Charity Archives - Page 6 of 10

Every year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust Small Grants programme gives out grants of up to £20,000 to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education projects in the West Midlands. Applications are now open for 2021.

Here is one of the many projects that the programme has funded in 2019.

Who’s running the project?

Joseph Leckie Academy is a secondary school located in The Delves area of Walsall in the West Midlands. In 2019, they received a grant from the Millennium Point Charitable Trust which allowed them to purchase 3D printing equipment and associated software and materials.

What’s it all about?

The school was keen to engage children in STEM in ways relevant to the local history of the West Midlands – in this case, the rich heritage of jewellery and manufacturing centred around Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter.

The school wanted to devise a new project which taught 3D printing and computer aided design (CAD) where students designed and created their own jewellery. This would not only teach them STEM skills in an inspiring way, but also reconnects students to Birmingham’s jewellery heritage.

However, prior to the grant, the school was limited in this ambition by lack of resources and outdated equipment which meant little opportunity to explore this element of STEM as part of the wider curriculum

What impact has our grant made?

The project has given students a broad range of design and manufacturing skills, including CAD design, 3D printers and metal casting machines to create jewellery. It has also brought them closer to trades synonymous with the region being jewellery making and manufacturing.

With the printer in situ students get a first-hand experience of a design and make activity and lead them towards considering a STEM-based career, whether that is in manufacturing or design.

In the long term, the Academy has been able to embed practical demonstrations of the 3D printer into schemes of work and open evenings to develop and foster a sense of curiosity and wonder in Design Technology. Students will start to use the 3D printers in their design work to test design thinking, model and evaluate design solutions and ultimately enhance their skills as young designers.

What they said:

Chris Potter, Technology Teacher and leader of the project, said: “It was a delight to receive this grant from the Millennium Point Charitable Trust. 3D printers and CAD design are likely to be a huge part of the future of manufacturing. Giving our students an opportunity to experience in their use first hand is an amazing way to prepare them for STEM jobs of the future right here in the Midlands.”

About educational grant funding from Millennium Point
Educators, Charities and Not-for-Profits within the West Midlands Combined Authority can apply for up to £20,000 from Millennium Point to fund their STEM activity. For more information on how to access this funding please visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/grants

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.

“Looking back, I feel really proud of myself, as I would never normally say yes to presenting in front of large groups. I really enjoyed the whole process.” – Sagal Qodah, 2017 scholarship winner

Each year Millennium Point pay for the tuition fees of one young person to pursue a STEM related degree at Birmingham City University (BCU). This is part of the ongoing work of the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in greater Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Sagal (Middle) collecting her award alongside 2015 winner Malik (left) and 2016 winner Abi (right)

MEET SAGAL

Sagal won the Millennium Point Scholarship (then called “The Young Innovator Prize”) in 2017, which funded her Civil Engineering course at BCU, and is currently working for Jacobs as a Graduate Geotechnical Engineer, having graduated in 2020 with a First Class Honours degree.

Sagal applied after hearing about the opportunity through her school; in fact, Sagal is the second pupil from Ark St Alban’s Academy in Highgate, Birmingham, to have received the scholarship, as a former pupil also received the funding from Millennium Point two years previously.

On why she chose BCU, Sagal says: “I liked the fact the university buildings were modern and had great laboratories to carry out experiments, compared to other universities. There were a variety of opportunities for me to develop, and, as a civil engineer, it was an exciting prospect to see the development of the city, along with the enabling works of HS2 over the three years of my course.”

Sagal with MPT Chairman, Simon Topman at the Live Final

SAGAL’S STORY

When asked why Sagal decided to apply, she says: “I did think about going abroad to study in Denmark at one point, but when I heard about the chance to have my tuition fees paid for and completely taken care of, it did make me rethink, and the financial assistance provided by the scholarship is the main reason I applied.

“The application process itself was easy and simple, and I was fortunate enough to have help from my careers advisor too, which made everything even smoother.”

While the 2021 final is a virtual one, Sagal reflects on her experience in 2017, when it was a live final in front of a panel of judges and audience of over 200 people: “It was nerve-wracking as I had never presented to or spoken in front of that many people before, and I did find it challenging beforehand when deciding what to include and how to structure my presentation, as well as preparing for any questions that I may have to answer. However, I had the encouragement and support from my friends and teachers which made the process and the evening itself less stressful.

“Looking back, I feel really proud of myself, as I would never normally say yes to presenting in front of large groups. I really enjoyed the whole process.”

