Author: The Greenpower Team
Greenpower has been nominated for the Innovation in STEM Inspiration award
Greenpower Education Trust, the organisation that encourages young people into STEM through motorsport, has been shortlisted for the prestigious STEM Inspiration Awards, set to take place on 5 November at the House of Lords.
The charity has been named in the Innovation in STEM Inspiration category for its involvement in the inaugural Hull Street Race, which took place on the city’s streets back in April.
The STEM Inspiration award recognises individuals, organisations and groups who have developed and sustained a long-term engagement with young people and raise aspirations within STEM. It showcases innovation and projects which have a clear impact on young people.
There are seven awards available including Innovation in STEM Inspiration and Inspirational STEM Employer, which recognises outstanding commitment to STEM by an employer of any size, particulary when embedded within the culture of the organisation.
Sponsors of the awards, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are sending the winners of each category to the world-renowned CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) facility in Switzerland.
A race to remember
On 28th April 2019, the Hull Street Race project came to a spectacular conclusion, shutting the city centre in Hull for the UK’s first ever electric race on closed roads.
Over 800 young people participated in the landmark event, using cars they had built themselves, across three categories: 9-11 years old, 11-16 years old and 16-25 years old.
The Greenpower Challenge gives young people the opportunity to design and build a single-seater electric car which they can then race against other teams at a series of events across the UK.
The Hull Street Race project was established by Greenpower and Greenport Hull as an inspirational and exciting way of engaging about STEM careers with a wider audience of young people in the Humber region.
Paul van Veggel, CEO of Greenpower Education Trust commented: “The Hull Street Race was a landmark event, not only for Greenpower and its partners, but for the entire region of Hull and Humber. Greenpower exists to encourage young people into STEM through the excitement of motorsport. The Hull event was a perfect embodiment of that, so to be recognised for our work with a nomination in the STEM Inspiration Awards is a huge honour. We look forward to joining other like-minded and deserving nominees at the House of Lords to celebrate a wealth of achievement in STEM.”
Female student, Year 9
“It made me think more about what I can do and what physics and engineering can bring into the future. I had an idea I liked physics but had never done something like this before. It made the idea clearer for me and has definitely made me more interested in engineering.”
Primary school teacher
“They are very keen on promoting different career options, there were definitely ways through university and other options to get into engineering through apprenticeships. It suggests they have a wide-ranging approach. The diversity of choices was excellent.”
