The STEM Inspiration Awards are a free award scheme, designed to celebrate individuals and organisations working to inspire young people in STEM subjects.
Applications for the 2018 STEM Inspiration Awards are now closed. We received so many fantastic applications and our judges have had the tough job of whittling them down to just a handful of shortlisted nominees. These nominees will be attending our national award ceremony on 1 November 2018, where the winners will be announced.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is sponsoring our 2018 STEM Inspiration Awards and sending the winners to the world-renowned CERN in Switzerland!
Applications for the 2019 STEM Inspiration Awards will open next year.
STEM Inspiration Award categories
Outstanding STEM Ambassador
This award is aimed at those with a long-standing body of engagement with the STEM Ambassadors programme, recognising achievement over a prolonged period.
Outstanding New STEM Ambassador
This award is aimed at those who have joined the programme since June 2017 and have already displayed enthusiasm and commitment as a STEM Ambassador.
Outstanding STEM Technician
This award recognises efforts to inform and inspire young people with apprenticeships and technician careers. It is aimed at those working in STEM who have a technical, non-graduate background and have used this to help inspire the next generation of technicians.
Outstanding STEM Club
This is a new award that is designed to reward sustained and long-term engagement through a STEM Club.
Inspirational STEM engagement project
This award aims to draw together a number of supporters and is designed to reward sustained and long-term engagement through a single project or enrichment programme.
It may involve communities, schools, non-school groups, STEM Clubs, STEM Ambassador Hubs, employers, and other institutions and organisations such as learned societies.
Applicants can be individuals or organisations involved in the project, but we would recommend you coordinate with partners to ensure a single application is made.
STEM Employer – small and medium enterprises
This award is for those organisations classified by the UK government as small and medium-sized enterprises (less than 250 employees). It aims to reward outstanding commitment to the STEM agenda, and how this is embedded within the culture of the organisation.
Outstanding commitment – please detail the commitment of the organisation to the STEM Ambassadors programme.
This may include the number of people working as STEM Ambassadors as a proportion of the workforce, the ways the organisation supports its Ambassadors, and evidence of sustained engagement over the long-term (200 words).
STEM Employer – large companies
This award is for those organisations classified by the UK government as large (more than 250 employees). It aims to reward outstanding commitment to the STEM agenda, and how this is embedded within the culture of the organisation.
The Joan Sjøvoll Award for STEM Leadership
This award recognises anyone employed in a STEM leadership role who has worked to foster an understanding of STEM subjects within their organisation, inspiring and leading others to actively promote STEM education and careers.
Nominees in this category need not necessarily be engaged in delivering to young people themselves, they may be in a role in which they enable and encourage others to do so.
The winners of the STEM Inspiration Awards 2017
Outstanding New STEM Ambassador
Paula Cil, RAF
Outstanding STEM Ambassador
Michael Jeschke, Siemens Subsea
Outstanding STEM Technician
Henry Rae, University of St Andrews
Inspirational STEM Engagement Project
BAE Systems
STEM Employer - Large Companies
Cisco
STEM Employer - Small and Medium Enterprises
Versarien
The Joan Sjøvoll Award for STEM Leadership
Lyndsay Reavley, High Tunstall College of Science