Thinking about how the Millennium Point scholarship has benefited her, Sagal explains: “It has allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone and in turn, it has meant that my confidence has increased – something which was incredibly valuable to me as I was starting university not knowing anyone. Through the scholarship and support from Millennium Point, I’ve been able to increase my network, have been given access to industry events, and I’ve also been provided with help and guidance when needed.

“For anyone thinking about applying for the scholarship, I would advise making the most of the process and don’t doubt yourself, as anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”

UNLOCK THEIR FUTURE

Millennium Point is helping young people across the region unlock their future. For more information on how to apply or get involved please, visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship

We are proud to be working with Wowdot CIC to support the Connect_In campaign, which provides laptops to children without access to computers or the internet.

Our landmark public building in the eastside of Birmingham city centre is a drop off point in which members of the public can donate any unused laptops they have. These laptops will then be refurbished and distributed to vulnerable children within the local area. Millennium Point has further supported the initiative by donating a number of laptops to the cause, alongside encouraging other businesses and the public to support the campaign.

The acceleration of digital demand as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic has underlined the overwhelming digital poverty that hits schools and children within the West Midlands. Launched by The Child Poverty Action Forum and supported by Wowdot CIC, the Connect_In campaign aims to ensure the most disadvantaged families are receiving the help that they need with homeschooling during the pandemic, in the form of laptops and a stable internet connection. Millennium Point joins a host of businesses that have partnered with Wowdot CIC to support this campaign.

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point, commented: “Education and STEM are in the trust’s DNA, so it was clear to us that we had to get involved with the Connect_In campaign.

“It’s essential that every child has access to education and digital provision during the pandemic, to give everyone the same life chances and to prevent the “huge gap” between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their peers. We’ll not only be serving as a hub for drop-off and collection of laptops, but we’re committed to donating thousands of laptops to disadvantaged local school children too.”

If you or your business has an old laptop you are not using then please bring it to the reception on the ground floor of our landmark public building between 9 am and 5 pm on weekdays.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a laptop but would still like to support then it costs just £300 to provide a family with 12 months of internet connection and a reconditioned PC or laptop. You can donate funds directly to Wowdot’s dedicated account which can be found on their website alongside any other questions you may have.

Go to their website.

Our support forms part of our ongoing mission as a STEM charitable trust to enhance the growth of the region’s STEM sectors; this has included funding more than 40 projects in the form of small grants to fund STEM-related projects in the region; working with Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and The Built Environment to offer a free undergraduate degree through the Millennium Point Scholarship.

Image 1 caption (left to right): Cas Majid (CEO of WOW Group), Abbie Vlahakis (Millennium Point CEO) and Bevil Williams (Managing Director at Repc Ltd) delivering laptops and equipment to Highfields School in Saltley

Image 2 caption: Entrance to Millennium Point.

Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands. Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

Here is one of the many projects that the programme has funded in 2020:

Who’s running the project?
City Road Primary School is situated in the Rotton Park area of north Edgbaston.

What’s it all about?
With support from Millennium Point Charitable Trust, City Road Primary School will create a Sensory Garden for its Early Years pupils. The EYFS (early years foundation stage) outdoor area has been chosen as the dedicated space for this project.

To start the project KS2 children will create designs based on given criteria (outline of the area, needs of children in Early Years, budget and safety aspects). The winning design will be a combination of ideas from children in each KS2 year group. The garden will feature plants (herbs and flowers), solar panel lighting, wind chimes, suncatchers, mirrors and birdhouses. Building raised beds for fruit and vegetables is also included in the project with room for expansion for a solar water feature, a seating area for quiet time and a colourful path linking all the areas depending on budget. The design aspect of this project will build pride in the school and children will hopefully develop a great sense of ownership for the development of the garden.

The sensory garden will provide a great stimulus for developing communication, social skills and an understanding of the world. The design and build of this project will promote STEM throughout the school and community and create a sustainable area which will support teaching and learning for all children as part of the Early Years outdoor learning strand and KS1 and 2’s Science curriculum. This should inspire children’s aspirations and understanding of STEM careers.

Who will benefit?
All pupils at City Road Primary will benefit. The Early Years children will have daily use of this exciting learning space to develop communication and social skills, while older children in other year groups will have a sense of responsibility as they will have time to maintain the area in the future. Sessions in the sensory garden will be embedded in the school’s curriculum, thereby ensuring that it will form part of the teaching of STEM subjects in subsequent academic years.

