Submitted by A.S. Quenault on Tue, 22/07/2025 - 16:18
Life science collaborative launches new STEM Safari pilot for local students.
The MRC Biostatistics Unit (BSU) joined forces with Form the Future, Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) and AstraZeneca to take part in an exciting new initiative designed to expand access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career insights for school students in the region.
The pilot event, which took place on Tuesday 24th June, provided Year 5 students from Trumpington Park Primary School with access to the cutting-edge science and research taking place on the CBC. It aimed to address the common barriers for school trips, such as transport costs and limited timetable availability, by optimising the students' time on the campus and providing the opportunity for them to visit multiple research institutes in one day.
The Safari featured an immersive, full-day schedule including a morning session with AstraZeneca touring The Discovery Centre, meeting scientists, and getting ‘hands-on’ in the STEM Inspiration Lab – a dedicated learning space for school children – where they learned about the process of medicine-making and practiced hands-on pipetting skills. The students and their teachers then took a short trip across the campus to the BSU for an action-packed carousel of interactive activities on the theme of having fun with statistics. The activities included competitive ball throwing, duck counting and taking on the role of Dr Marble to find the best treatment for patients. There was also a tour of the Unit, followed by a Q&A with staff where the students gained insight into what it’s like to be a researcher and the many different paths to a career in STEM .
Alison Quenault, Communications Manager at the BSU said:
"We were delighted to be part of this exciting pilot event and to welcome the students to our Unit. The children were really enthusiastic to get involved in our activities and it was great to chat with them about the life of a statistician."
Anne Bailey, CEO at Form the Future, said:
"The pilot marks a significant collaboration between global life science leaders and Form the Future to build more bridges for young people living next door to cutting edge research, enabling them to see and experience science as a career pathway open to them in the future."
Nick Kirby, CBC Ltd’s Managing Director, said:
"We want everyone in the region to think that a job in science and healthcare is for them. Yes, we are short of scientists and lab technicians, but our organisations also need talented people to run their catering, keep their site secure, maintain their buildings and design new ones, manage their staff and communicate with the public. The best place to inspire those talented people has to be our local schools and Form the Future was the perfect partner to help us make that happen.”
Lisa King, Director UK STEM & Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, said:
“In addition to our own STEM Inspiration Lab programme for local schools, working collaboratively with our CBC partners really enhances the student experience. It provides a great way to broaden the range of roles and organisations the students are exposed to in one visit, helping to inspire and inform their future career pathways.”
This Safari was the first of two CBC-funded pilot days and will inform the potential rollout of future campus-wide engagement events for young learners. By maximising existing infrastructure and partnerships on the CBC – the largest centre for medical research and health science in Europe – the programme demonstrates how coordinated efforts can create richer and more equitable STEM learning opportunities for all.
Form the Future, an education non-profit organisation, conducted pre- and post-visit surveys to evaluate the impact of the encounters and gain insights into how this initiative can help introduce young people to careers in life science on their doorstep. Despite proximity to world-class research, many young people still lack the ‘science capital’, role models and information to gain access to pathways into these sectors. Form the Future exists to support students in the east of England with accessing hard to reach sectors through immersive encounters with real role-models.
Special thanks to Simon White, Rebecca Brock, Janne Pott, Robert Goudie, Martin Law, Peter Kirwan, Rajenki Das and Juliette Limozin from the BSU for their fantastic help with running our activities, giving tours of the Unit, and answering the students' questions. It would not have been possible for the BSU to have taken part in this event without them all.