“In the UK, we are seeing a renewed focus on technology and innovation, for instance around electrification. This means that our work connecting universities with industry is now even more vital.”
Stew Edmondson, CEO, UKESF

The UKESF has just published its Annual Review for 2019/20 – read it HERE.

Highlights include:

  • The Scholarship Scheme continued to attract the best students and the support of leading companies in the sector; both applications and awards were higher than forecast at the start of the year. It is also reassuring to know that employer satisfaction remains exceptionally high. In a recent survey, 96% of respondents said that they would recommend the UKESF.
  • In October, CEO Stew Edmondson collaborated with Trustee Prof Bashir M. Al-Hashimi CBE to write an article titled ‘Engineering as a Caring Profession’, which was published in The Engineer magazine. “In order to inspire the next generation of engineers, we must ensure that the curriculum reflects the ways in which engineering addresses the big global challenges”.
  • As part of the UKESF’s work to encourage more young people to learn more about Electronics, a new initiative was launched to huge interest, “Insight Into Electronics”, in collaboration with Aston University. The “Electronics Everywhere” project for sixth formers was also expanded to a further 250 schools over the year. In the summer, a successful “Girls Into Electronics” course was held virtually, with plans to scale-up this important initiative in 2022.

UKESF award and competition finalists of 2020/21

“From the outset our aim for the Foundation has been to build the future by inspiring and supporting students and Scholars into the Electronics industry. The pandemic has meant that this has been another challenging year for all of us. However, I am very pleased to report that the Foundation has been able to continue successfully. We have been able to launch a new ‘Insight into Electronics’ project this year, which has already proved incredibly popular. I am also pleased that we are working hard to address the gender imbalance in the sector through our ‘Girls into Electronics’ initiative.”
Lynn Tomkins, Chair, UKESF

“While a downturn in the global economy is clear, it’s encouraging that Electronics has fared better than most sectors; indeed, demand particularly for semiconductors is high as major markets accelerate into a recovery. In the UK, we are seeing a renewed focus on technology and innovation, for instance around electrification. This means that our work connecting universities with industry is now even more vital.”
Stew Edmondson, CEO, UKESF

The year at a glance:

 

Read the full Annual Review for 2020/21 HERE.