UKESF-Headstart Summer School 2016

The UKESF-sponsored Summer School for 2016 took place 17–21 July at the University of York, and was organised in partnership with Headstart EDT and York’s Department of Electronics. 80 STEM-focused Year 12/S5 students attended the residential week to get a first taste of university life and learn more about studying Electronics at degree level, with a variety of lectures, labs, visits and networking opportunities.

Sessions ranged from ‘MEMS Biosensors and the Potential for Improving Healthcare’ to ‘From the Ancient Greeks to the iPhone: a Brief History of Communications’, as well as hands-on challenges that dealt with design and robotics. The UKESF’s CEO Stew Edmondson gave a talk and introduced the new UKESF Award for Female Undergraduates, and also facilitated presentations and Q&As with two UKESF Scholars.

Stew said, “It was a privilege to speak to the 80 young people at this year’s Summer School. These Year 12 students are our future and it was heartening to see how motived, interested and eager to learn about Electronics they are. It was great that two of our scholars – Keerthi and Tom – were able to join me to share their experiences. We really appreciate the support from the host university and all the good will from everyone involved in making this year’s Summer School so successful.”

David Halliday, Department of Electronics at York, said, “The Department of Electronics was delighted to host the 2016 UKESF-Headstart Summer School. It was enjoyable and rewarding to see these enthusiastic, talented and motivated young people tackle a wide range of activities. The robot lab challenge was particularly popular and the creative ideas generated during the design challenge led to a series of excellent presentations during the final session.”

Many thanks to AWE, Leonardo and Renesas for their support, and to academics from the universities of Bath, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle and York for delivering sessions.