What they said:
Sarvjeet Jandu, Assistant Head Teacher, commented: “We are so excited about this project. A high percentage of our children are from a minority ethnic background within a socially deprived area. In the locality, there is a growing number of families living in overcrowded houses with no outdoor space and as a result, some of these children have little or no experience of growing plants outdoors or of the natural world. This project will expose them to new experiences which they would not otherwise have, understanding sustainability, growing and the importance of outdoor learning through play.

“Many of the KS2 students involved in the design of the garden have younger siblings in reception and nursery and will remember and discuss their time in the same area. The Sensory Garden will emphasise how we are linking learning across the school and promote the excellent work the children have done.”

When’s it all happening?
A grand opening will be planned during the early summer months to unveil the Sensory Garden. Once built, KS2 children will maintain the area and be responsible for its upkeep, as part of their science curriculum.

Every year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust gives out grants of up to £20,000 to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education projects in the West Midlands. Applications are now open for 2021. Meadows Primary School and Resource Base received a grant in 2020 to transform dilapidated school grounds into an engaging outdoor science area. This is their story.

Who’s running the project?
The Meadows Primary School and Resource Base is a three-form entry primary school in Northfield, Birmingham. The children are aged between four and 11 years with 45% of the pupils being disadvantaged children who receive free school meals and grow up in challenging circumstances. Additionally, 24% of children have Special Educational Needs (SEN) requiring specialist supported learning.

What’s it all about?
The existing woodland area around the school has become run down and unusable due to limited school funding. Apart from a small playground, there are no outdoor areas, such as playing fields, other than this dilapidated area. The grant from Millennium Point Charitable Trust will fund the development of a pond and wildlife area within the school grounds. The objective is to enable the children to immerse themselves in the local environment while learning about biological and life sciences outside of the traditional classroom environment. This will prove especially important for those children with learning difficulties, enabling the school to provide more dynamic lessons using the external spaces to better suit their learning needs. The funds will also help pay for den building kits, wellington boots and all-in-ones for the children – an outlay that many families simply can’t afford.

Who will benefit?
This project will benefit the whole school, including the children in the resource base (which is integrated within the mainstream school), who have speech and language disorders. They sometimes have additional needs such as dyslexia, autism, ADHD, physical difficulties, sensory impairments or social and emotional development.

What they said:
Alex Morris, the school’s science coordinator: “Science is a major part of what we do in every single curriculum and year group, and this project will have a huge impact on the children in our care. Due to the parents’ financial constraints, the children have very limited experiences of habitats beyond their own street. They don’t experience what a lot of children do, like walks in the countryside.

“The grant will enable the children to develop their vocabulary of plants and animals beyond the classroom walls. Developing this project would benefit every year group and vastly impact the children’s progress and attainment.

“Due to home circumstances, many children within the school have mental health problems, so they need a great deal of emotional support, and providing an area for calm reflection when they feel overwhelmed would vastly benefit the children in our care.

“We also hope this project will inspire and encourage the traditionally marginalised groups, such as the children in our resource base, to pursue STEM careers in the future; opening up a range of possibilities and develop the children’s confidence to pursue these careers in the future.”

When’s it all happening?
It is hoped that the wildlife area will be ready in Spring 2021; the pool will be created by the Summer, pandemic restrictions pending.

Can grant funding unlock your STEM project?
There’s still time to apply for funding from the Millennium Point Charitable trust this year. Applications must be submitted by 5 pm on 30th November 2020. To apply for the Millennium Point Charitable Trust Small Grants programme 2021, visit: www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/grants/apply

The deadline to apply for our life-changing scholarship at Birmingham City University ends on Sunday.

We’ve partnered with Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, to fully fund tuition fees in one of 20 different courses across computing, digital technology, engineering and the built environment. Now in its seventh year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has already funded six young people from the region through their degrees at Birmingham City University – which originally started as the Young Innovator Prize in 2015.

How do you apply?
The competition is open to applicants aged 17 and over within the West Midlands Combined Authority, who are looking to start a qualifying degree in September 2021.

To apply, they need to download and complete this quick and easy application form from our website by answering four questions.

They will then submit their completed form to [email protected] by Sunday 28th February 2021. We will invite five applicants to a final assessment day in April 2021 before deciding a winner.

Who can apply?
Applications are only being accepted from students living in the West Midlands Combined Authority, who cannot already have or currently be studying an undergraduate degree. The scholarship only applies to a qualifying course at Birmingham City University. For further information, check out the rules section.

