PUBLIC EVENT
The Royal Academy of Engineering | Education hosted this unique webinar to share key learnings from the Connecting STEM Teachers (CST) programme. CST, the Academy’s national schools programme, ran from 2011 to 2023, establishing 50 regional school networks and supporting 7,000 schools, providing over one million engineering related interactions and experiences to students across the UK.
The webinar marked the launch of the best practice guide, Using STEM teacher networks in teacher professional development, produced in collaboration with Dr Clare Gartland and Dr Tuba Gokpinar, from the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the University of Suffolk.
Attendees heard from guest speakers on the critical role of long term partnerships between schools, industry, education partners and further and higher education, in creating inclusive opportunities for students, especially in underrepresented areas. Discover how these collaborations enhance teacher development, foster innovative teaching practices, and equip students with the skills for future careers in engineering.
Dr Clare Gartland
Dr Clare Gartland is an Associate Professor in Education at the University of Suffolk. Her research focuses on social justice in education and equitable ways to support cross sector progression, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). She has undertaken projects in the UK, USA and across Europe and has worked with organisations including the Royal Academy of Engineering, BT, EngineeringUK, Cambridge University, and Universities internationally. Alongside numerous reports, Clare has published a monograph, journal articles and book chapters.
Kate Finlay
Kate studied a BEd in Design & Technology at Exeter University. She has been teaching in Devon, Cornwall and Norfolk for 20 years. During this time, she has been Head of Technology College, worked as a Teacher Coordinator for the Royal Academy of Engineering, Head of Department, SSL for D&T at the Inspiration Trust, built and delivered a national SKE course to support pre ITT trainees and worked with a range of national and international educational providers to improve the teaching and learning of D&T for students across all key stages.
Dr Tuba Gokpinar
Tuba is a researcher focused on STEM education and inclusive approaches to address educational inequalities. She currently works as an Impact and Evaluation Manager in a partnership with University of Essex and PiP, developing an impact toolkit to measure social impact for adults with learning disabilities. As part of her recent role at University of Suffolk, Tuba explored the impacts of the RAEng’s Connecting STEM Teachers Programme. She also contributed to the EU-funded Erasmus+ project; Developing Inclusive and Participatory Learning in Organisations through Student Ambassadors.