Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) learning across the West Midlands has been given a major boost after a charitable trust issued more than £410,000 of grant funding.
Grants of up to £20,000 from the Millennium Point Charitable Trust’s Small Grants Programme have been issued to 34 schools, charities and not-for-profit organisations in a bid to impact how STEM is perceived and promoted in the region.
Over recent years, several reports have been published identifying Birmingham and the West Midlands as the centre for Science and Innovation outside of London, marking STEM as the key to economic growth in the region.
However, the nationwide STEM skills gap means that the region currently has a shortfall of 173,000 skilled workers as 89% of STEM businesses struggle to recruit with a majority of high skilled roles being left unfulfilled.
Until recently there was also a rapid decline in interest in STEM subjects at school, meaning less people would be entering training to eventually take up these jobs.
The 2018/19 grant program will aid the purchase of new equipment, events, after-school clubs and more to enhance STEM learning and increase appetite for relevant careers in the West Midlands.
Abigail Vlahakis, CEO at Millennium Point said: “2018/19 marked an incredibly successful first year for our Small Grants Program and we are delighted to hear that our recipients are starting to put their money to good use.
“From early child development in schools to business development and community engagement, we are aiming to make a positive, tangible impact across the West Midlands in how STEM is perceived and promoted.
“We are looking forward to working with this years recipients as they make the most of their grant funding and of course, we are excited to see the results of their work.”
Millennium Point is a multi-award-winning venue, charity and landmark public building in the eastside of Birmingham City centre.
Profits from its commercial activity is invested through the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth and development of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands region.
Abigail said: “Our charitable outputs are determined by our commercial profits, which means the more businesses spend money with us, whether it’s through our venue or our retail spaces, the more we can make a positive impact on the region.”
Notable projects to arise from this year’s grants include a contribution towards the funding of a week-long STEM Festival organised by the Ahead Partnership, while Trinity High School will create a STEM room.
Many schools are also using their grant to upgrade facilities or increase access to STEM resources for pupils.
Applications for this year’s Millennium Point Small Grants program are set to open in December, with details to be announced by Millennium Point over the coming months, with the aim of exceeding the £410,000 issued for the 2018/19 program.
For more details please visit millenniumpoint.org.uk/small-grants or call 0121 202 2200.
Applications are now open for our life-changing scholarship at Birmingham City University.
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 ranging from civil engineering to video game design and film production.
Now in its sixth year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has funded four young people through their degrees at Birmingham City University, with the fifth winner, Laura starting her course in Film Production Technology this month.
Who can apply?
Applications are only being accepted from students living in the West Midlands region, who cannot already have or currently be studying an undergraduate degree.
Why should they 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. They’ll also have several opportunities to develop through networking, events and industry links provided through Millennium Point.
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.
How can they apply?
The application process is broken down into two stages, with those who proceed to stage two getting to present their story to a live audience comprised of key stakeholders and industry experts.
The first stage is quick and easy, they just need to fill out an application and submit it to our online form with any supporting materials before 11:59pm 31st January 2020. We’ll then select up to 6 finalists to compete in the live final in March.
Get started
If you or someone you know is interested, head over to millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship/apply and start the application.
Millennium Point is a multi-award-winning venue, charity and landmark public building in the east side of Birmingham City centre. Profits from its commercial activity is invested through the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth and development of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands region. For more information, visit our about page.
Millennium Point is celebrating after being named Third Sector Organisation of the Year at a major Birmingham awards ceremony.
The team donned black-tie attire to attend this year’s Birmingham Post Business Awards event, held at the International Convention Centre.
Being shortlisted alongside Baby Lifeline and Witton Lodge Community Association was already an honour but the judging panel, chaired by Birmingham Post editor-in-chief Marc Reeves, deemed Millennium Point worthy of taking home the award.
