subjects, particularly in cutting-edge research and development so that the UK has the talent it needs to thrive on the world stage.
• The Li Ka Shing Foundation is working with SRI International to pilot a programme of technology-augmented maths learning to improve maths achievement and reasoning. The cornerstone maths programme is designed to give all students the chance to succeed in maths – an essential element for successfully entering into a STEM career in the knowledge-based economy. Following successful pilot schemes in the US, the cornerstone maths project will be rolled-out in ten UK secondary schools in September 2011. To capitalise on the opportunities presented by the development of Tech City, seven of the pilot schools are based in and around East London.
• The National HE STEM Programme is a three-year initiative across England and Wales, hosted by the University of Birmingham, which is aimed at enhancing the way universities recruit students and deliver courses within the STEM disciplines at university level. It focuses on the engagement between universities, schools and colleges to widen participation amongst traditionally underrepresented groups of learners.

“We hope that by the end of the day, we will have inspired students to continue STEM subjects and helped them realise that there is a huge range of opportunities available to them, right here in London in Tech City,” said van der Kleij. “Whether it’s working for a start-up, setting up a business or building a career at an industry leading company, we – as an industry and a community – have a responsibility to ensure that young people know what opportunities are available to them.”

Ends

  Supporting Quotes

• Iris Lapinski, CEO of Apps for Good, said: “Apps for Good is part of a new movement in education to address head-on the problem of ICT skills in the UK. We are working hard to ensure young people are prepared for the opportunities a fast-growing technology industry offers, and so we welcome the growing number of companies, both large and small, who are moving beyond complaining about ICT skills and doing something about it.”

• Richard Allan, Director of Policy of Facebook in Europe said: “Facebook is proud to work with Apps for Good to create a course which has the potential to help young people from all corners of the world improve their entrepreneurial skills, employability and technological understanding while building tools, apps and services that could transform the society we live in.”

• Bob Schukai, Global Head of Mobile Technology at Thomson Reuters, and TCIO ambassador, said: “The Apps for Good project blends technology, investment and talent in a way that should help inspire young people to develop apps that can make a real difference to their lives and the lives of others. We’re delighted to help the project expand its scope to benefit even more students across London.”

• Stephen Bates, Managing Director, UK, Research in Motion and BlackBerry, said: “We are proud to launch our BlackBerry Hands on Workshop series during the celebrations of the British Science Festival and here today at Central Foundation Girls’ School. We are deeply committed to driving interest in STEM skills at school and we believe our workshops aimed at 11 – 14 year olds will contribute to that goal.”

• Phil Smith, CEO Cisco UK & Ireland: “The importance of providing young people and school students with the skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace cannot be underestimated. Cisco is committed to Tech City and to the development of East London as a tech hub. As an official partner of London 2012, Cisco is dedicated to building a brilliant future for the UK post Games through the British innovation Gateway (BIG) initiative which will help establish a lasting legacy in this part of London and the rest of the UK. In particular Cisco is committed to helping young people get a better understanding of the opportunities within the technology sector. It is in all of our best interests to ensure that the highest calibre of students are passionate about working in the tech sector and that they are given the knowledge and tools to succeed.”

• Stephen Leonard, Chief Executive, IBM UK & Ireland and an eSkills partner, explained: “We are long overdue a completely new approach to teaching IT as a subject. With our work, we will make IT inspiring to young people and put the UK on the world stage in educating the technologists of the future. We are putting the weight of industry behind a transformation in education, working with schools and universities to create courses of academic substance and industry relevance.”

• Tristan Wilkinson, Director, Enterprise & Public Sector at Intel, said: “Science, technology, engineering and maths skills are key to maintaining a competitive future for the UK, and Intel is committed to supporting young people to make sure they have the right skills to succeed. STEM Fairs are a great way to stimulate young people’s appetite for STEM – and that’s why Intel has worked with the British Science Association to produce the Intel STEM fairs toolkit – we hope it will be a great resource for teachers trying to gain more enthusiasm and involvement with these core subjects.”

• Jude Ower, CEO of Playmob, said: “We fully support working with young people to give them a taste for how exciting our industry is and the different ways they can be involved. It is not only important for their careers, but also for the future of the tech industry in the UK. Sharing our experiences of starting and growing a business, and promoting the skills required to do this is important to us, as we constantly have to be looking out for talent to work with us and help grow our business further. It’s great that Tech City has brought everyone together today, as promoting the area will attract young people to the industry and they will be better placed to find work experience, and future careers.”

• Michael Grove, Programme Director of The National HE STEM Programme, said: “I am delighted that the work of the National HE STEM Programme is able to be represented here today by colleagues from London South Bank University, Queen Mary University of London and University College London. Engaging with future potential STEM undergraduates while they are currently in schools and colleges is a priority for all in higher education, and to achieve maximum impact, it remains vital that we work together and build upon good practices and approaches where they exist. The National HE STEM Programme activities represented today reflect a selection of the great work taking place across the Programme to enhance the way in which universities engage with those in local schools and colleges.”

Media contacts:

For more information contact the Tech City press office on 020 7413 3751 or [email protected].

Notes to editors:

The Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) was created in March 2011, following Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement of the Tech City initiative in the ‘Silicon Roundabout’ area of East London.

TCIO was set up by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and is designed to help the existing cluster of tech-digital and creative companies flourish. Tech City stretches out from the financial heart of the City of London to Stratford and the Olympic Park in East London, and is the fastest growing technology cluster in Europe.

The TCIO team is a　unique combination of experienced entrepreneurs and UKTI business specialists. Their role is to help　existing companies succeed, as well as attract global business, entrepreneurs and high-value investment to the digital capital of Europe. For more information, visit www.techcityuk.com or www.ukti.gov.uk/techcity or follow us @techcityuk

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit www.ukti.gov.uk or telephone +44 (0)20 7215 8000. For latest press releases, visit the online newsroom at www.ukti.gov.uk/media.