On the 4th of July, young professionals from the NI North West branch and the Young Generation Network (YGN) had the pleasure of exhibiting at the Big Bang North West at The Exhibition Centre, Liverpool. Six thousand schoolchildren from around the North West came to discover, marvel and wonder at the world of Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) from local organisations, universities and industry representatives. Exciting demonstrations from companies and institutions included explosive chemical experiments, live operating tables and heavy construction equipment, highlighting the breadth of opportunities the students could be involved in if they choose to pursue a career with STEM subjects.
The four representatives hosting the Nuclear Institute exhibition stand: Stephanie Bryan, John Parry, Jamie Pilgrim and Seth Yates were kept busy all day as groups flooded to the stand from start until close of the event. The students were drawn to the stand with the irresistible offer of getting to drive some ROVs around a sludge assault course, revealing some of the challenges associated with their operation in hazardous areas. The ROVs also proved extraordinarily popular for drag racing - truly a testament to the professionalism of our industrial ROV operators who day in, day out resist the temptation to take a quick break to see who has the fastest robot.
Also on offer was a glovebox challenge, which proved so popular that in order to increase the throughput of the activity (can you tell that this article was written by two engineers?), it was decided that two students would operate the glove box with one glove each. Although unconventional, this actually improved the experience by not only demonstrating the difficulties of working in a glove box, but the importance of team work and cooperation in achieving a common goal.
There was a huge merchandise giveaway, all adorned with the nuclear institute branding, that the students won for correctly answering (or at least giving a good guess to!) questions relating to the nuclear industry. Generally, the level of understanding among the students was very impressive and a great level of interest was seen from accompanying parents and teachers who were keen to take away any resources we had about the industry to help them put together their classes.
Overall, the extremely rewarding experience left behind a warm feeling that only comes with inspiring enthusiastic students.
Jamie Pilgrim and Stephanie Bryan