Profits from our commercial activity as a property owner, award-winning events venue and office space are used by the Millennium Point Trust to fund initiatives supporting science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and education in the region. Our main charitable outputs include our small grants initiative, which grants up to £20,000 to schools, colleges, not-for-profits and charities to develop their STEM projects and facilities; and the Millennium Point Scholarship (which is open for 2020), which awards one young person in the West Midlands a fully funded undergraduate degree at Birmingham City Univeristy’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.
Abbie Vlahakis, Millennium Point CEO, said: “The Birmingham Post Business Awards brought together the very best of the city’s business community and we are incredibly proud to have been selected as Third Sector Organisation of the Year.
“Working at Millennium Point offers so much variety to our team but our charity work is something we are all particularly proud of, so to be recognised for this is a real honour.
“I would like to thank all of our amazing staff for helping us achieve this – everyone here is a valued, crucial member of the team.
“I would also like to congratulate all of the winners and nominees on the evening, it was great to see that business in Birmingham is thriving.”
In 2018 alone, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust invested £4.8m back into the region through projects, events and initiatives that support the development of STEM learning.
Please see this section of our website for further information on our charitable work.
As a STEM charity, we love anything science, tech, engineering and maths – so you can imagine our faces lit up with child-like glee when we heard it was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission this week!
In true Millennium Point style, we knew we had to celebrate one of the biggest achievements of the 20th century. We recruited our very own MP astronaut; you may know him, it was the wonderful Mat from the Marketing team; suiting up in the name of STEM.
From Millennium point we took one small step rather than a giant leap into Birmingham City centre to talk to the public about our fantastic events spaces and the Millennium Point Trust (we’re a charity, just in case you didn’t know) and last year alone donated £4.8 million back into STEM Projects in the West Midlands region. (Read about our small grants programme here).
Our astronaut’s day began by landing in our own auditorium, a whopping 350 seater space with a giant screen (many Brummies’ fondly remember it as the old IMAX theatre) – a space that’s perfect for film screenings, award ceremonies, conferences, lectures and AGM’s . We’ll be hosting the Birmingham Film Festival here in November. We then boldly went where many have gone before and headed down to platform. Connected directly to the auditorium with its own private bar, Platform is the perfect place for a party – time to bust some moves, moon walk anyone?
After a quick stop to see our friends over at Thinktank to check out their newly refurbished 4k planetarium and find out about their Moon Landing Party on Saturday 20th July, we caught the closest capsule into the city centre for a tour of Birmingham’s landmarks; stopping for selfies along the way.
It was great to get out, meet everyone and put the 50th anniversary of the Apollo mission on the radar of Birmingham.
We even got to hear a few stories from people who’d witnessed the launch first hand – one lovely lady out with her grandchild told us how she’d watched it at home with her mother and another lady recalling watching the launch and moon landing at school – the teachers wheeled in a TV and the class shared the momentous moment together!
If you grabbed a selfie with our astronaut we’d love to see it, tag us on social or share a story of your Apollo mission memory.
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There are some professions out there that may not spring to mind when you think of STEM (science, tech, engineering and maths), most people think of scientists in lab but there’s so much more to these four subjects and the careers those who study them find themselves in.
We caught up with Marcus Jenkins, a musician, record producer and sound engineer at 2000 trees festival. Marcus runs the Neu stage at the festival which involves overseeing all elements of running the stage from; Sound Engineering, Lighting, Backline, and Stage Management and where he coordinates his sound engineering students from the University of Gloucestershire. The festival was crowned ‘Best Medium-Sized Festival’ at the Festival Awards 2018 and headlined by Frank Turner, You Me at Six & Deaf Havana.
Q: How did the link between you, the students and 2000 trees come about?
A: The University of Gloucestershire has a great relationship with the festival. I can’t exactly remember how it all started, but I recall meetings with Andy & James (2 of the organisers of 2000 trees) back in 2011 discussing the potential for our students working on The Greenhouse stage. The Greenhouse became The Croft and then, with the site re-jig a few years ago, became the Neu Stage.
Q: Any recommendations for artists over the weekend?
I’ll be faithful to the Gloucestershire locals: Floorboards, Watercolours, All Ears Avow, and of course, Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun.