Why should you apply?
All finalists will benefit from the programme with opportunities that can kick start their career in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM). One person will get a fully funded degree – which means they won’t pay their undergraduate tuition fees which are upward f £27,000.

All finalists receive skills development and training to build their confidence before the live final. Following the competition, they can become an alumnus of the programme and benefit from a range of opportunities such as mentoring, work placements and networking.

Why do we do this?
Birmingham and the West Midlands is teeming with unfettered STEM talent. Now, more than ever, young people need our support and encouragement for them to unlock their potential. The scholarship is one of several ways we, as a charitable trust, support the growth of STEM industries in the region and do our bit to secure the future and economic growth of an area and a community that has been designated the largest hub for science and innovation outside of London. For more information on how you can get involved please visit this page.

Get started
If you or someone you know is interested, head over to millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship and start the application. Deadline for applications is Sunday 28th February 2021.

Who’s running the project?
The Aston Villa Foundation is a registered charity that delivers the community and social responsibility work of Aston Villa Football Club. With a mission of ‘Working Together to Enrich Lives’, the foundation and its partners work with people from a variety of backgrounds in Birmingham as well as supporting the wider ‘Aston Villa family’ through schools, football in the community, disability, health and wellbeing, education, interventions and community relations.

What’s it all about?
STEM Stars will see the development of a new STEM programme in six schools, all within the targeted constituencies of Erdington, Perry Barr and Ladywood (approximately a three-mile radius of Villa Park). The funding will be used to purchase a Sphero robot package (which includes 15 x robots, 10 x tablets and 6 x small pitches) that uses football to engage young people in coding. The money will also pay for training and some of the staff delivery.

Using code, the robots can perform speciﬁc functions – such as motion and direction, colour and light, and sensor-controlled reactions, allowing students to be creative with their programs. Teachers and students can use the robots for STEM learning through activities such as navigating a maze, painting, mimicking the Solar System or swimming across water. The Aston Villa Foundation staff will create football-related tasks and work with the schoolchildren to programme the robots to recreate Villa goals from the current Premier League season.

STEM Stars is an extension of the PL Primary Stars education programme which is already delivered by the Aston Villa Foundation to schools in Perry Barr, Erdington and Ladywood. However, none of the schools currently engage in STEM activities. The schools targeted in the STEM Stars project have a high percentage of BAME and high levels of income deprivation (top 3% nationally) and education deprivation (top 8%).

Who will benefit?
The funding will help deliver 60 free days of activities at six primary schools across a school term (10 x 1 day blocks). The focus years for the sessions will be Years 4, 5 and 6, benefitting around 400 pupils in total. Exact numbers still to be determined and are COVID-19 dependent.

What they said:
Paul Hughes, Aston Villa Foundation Schools Manager, commented: “The funding will allow us to be innovative with our provision in schools and make a difference within the local community by equipping the next generations with potential skill sets of the future and looking positively ahead in an ever-evolving technological world.

“It will provide us with a further opportunity to have a positive impact on children and schools, by enriching their curriculums through this unique programme to experience, learn and develop through STEM, with the power of football and the club as a key instigator to unlocking learning potential.”

When’s it all happening?
It is hoped the project will then be rolled out to the six schools over three academic terms from January 2021.

At Millennium Point, we are offering a fully paid undergraduate degree for one student to join Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment as we look to boost STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning across the West Midlands. The deadline for applications for our fully funded degree ends at midnight on 28th February.

Here, in this blog, we take a look at the story of Shilpa Joy. Shilpa graduated from the same faculty in which we are offering our fully funded undergraduate scholarship – Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, with a degree in Automotive Engineering course 2016. She went on to work at Jaguar Land Rover as a Prototype Build Engineer.

A day in the life at JLR

Who is Shilpa Joy?

Former Automotive student Shilpa Joy worked diligently while studying but also found time to be involved in extra-curricular activities within the university. She chose to study Automotive Engineering, as there were so few girls on the course and she wanted to prove that girls have nothing to shy away from.

Shilpa didn’t know exactly what career role she wanted but knew she wanted to do something with cars and that she needed to gain experience before pinpointing a specific area in the automotive industry to specialise in.

What did she do with her degree?

After graduation, Shilpa went on to become a Prototype Build Engineer in charge of three build zones at the start of the assembly line at Jaguar Land Rover. This role is a crucial part of vehicle production, directly responsible for innovation and improving build quality by combining new content with existing vehicles to create prototype properties suitable for test and development for new vehicles.

