MCS Projects’ Science and Technology Day at Middlesex University

On the second of June, Middlesex University played host to the annual North London Science and Technology Challenge Day run by MCS Projects. Organised for Year 8 and 9 students, pupils from across ten schools attended the event, including Barnet borough’s very own Clarion School, London Academy, and Saracens High School.

VIP guest inspires next generation

The Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Zahra Beg, made an appearance as a VIP guest, delivering a speech to the competing students wishing them good luck and encouraging them to continue to learn and pursue their passions in STEM subjects.

The event itself centred around four challenges that mixed groups from all schools attempted within different sessions. With guidance from professionals in each of the respective fields, students took on the Robot challenge where they learned to use sensors to have the machine respond to different colours, the E-Fit challenge where they learned to use a particular facial identification software to generate as accurate of an image as possible of a person they only got to see very briefly, the Electric Car challenge where they went through the process of efficiently designing, building, and racing battery powered vehicles using plastic kits, and the Diagnostics challenge where the students assumed the roles of doctors investigating illnesses, culminating in their use of CPR dummies to simulate the best possible medical responses in an emergency.

”We arrange STEM competitions all around the country. This year we’ve got twenty-four taking place in different colleges and universities,” shared Project Manager of MCS Projects John Waterworth about the scale of the project, adding he was pleased to have been supported in this instance by Middlesex University’s UK Recruitment and Outreach Officer Jake Sharland, as well as relevant STEM academics such as Head of Department for Computer Science Dr Aboubaker Lasebae and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology Professor Klaus Dodds. Going on to cite the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s estimated shortfall of workers in the STEM sector, equating an average of 10 unfilled roles per business, Waterworth added ”The days are targeted at students who are at that age where they often don’t know what they want to do yet. They’re designed to raise enthusiasm for STEM subjects amongst young people and give them a taste of what it would be like to go into them”.

High engagement and finalist motivation

The students were in part motivated by the opportunity for this day’s overall winning team to compete in a finalists’ round against the winners of other STEM Challenge Days from across the south of the country. In turn, science teacher from London Academy, Hawa Mahmoud, shared her impression on the pupils’ engagement levels after sitting in on the sessions: ”It’s impressive how much the students actually go above and beyond just to get ahead in the competition, especially in the Diagnostics challenge with the CPR simulation. It’s one of the most organised events I’ve been to and our students seemed enthusiastic about it all”.

During their lunch break, all attendees had the opportunity to browse through an interactive science exhibit set up by STEM academics and university students, showcasing the likes of classification AI, industrial Niryo robotic arms, and other autonomous robots that they could use to solve different puzzles and get an idea of what they could be working on when pursuing the field at a university level.

Awards ceremony and future outlook

The day ended with a general Q&A session for the students and the announcement of the overall winners, who had their pictures taken with Cllr Beg while receiving their winning trophies, as Middlesex University’s Education Liaison team reiterated their commitment to continuing to work with students and the wider community as a whole.