Q: When working as a sound engineer, do you get to enjoy the music, or do you have to be constantly switched on?
A: I’d like to think that the very nature of being a Sound Engineer means you are always switched on to what and who you are working with. There are some artists that might not suit your personal taste, but you can always get into the mix and provide a good service to the act and to the audience. If an act suits your musical taste, then mixing becomes a great pleasure.
Q: You must be busy all weekend with your job, do you get any downtime to go and see any acts?
A: There’s very little downtime when working on a stage which tends to be the nature of the work. However, as coordinator for the students volunteering on the stage, if anyone wanted to go watch one of their favourite acts on another stage then I will accommodate their request and rotate the team to make sure the work in our venue is covered.
Q: As you work as freelance sound engineer what other kind of events have you worked on?
A: I’ve worked for over 10 years as a freelance live sound engineer for a variety of different events from; music festivals, venues, touring bands, comedy, corporate, and conference work.
Q: Have you always wanted to work in the music industry?
A: Yes – from the age of about 18. Prior to that I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
Q: At what age did you start getting involved in music, and to build on that; the technical side of things?
A: I started going to gigs from the age of 14 (sneaking into venues with age restrictions). Playing in bands around 16 and getting hands-on with tech from 18.
Q: What’s your most memorable experience working in Live music?
A: Touring with Crooks UK on their debut album EU/UK tour (w/ Boston Manor). The tour had to cease after a few shows due to ill health but the gigs we did were insane.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: Live music, either at a festival or in concert, generates a certain energy. There’s nothing like getting the mix spot on and feeling the crew, room acoustic, and artist working together to deliver an excellent experience for the audience.
Q: So where and what did you study?
A: I studied a B-TEC at City of Bath College from 2004-2006 in Music Practice. This drove me to undertake a BA(Hons) at the University of Gloucestershire in Popular Music from 2007-2010.
Q: How did you find the course?
A: Really enjoyed the B-TEC as it got me started on my journey. I found my BA course unique as I was able to experiment with what I enjoyed most and networked along the way. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for both experiences.
Q: Do you think it’s important that more young people get involved in STEM subjects?
A: Absolutely! There’s so much that can be learned by being exposed to right circumstances and experiences. Whether you are a practical or vocational learner, or reflector or theorist, there will be the right course out there for you in STEM should you want to learn more!
Q: You also work for University of Gloucestershire assisting students in the media school, how is that?
A: It’s amazing. I am lucky to be surrounded by inspirational students, where projects in the music studio or computer lab vary from day-to-day and I get to enjoy fantastic experiences like supporting my students working at great festivals like 2000 trees.
Q: Are the students solely focused on the technical side of things or is there a link between performance and engineering?
A: Our students in the Media School study either BA or MA degrees. So whilst technology links almost all things music, understanding and knowledge of tech isn’t essential before you start the course. We have fantastic facilities and support technicians, along with great lecturers that deliver all the right information and content for students to carry out their studies.
Q: What are the opportunities like for students once the graduate to work in the music industry and STEM?
A: From my experience in education, you get out what you put in. Music education and STEM subjects are no different. If you are committed and invest your time in your studies (and that includes time outside the classroom) then you will be able to find work.
Find out more about Marcus here and the Music courses at the University of Gloucestershire: Creative Music Technology, Music Business and Popular Music.
2000 Trees festival won the awards for ‘Best Medium-Sized Festival’ at the Festival Awards 2018 and tickets for 2020 are available at a discounted rate now – https://www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk/tickets/
Millennium Point is a landmark building in Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Owned by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust who supports science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands, Millennium Point is home to award-winning events and conference spaces, including a 350-seat auditorium with Birmingham’s biggest screen, as well as tenants such as Thinktank Science Museum and Birmingham City University. For more information about the organisation get in touch.
The list of speakers for DIDFest 2019 Finale Party have been announced and they’re a great mix of professional from across the digital/tech industry!
