IET Faraday® Challenge Days 2024-25

Apply now to take part next year!

IET Faraday® Challenge Days are free, one-day STEM activity days that introduce students to engineering, inspire them to consider engineering as a career and help to develop their practical and employability skills, including team-working, problem-solving and creative thinking. They are designed as cross-curricular activity days covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Our Challenge Days give six teams of six students, aged 12-13 years (England and Wales Year 8, Scotland S1/S2, Northern Ireland Year 9), the opportunity to research, design and make prototype solutions to real-world engineering problems. This annual competition, with events covering the whole of the UK, sees teams competing to win a prize for their school. The top teams at the end of the season are invited to the National Finals to battle it out to be crowned the IET Faraday® National Champions and win a cash prize of up to £1,000 for their school.

The events will be set up and run by our team of STEM professionals at no charge to UK schools. Please note: each school can only take part once per season.

Schools, organisations or universities can apply to take part in one of three ways:

Option A: host one of our Challenge Leader-led IET Faraday® Challenge Days at their school with the option to invite teams from up to five other local schools.
Option B: apply to be an invited school and take one team from their school along to another local event.
Option C: host one of our Challenge Leader-led IET Faraday® Challenge Days at their organisation/university and invite teams from up to six local schools.

Deadline for applications is Friday 24th May 2024.

Details here.

EarthEcho International’s OurEcho Challenge

The OurEcho Challenge is a STEM contest that empowers young changemakers to take a closer look at biodiversity in their communities. Young leaders will first identify threats to local ecosystems and then propose solutions to help preserve, protect, or restore those natural resources directly taking action toward United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 14 and/or 15.

This year, EarthEcho is excited to open the OurEcho Challenge STEM contest to youth leaders in the UK, ages 13-16.‍ Up to ten finalist teams will advance for a chance to win top prizes of £1,000, £2,500, and £5,000! 

Submission entries close 26 April. 

Details here.  

'Brilliant Poetry'!

This is a FREE global poetry competition where anyone is eligible to enter.

Write a poem that is 40 lines or less and related to science.

Prizes:

First - £1,000

Second - £500

Third - £250

Closing date, 21 June 2024.

Details here. 

The Eurekas

The Eurekas is an annual physics competition for students aged 11-16 in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of the Limit Less campaign, which has been conceived by the Institute of Physics to broaden and diversify the range of people doing physics after age 16.

This year, we challenge entrants to answer the question: Can physics help us solve mysteries?

Closing date, 10 June 2024.

Details here.

The Welsh Sparc Award

The award will provide financial support to students learning in Wales who are starting an undergraduate degree in #Electronics or a related course in the academic year 2024/25 at a Welsh university or one of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) partner universities.

Each of the 24 award winners will receive the following:

• A first-year bursary of £1,000 (paid in Oct 2024)
• A learning and development bursary of £1,500 (paid in Feb 2025) 
• Other benefits such as a mentor, peer support and opportunity to apply for the UKESF Scholarship Scheme

The award is part of the Spark their Imagination; power their future initiative - from the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) and Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult with the support of Innovate UK - which aims to encourage more young people in Wales to study and pursue careers in semiconductors.

Closing date for applications, Friday 19th April. 

Details here.

Science in Medicine School Teams Prize

The National Heart and Lung Institute and the British Heart Foundation’s Centre of Research Excellence at Imperial College London are offering the 4th Annual "Science in Medicine School Teams Prize" to engage sixth form school students with science in medicine.

This year we have 5 contests to enter:

• The British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Prize
• The Lung Prize
• The Scleroderma and Raynaud’s UK Prize
• The Vasculitis UK Prize
• The Global Health Prize

Closing date for submissions, Monday, July 1st.

Details here.

The STEM Ambassadors Activity Competition 

You could win a 2-night stay for 2 in York and have your resource or activity featured in STEM Learning's Online Resource Library!

We're inviting you, our STEM Ambassadors, to enter our competition with an exciting STEM activity idea or a resource that you have designed.

It really is that simple! If you have a fun STEM activity you use when volunteering or an activity idea, comment below and tell us about it. Maybe you have designed a STEM resource or worksheet that learners love to use, share it below!

Your entry could be for Primary or Secondary and suitable for a class, small group or STEM Club, it's up to you!

Prizes:

• Winner: A 2-night stay for 2 in York*, this can be a weekend or weekday, term time or holiday, double room or 2 singles/twin (date subject to availability) 

• Winner: The winning resource or activity will be featured in the STEM Learning Online Resource Library (Primary or Secondary)

• Honourable Mentions: Additional prizes may be awarded by the judging panel.

Details here.

Starpack Schools Competition 2024

Register now for the new  Schools Starpack Competition for pupils aged 9 to 17.  The competition has been designed to link to and support the school curriculum, especially Design &  Technology, and encourage young people to consider  the important role played by packaging in protecting  the products we take for granted.

There are three briefs for secondary schools with separate  categories for years 7 & 8, 9 & 10 and year 12: 

• Product design brief 
• Product analysis brief 
• Packaging research brief

In addition, we have launched a brief for KS2 focussing on  recycling packaging and identifying packaging materials. 

The briefs have all been designed in such a way that they  may be incorporated into your scheme of work for delivery  in lessons, or they can be run as an extracurricular activity  such as a STEM club or STEM Day. 

Registration opens in early June and a package of guidance  and support is available for each brief. The competition is  free to enter, and great prizes are available for the winning  pupils. Closing date for submissions 26 July 2024.

Details and registration here.

The Special Species Game

Create your own Special Species and send them in!

Every species has its own unique scientific name that is chosen by the individual or team that discovers it. The name usually reflects something about the species itself.

Carl Linnaeus came up with the 'binomial' naming system, which means two names. Every species is known by two names - we are Homo sapiens (meaning human thinking, or wise).

You can come up with your own Special Species by combining together different latin or greek words and imagining what the species would look like and why the species might have developed those features through evolution.

There are three main ways to create your own Special Species:

1. Use our online Random Special Species Generators 
2. Download and print our special species card game
3. Use the power of your imagination (maybe with some guidance from our word lists)

We will be highlighting great works as we receive them.
Winners are awarded every year in April, July, September and December.

Details here.