LEGO® announces its support for a national campaign to bring children face to face with engineering experiences and role models
The Engineers of the Future roadshow will be heading to primary schools across the UK this autumn as part of the government’s Year of Engineering campaign. Led by engineers equipped with LEGO® Education solutions, including LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0 and LEGO® Education MINDSTORMS® EV3, the roadshow aims to inspire children by giving them access to quality hands-on learning experiences and by helping them to discover the exciting opportunities that are possible for all young aspiring engineers.
For many of the children taking part it will also be their first chance to meet engineers in the flesh, giving them career role models from different backgrounds and helping transform perceptions of what it means to be an engineer.
Minister for the Year of Engineering, Nusrat Ghani, said:
“Engineers are at the forefront of technology and infrastructure advances which are shaping all of our lives, from how we communicate and travel to tackling major challenges in healthcare and the environment. But the opportunities of this creative, innovative and hugely important profession are all too often misunderstood and overlooked by young people and their parents.
“That’s why I’m thrilled to announce our collaboration with LEGO® as part of the Year of Engineering. LEGO®’s enduring popularity is testament to the curiosity, ingenuity and creativity that make so many children natural engineers, and Engineers of the Future is a chance to build on this – helping young people from all backgrounds discover how these skills could be their passport to a varied, well-paid and exciting career that makes a real difference to the world around them.”
Government Year of Engineering Envoy, Steven Metcalfe, said:
“I’m delighted to be joining with local schools, LEGO® and the Institution of Engineering and Technology at Sage UK, for this fantastic launch event. The Engineers of the Future roadshow will give school children across the country a unique perspective on the exciting opportunities engineering presents when it hits the road in the autumn. If it’s greeted as enthusiastically when it travels the country as it has been in Newcastle then it should prove a tremendous success and an inspiring introduction to the world of engineering for children across the country.
“Supported by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the collaboration will build on FIRST® LEGO® League – a global and UK-wide challenge that sees students take on engineering challenges to tackle global problems, from hydro-electricity to space exploration. Engineers of the Future aims to bring this competition to a wider group of young people, through both the schools roadshow and the Engineers of the Future challenge, a competition that encourages FIRST® LEGO® League teams to share their experience with other local schools and create inspiring films of their projects. The winning teams will get the chance to showcase their inventions and films at a special event in Parliament later this year, aimed at demonstrating the importance of modern engineering skills to MPs.”
Camilla Bottke, Head of LEGO® Education After School and Competition, said:
“For more than 35 years it has been our mission to inspire and develop all children, equipping them with the right skills to empower them to succeed, whatever their background and whatever their ambition. Our experience shows us the importance of supporting the development of STEM skills in children from an early age. We are delighted to be part of the UK government’s Year of Engineering initiative to further our commitment to developing these important STEM skills in children across the country and leveraging technology to give children the opportunity to become aspiring engineers.”
LEGO® is the latest company to announce its support for the Year of Engineering, joining the likes of Apple, Usborne and the BBC along with more than 1,400 other businesses, charities, schools and colleges.
