Biology Week 2021

Running from 2nd-10th October, Biology Week showcases the important and amazing world of the biosciences, getting everyone from children to professional biologists involved in fun and interesting life science activities.

@RoyalSocBio

National Boffin Day

Tuesday, 5th October 2021 is National Boffin Day. It is reported that a group of brilliant scientists who performed their wonders in radar development in Malvern during the Second World War referred to themselves as ‘the boffins’. It’s a day when we can all join together to celebrate intelligence, innovation and creativity in all its forms.

#BoffinDay

World Space Week

World Space Week is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week will be held each year from October 4-10. We'll also feature some space-themed activities and exhibits in the Festival programme.

@WorldSpaceWeek, @WSW_UK

European Cyber Security Month

ECSM is the EU’s annual advocacy campaign that takes place in October and aims to raise awareness of cyber security threats, promote cyber security among citizens and provide up to date security information, through education and sharing of good practices. We'll be featuring some cyber security exhibitors and workshops during the day.

@CyberSecMonth, #CyberSecMonth

Registration & Exhibition Opens

Timetabled talks and workshops begin

@festivalofinnov #InnovateMalvern #STEM #careers #entrepreneurship

Speakers

[Seminar Room S2]

Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making

This talk will explore everyday materials and how they’re used in the world of craft. Along the way, we’ll build a fuller picture of materials and their place in society; the feminine side of steel, how clay has brought about some of the most advanced aerospace technologies, and we’ll delve down to the atomic scale of glass to find out what makes it ‘glassy'.

Dr Anna Ploszajski is an award-winning materials scientist, writer, and storyteller based in London. She’s a materials generalist, equally fascinated by metals, plastics, ceramics, glasses and substances from the natural world. Anna channels her passion for storytelling about materials through writing, podcasting, performing and training scientists and engineers in the art of storytelling. Her first book, Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making, is out now. In her spare time, Anna plays the trumpet in a funk and soul covers band and is an ultra-endurance open water swimmer. Oh, and it’s pronounced “Por-shy-ski”.

@AnnaPloszajski #Handmade

New kids on the block

Blockchain, bitcoin and now non-fungible tokens (NFTs)!  What is money anyway, and how has it evolved to today's cryptocurrencies? We'll explore how blockchains work and see what's happening in the world of digital collectibles, including our Malvern-mined BlockMark Gems

Tom Alcott is the CEO of BlockMark Technologies, a start-up company that does software applications with a blockchain twist. Tom is a also a serial entrepreneur, having started a pepper business that he sold, of course, to a salt company.

@BlockMarkTech, @BlockMarkGems

Educating AI on the way

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to change the way students learns and teachers teach. This will effect lesson content, homework and the way exams are set and marked. This presentation will be an opportunity to hear how these changes are taking place now, and to debate the pros and cons.

Sam Collett is a creative technologist with over 20 years of experience for brands big and small. He has worked at many award winning agencies creating, but also dreaming up, many, many campaigns, sites, apps, games and digital things. A designer by training, he takes a strategic and playful approach to everything – be it a growth hack or a project plan. Sam also works as a lecturer at University of Worcester on the Graphic Design and Game Art courses, both of which he wrote.

Shows

Immersive Theatre: From Dream to Discovery: Inside NASA

Join NASA's engineers as they design, test, and launch today's hottest missions into space. Witness the enormity of the new James Webb Space Telescope, the intensity of Goddard Space Flight Center's testing facilities, and the excitement of the New Horizons mission to Pluto. From blueprint to blastoff, experience how unmanned space flight is pushing the frontiers of human exploration to the very edges of the universe! More details of the film here. [Stand A21]

@360Theatres 

Workshops

The mindset of an entrepreneur

Marie Jenkins, founder of Advance your Wellbeing, will run interactive workshops for students to explore what it is like to be an entrepreneur and how you can maintain good mental health when facing stresses in the work place. [Stand W01]

@AdvanceWellUK

Bloodhound Education will be hosting a workshop that helps students develop engineering skills by designing and building a prototype rocket car. The sessions allow participants to experience and learn from the engineering cycle, testing their solutions and improving them interactively. [Stand W02]

@BLOODHOUND_edu

Crash helmets for eggs

Discover Materials is an inter-University working group to help excite and inspire school students and teachers about Materials Science and Engineering. They will be hosting a practical workshop on materials science; selecting the right materials for crash helmets for eggs and exploring why cycle helmets work well at protecting your head in an accident. [Stand W04]

@DiscovMaterials

Surprising detail with a microscope!

The Hive is a landmark building run in partnership between Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester. It hosts integrated public and university library service by also Worcestershire’s archive and archaeology service and the Worcestershire hub. They'll be hosting a microscopy workshop to look at a range of samples from the world around us. [Stand W03]

@TheHiveWorcs

Hands-on Raspberry Pi

The IET will be giving students the opportunity to work in pairs to programme these mini computer boards to complete a simple hardware control task using Python code. [Stand W05]

@TheIET

Close

Bloodhound Education offer exciting, hands-on activities which bring science, technology, engineering and maths subjects to life and provide an opportunity to put learning into practice. Linked to the curriculum and incorporating the Gatsby benchmarks, they build skills confidence and help raise career aspirations and awareness. [Stand A35]

@BLOODHOUND_edu

Cheltenham Science Group are a community interest company seeking to inspire a new generation to love science, technology, engineering and maths. They will be bringing along a number of hands-on science experiments and demonstrations for students to investigate. [Stand A40]

@cheltscigrp 

GE Aviation is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. Whether they’re manufacturing components for their GE9X engines, driving innovation in fuel and noise reduction, or unlocking new opportunities to grow and deliver more productivity, the GE Aviation teams are dedicated to moving the aerospace industry forward. [Stand A34]