Following four weeks of 50 outstanding events across Birmingham with over 1,000 attendees #DIDFest2019 wraps up with a celebratory closing party at Millennium Point in Birmingham City Centre. Whether you attended any events or not as part of the festival this event will give you valuable insight, skills and tools to help you grow in digital and tech.
Meet the speakers
Dr. Charlotte Webb, co-founder of the Feminist Internet & Founding Director of Even
Nominated by the Evening Standard as one of the most influential people in Technology and Science in London in 2018 Dr. Webb has been featured by a wide range of media platforms and presented at TedX, Internet Age Media and Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity among many others.
Co-founder of the Feminist Internet, an ambitious non-profit advancing internet equalities for women and other marginalised groups through creative, critical practice and Founding Director of Even, an ethical tech consultancy that brings Feminist Internet intelligence to brands and businesses; Dr Webb brings a wealth of knowledge of the industry to DIDFest 2019.
https://twitter.com/otheragent?lang=en-gb | https://twitter.com/feministintrnet
Mac Alonge, CEO of The Equal Group
Over the last 10 years, Mac has worked with and for some of the world’s largest private and public sector organisations, including the likes of KPMG, National Grid, Capita and the Scottish and UK governments. Throughout his career, Mac has observed that there are numerous barriers within the workplace that prevent organisations from truly reaping the benefits that come from embracing greater levels of equality, diversity and inclusion. Mac’s mission is to ensure that the current generation leaves a legacy whereby equality and inclusion are the new ‘norm’ and differences are respected and valued.
“As we move towards being a digital economy, the digital sector will be responsible for shaping how we live our lives in the medium to long term – diversity in digital is imperative to ensuring that our future is more inclusive and representative than our past and indeed our current. Diversity and inclusion is a job for all of us!”
https://twitter.com/theequalgroup | https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-equal-group
Ria Blagburn, Team Integrator at Vanti and MD of GrowBeyond
Ria Blagburn spent the first decade of her career in marketing, during which she founded her own company and won the Birmingham Young Professional of the Year award for Marketing and Communications. Ria changed focus in 2019 to apply her skills in a new way at technology company Vanti. As Team Integrator, Ria supports and coordinates activities and resources on a day-to-day basis, whilst also designing and implementing processes that will help Vanti’s Service team to scale in line with the wider company strategy. A passionate champion of causes she believes in, Ria has chaired committees for Silicon Canal and BPS Birmingham Future, and has recently launched Birmingham Future’s newest committee to promote diversity and inclusion within the city’s professional services sector.
https://twitter.com/riaface?lang=en-gb | https://www.linkedin.com/in/riablagburn/
Genea Lynch, Digital Director at Exhibit Interactive
Genea Lynch is a stand designer turned App Developer. She specialises in creating applications in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
https://twitter.com/GeneaLynch?lang=en-gb | https://www.linkedin.com/in/genea-lynch-b501464a/
More information to follow, so keep checking this blog for updates!
To book your tickets, click here.
In a galaxy not so far away – in fact, just a 15 minute walk from New Street station and 5 minutes from the new Primark – Millennium Point was taken over by the good, the bad and the bantha fodder of the Star Wars universe.
On Saturday 4th May, to celebrate Star Wars Day, Millennium Point became the Galactic Senate, as characters from the movies took over all of our event spaces for their Galactic Summit.
CONNECT
After a brief welcome, Lord Vader was making full use of the wireless presentation facilities in Connect with his ‘How to aim’ workshop – with a practical demonstration next door in the Connect Conference suite. There’s enough space for 120 delegates, then there’s definitely enough space for a little target practice. Rey was brought in as a consultant on the workshop following plummeting numbers in the Empire’s monthly happiness survey, which mostly sited Lord Vader and Kylo Ren as horrible bosses.
ATRIUM
Things got a little tense when Rey ran into Kylo, it’s a good job there’s plenty of space in our Atrium – so much that you can even park a Millennium Falcon (or other space ship) here, great if you’re looking to show off the latest model in a public space!