She said: “Any delay in my zones would impact the completion and delivery of that particular vehicle to the customer. I face a variety of challenges on a day to day basis and finding solutions to them aren’t always quick or easy. University taught me to always have a five-year plan. I cannot tell you how important this turned out to be for me. My five-year plan encourages and pushes me to the next step in my career and each time I look at it, it reminds me to stay on track and reassures me why I am doing what I am doing.”

Unlock your future with a fully funded degree
Your journey can start like Shilpa’s at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment and you won’t have to pay tuition fees. We are offering a fully-funded undergraduate degree – that’s over £27,000 you will never have to pay back – to study one of over 20 courses including automotive engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and construction management.

The application form is quick, easy and could be the start of a life-changing opportunity. Deadline for applications is 28th February 2021, for further information or to apply please visit www.millenniumpoiint.org.uk/scholarship

The deadline for our life-changing fully funded undergraduate scholarship at Birmingham City University has been extended to 28th February 2021

Each year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust fully fund an undergraduate degree at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, which covers over 20 different courses across computing, digital technology, engineering and the built environment. Now in its seventh year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has already funded six young people from the region through their degrees at Birmingham City University.

Young people in education are among those most impacted over the past 12 months by the pandemic causing uncertainty and anxiety over final grades and their future. This has caused a dramatic increase in young people taking to time to carefully consider their futures. After listening closely to the anxieties of young people and feedback from schools and colleges across the region, we have taken the decision to extend the deadline for applications to our life-changing fully funded scholarship from the end of January to 28th February 2021.

The objective of the Millennium Point Scholarship, and the Millennium Point Charitable Trust, is to give young people the support and encouragement they need to unlock their future in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The offer of a fully-funded undergraduate degree is more appealing than ever to young people in the region with value for money being a key driver in applying to uni. With the decision to extend the deadline of the scholarship project this year by four weeks, we are hoping to offer respite and reassurance to students by giving them extra time to apply for this unmissable opportunity to have their tuition fees paid for.

The competition is open to applicants aged 17 and over within the West Midlands Combined Authority, who are looking to start a qualifying degree in September 2021. To apply, they need to download and complete our quick and easy application form from our website by answering four questions. They will then submit their completed form to [email protected] by Sunday 28th February 2021. We will invite five applicants to a final assessment day in April 2021 before deciding a winner.

Why apply?
If you win you we’ll pay your tuition fees. If you make it to the shortlist you get a range of benefits and support that develop your core skills and create opportunities to help you kick start your career in science, technology, engineering and maths. You have nothing to lose by applying.

Get started
If you or someone you know is interested, head over to millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship to download the application form before midnight on 28th February 2021.

Here, in this blog, we take a look at the story of Cal Henderson, Chief Technology Officer at Slack. Cal graduated from the same faculty in which we are offering a fully-funded scholarship – Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, with a degree in software engineering in 2002 (equivalent to a computer science degree today).

Who is Cal Henderson?
Cal was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University in recognition of his contribution to the technology field. After graduating from the University in 2002 with a degree in Software Engineering, Cal jas enjoyed an illustrious career in the tech industry since graduating. In 2006, Cal wrote the best-selling book “Building Scalable Websites” and is currently working on a second edition. In his spare time, he continues to publish articles on web application development and contribute to open source projects. He is colour blind and has worked on applications to make the web more accessible for people with the condition.

He co-founded software company Slack in 2013, with three colleagues with their creation going on to be a major hit with users. Slack is a collaboration hub for teams at work, which brings together the people you need, the information you share, and the tools you use. Boasting more than 10 million users, the company recently made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange earning an estimated valuation of over $17 billion.

Cal was named as Birmingham City University’s Alumni of the Year in 2016 in recognition of his achievements and is now recognised with the University’s highest honorary accolade. On receiving the accolade, Henderson commented: “When I was a kid and thought I could one day work at Microsoft – it never occurred to me that I could build a company that might become the next Microsoft. Silicon Valley is a long way from Birmingham, and a university education opens up a world of possibilities.”

“I now lead a team of almost 100 engineers building a variety of applications and distributed systems that a million people rely on every day. While I spend most of my time these days in meetings rather than a text editor, the engineering knowledge and understanding that I gained at university is crucial for running an engineering organisation.”

Unlock your future with a fully funded degree
Your journey can start like Cal’s at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment and you won’t have to pay tuition fees. We are offering a fully-funded undergraduate degree – that’s over £27,000 you will never have to pay back – to study one of over 20 courses including computer science, video games design, computer forensics and cybersecurity.