@GEAviation

Goodfellow is well known as a specialist supplier of metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers and other materials, with no minimum order quantity, to meet the research, development and specialist production requirements of science and industry worldwide. [Stand A19]

@Goodfellowltd

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust must engage in diverse core activities, that include work on large and small funded projects, producing trail guides, maintaining their body of local geological knowledge, discovering and looking after important sites, liaison with local groups and sharing our knowledge through educational activities that engage with the public. At the festival they will have a hands on activity that will involve Studying Ice Age Pond water chemistry. [Stand A26]

@BuildingStones

IASME work alongside a network of over 250 Certification Bodies across the UK and Crown Dependencies to help certify organisations of all sizes in both cyber security and counter fraud. IASME is committed to helping businesses improve their cyber security, risk management and good governance through an effective and accessible range of certifications. [Stand A28]

@iasme1

The Imagineering Foundation aims to introduce young people of 8-16 years to the exciting world of engineering, science and technology through fun, hands-on activities and personal involvement. At the festival they will have hands-on table top fun and show and tell STEM activities.  [Stand A1]

@Imagineeringuk

Indra Renewable Technologies is a UK based supplier of electric vehicle components and services, and a custom electric vehicle specialist. They specialise in the supply of parts and conversion from combustion engine to 100% electric as well as advanced integrated systems to manage smart grid charging solutions. [Stand A7]

@Indra_rt

Institute of Physics is a leading scientific society; a charitable organisation with a worldwide membership of more than 50,000, working together to advance physics education, research and application. The IOP will be showcasing its new Van der Graaf Generator with electrifying demonstrations. Also different uses of polarising filters and other activities. [Stand A29-32]

@IOPMidlands, PhysicsNews

Institution of Engineering & Technology. For over 140 years the IET has been inspiring, informing and influencing the global engineering community; supporting technology innovation to meet the needs of society. [Stand A12]

@TheIET

with guests:

Institution of Mechanical Engineers works with leading companies, universities, and think tanks to create and share knowledge, fresh thinking and authoritative guidance on all aspects of mechanical engineering. This year they will also be hosting their guests The Bugatti Trust showcasing a working cutaway gearbox, and UBRacing, the University of Birmingham's Formula Student team who will be bringing their electric racing car. [Stand A22-23]

@IMechE, @IMechE_Worcs 

and guests @BugattiTrust, @UBRacing

Laser Lines work to align proven and emerging technologies within potential markets so that they can offer customers innovative options and a range of solutions across the full spectrum of 3D printing, industrial lasers and photonics applications. [Stand A38]

@Laserlines

A group of brilliant scientists who performed their wonders in radar development in Malvern during the Second World War referred to themselves as ‘the boffins’. Malvern Hills District Council and the cardboard cast of The Big Bang Theory will be on hand to help you discover which boffin you are. [Stand A3]

#BoffinDay

Malvern Panalytical is a leading provider of scientific instrumentation for the measurement of elemental concentrations, crystallographic structure, molecular structure, remote sensing, rheology, particle size, particle shape, particle concentration and more. [Stand A20]

@newsfrom_MP

QinetiQ operates primarily in the defence, security and aerospace markets and their customers are predominantly government organisations, have a key site in Malvern where they offer their customers world-class expertise in advice, services (particularly test and evaluation) and innovative technology-based products. [Stand A18]

@QinetiQ

ROCU - The West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit is a collaboration between the police forces of Staffordshire, West Midlands, West Mercia and Warwickshire to fight organised crime across the region. They will be covering a range of topics including opportunities to become a Digital Defender, what Cyber Crime is and what the penalties of Cyber Crime are, and how to protect yourself from Cyber Crime. [Stand A16]

@ROCUWM

STEM Ambassadors use their enthusiasm and commitment to encourage young people to enjoy STEM subjects. They open the doors to a world of opportunities and possibilities which come from pursuing STEM subjects and careers. STEM Ambassadors not only inspire young people, they also support teachers in the classroom by explaining current applications of STEM in industry or research. [Stand A9]

@STEMLearningUK, @STEMWorcsUni, @STEMAmbassadors

The STEM Response Team is an award-winning outreach and public engagement team from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) at the University of Wolverhampton.

The team will provide a variety of table top STEM based activities, which will explore the ins and outs of the human body, including the DNA which makes us, us! These interactive activities will allow participants to learn about cells, genetics, and biochemistry, and is supported by The Biochemical Society's Scientific Outreach Grant. [Stand A24]

@STEMResponseWLV, @DrKhechara, @HeatherAngellx

The University of Birmingham School of Mathematics will be presenting paper origami and explaining how you can make fascinating 3D models from 2D sheets of paper. They will also be creating a mood board with coloured Penrose tiles to see what people really think about mathematics!  [Stand A37]

@unibirmingham, @MathsBirmingham

The University of Worcester is a very inclusive Institution.  It has been shortlisted for University of the Year in 2019 and 2020, has been in the top 3 in the UK for Quality Education (the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings) and was the winner (2019) of the sustainability Green Gown awards.  Based on the National Students Survey, the University of Worcester is one of the top scoring Universities within the West Midlands.  They also have a strong record of gaining employment for their graduates, which is proven by their entries into the top 10 for Sustained Employment (longitudinal Outcomes Survey – most recently in 2020).  The University aims to work with our students so that they reach their potential and maximise their success.  There is a strong practical emphasis to their Biology-based courses, which allows students to get hands-on throughout their learning journey. [Stand A39]

@worcester_uni

Yamazaki Mazak Corporation are leaders in the manufacture of advanced technology solutions including Multi-Tasking, 5-axis, milling, turning, CNC controls and automation systems. Their advanced machine tools are used to manufacture many of today's complex and critical engineering components. [Stand A5]

@MazakEurope