AUDITORIUM
Heroes & villains alike set aside their differences over popcorn to test out the giant screen. Those Stormtroopers, they’re so vain! Any excuse to watch themselves. I’m sure they would have preferred it to be filled out to its 350 capacity, but oh well boys – maybe for The Rise of Skywalker?
*Spoiler alert* Darth Vader is Luke’s farther!
PLATFORM
After the workshop in Connect and film in the Auditorium everyone was ready for a drink at the Cantina. Platform is just a few steps from our giant screen and presentation space, with a built-in-bar that overlooks the vibrant bustle of our central ATRIUM. If you held a party, workshop or performance here, you can be sure the space is exclusively for you, as this space isn’t open to members of the public.
Word gets around fast of the visit, as fans couldn’t resist getting a selfie or two outside ThinkTank.
After a jam-packed day of events around Millennium Point, it was time for the Galactic Summit to finish.
If you’re looking for a venue to hold your next event and would like to take a tour of our spaces, give our lovely events team a call on 0121 202 2200 or email [email protected].
Did you know that Millennium Point is actually a charity? Last year alone we contributed more than £4.8 million back into the region. It’s our aim to support the growth of science, technology, engineering and Maths (STEM) throughout the West Midlands.
Each year, not-for-profits and schools across the region can apply for funding that enables them to start projects supporting this aim, some have included; a careers convention with workshops and panel discussions encouraging more girls to take up careers in STEM, building a 3D printing and robotics lab in a school allowing students to gain experience in advanced technology or setting up a scholarship for a free undergraduate STEM degree.
Applications for our 2019 Grants programme 2019 are now open. We have 3 levels of funding:
• Under £2,000 (all entities)
• Under £2,000 (school specific)
• £2,000-£20,000 (all entities)
Applications for the 2019 scholarship will close at 11:59pm on 31st May.
To download the criteria and submit an application, visit the grants page. Or contact a member of the MP team on 0121 202 2200 or [email protected].
Call us geeky, but we love a good STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activity here at Millennium Point! So we thought we’d put together some egg-cellent Easter activities you can do with the kids this Easter break – from rainbow rubber eggs and edible jelly bean slime, to egg drops and stop frame animation…
Rainbow Rubber Eggs
Who doesn’t want to bounce a real green rubber egg!?
You’ll need: jars, eggs, food colouring and vinegar.
You can teach children the power of osmosis, the coloured liquid will move between membranes (leading to such colourful eggs), but will never change the colour of the egg yolk.
For more information and to find out how you can to do it, click here.
Sparkly Salt Crystal Easter Eggs
A nice easy one with lots of science to boot!
You’ll need: Pipe cleaners, mason jars, salt, clothes pins, magnifying glass and scissors.
With this experiment you can learn all about ionic bonds, evaporation, molecule attraction and the chemical properties of salt and water.
For more information and to find out how you can to do it, click here.
Edible Jelly Bean Slime
Slime is pretty cool on its own, but you can eat this slime too – which makes it even cooler!
You’ll need: Jelly beans, a mason jar and corn starch.
This is a great experiment to introduce toddlers to science and slime; and you don’t have to worry about them putting it in their mouths – if anything, it’s encouraged! It’s also a great sensory activity for any children with autism and ADHD.
For more information and to find out how you can to do it, click here.
Easter Egg Drop
Decorate your egg, pad it out and then drop it out a window – will it survive the fall?
You’ll need: Raw eggs, various containers and padding – such as: bubble wrap, cotton wool, bin bags, food containers, string, tape, egg crates…
This is a fun way to get children thinking like an engineer – should I wrap it in something? Make a parachute? You can let them be as creative as you like! You can also set some design challenges to keep things fresh – perhaps they have to use a cardboard box or it has to fly?
For more information and to find out how you can to do it, click here.
Jelly Bean Stop Frame Animation
For all those budding directors, why not make your own film? You’ll be surprised at how much effort goes into this activity!
You’ll need: Jelly Beans (or other materials you can move around – it could be playdoh), a large foam board and a stop motion app.
Heard of Wallace and Gromit? The technique used to create the wonderful cheese filled world of Wallace is stop frame animation. This is a great activity to get kids using technology in a creative way. To make this an Easter activity, why not give it an Easter theme and have the story based around a bunny or chick?
For more information on this experiment and to find out how to do it, click here.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading though these Easter activities. Here at Millennium Point we’re passionate about STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), it’s the reason our charity is here – to support and invest in STEM projects across the region.
Let us know if you do any of the experiments – we’d love to see your pictures!
Laura Avis, 17, from Redditch, was last night (March 27th) named as the winner of this year’s Millennium Point Trust Scholarship programme.
Laura, who is set to begin studying Film Production Technology at the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment at Birmingham City University (BCU), secured a fully paid-for degree, after presenting to a panel of top industry judges and a captive audience during a live final event at Millennium Point.
Laura said: “Winning the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship programme is a dream come true and I’m so grateful to be given this incredible opportunity to kickstart my career.
“It’s important that young people are aware of the wide range of exciting STEM-related careers that are available to them and I am keen to tackle the misconceptions surrounding the subject. My chosen degree course is a proven example of this as it combines the art of film with the intricate technical detail that is also required in this line of work, and I can’t wait to get started.
“I’m very proud of all the other finalists. They are all so passionate about their chosen subjects and I wish them the very best of luck in their careers in the future.”
We’d like to say a huge congratulations to all of the finalists on this year’s Scholarship programme. The level of passion for their chosen topic, as well as the knowledge and enthusiasm that was shown on the night, was phenomenal – not to mention the courage that is needed to stand on stage and present to a panel of five industry leaders. There is no doubt that all five of these talented individuals have very bright futures ahead of them.
It’s an amazing thing to witness first-hand the growing interest in STEM among young people. Looking ahead, we will continue to invest back into the West Midlands and support STEM-related projects so we can raise awareness of the vast array of exciting and innovative careers available to the next generation of leaders. We’ll be working with all of the finalists to secure them opportunities to start their career as well as Laura’s degree funded through the Millennium Point Trust.
The scholarship programme, now in its fifth year, saw a record number of applicants, with almost 100 young people applying for 2019 –the highest entry level in the scholarship’s history.
The flagship initiative from the Millennium Point Charitable Trust is fully funded by the charity, which in 2018 invested more than £4.8m in STEM-related organisations, projects and initiatives, based in the West Midlands.
The finalists also included Jerome Adrien, 19, from Birmingham, who has applied for Automotive Engineering; Moses Mbikayi Mukendi, 17, from Coventry, who has chosen Computer Games Technology; Caitlin Cooper, 17, from Wolverhampton, who wants to study Computer Forensics; and Feargus Flanagan, 17, from Wolverhampton, who is looking to pursue Music Technology. All finalists will continue to receive support as part of the wider Scholarship programme.
The judges were:
- Liz Mercuri – a computer games programmer, Liz is Technical Evangelist at Unity Technologies and former BAFTA Young Games Designers Mentor.
- Hala Lloyd – lead architect at HS2 in Birmingham, Hala studied for her postgraduate diploma in Architecture at BCU.
- Simon Cox – Head of investigations at BBC Arabic and global journalism consultant.
- Gavin Wade – director of Eastside Projects in Digbeth, Gavin is an award-winning artist-curator, and a producer and curator of world-class public art, exhibition making, writing, and publishing.
- Professor Hanifa Shah – Executive Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment at Birmingham City University (BCU). She has held positions in Computing and Engineering departments at Aston, Staffordshire and Birmingham City University, and a Visiting Professorship at Manchester University. She also has several years’ industry experience, including at BT, Cadbury Schweppes and Britvic.
Applications for the 2020 Millennium Point Charitable Trust Scholarship open in September this year.
For more information on the Millennium Point Scholarship Project, please get in touch with our scholarship team.
