UCLan and Ri Young Scientist Centre wins national award

Our education partners at the University of Central Lancashire win the Best Community Engagement Campaign category at the Heist Awards for Education Marketing.

The UCLan and Ri Young Scientist Centre has given more than 3,500 young people exciting, hands-on science experiences since it opened in 2014.
UCLan

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The UCLan and Ri Young Scientist Centre has triumphed in a national higher education awards ceremony by winning the Best Community Engagement Campaign category.

The team won the Gold Award at the Heist Awards for Education Marketing, a recognition which follows on from last year when the University of Central Lancashire won the same award for the hugely popular Lancashire Science Festival.

Commenting on this year’s success Dr Liz Granger, UCLan and Ri Young Scientist Centre Manager, said: “It is a fantastic achievement to have won the best community engagement campaign award for two years in succession. Our YSC is all about inspiring young people and raising their educational aspirations and is part of the University’s wider commitment to social engagement. For our work to be recognised through this national award, in the face of such stiff competition, is incredible.

“Since opening our doors to schools we have engaged over 3,500 students with interactive science workshops, but this is only the beginning – moving forward we hope to expand our programme and inspire even more young people across the North West.”

Gail Cardew, Professor of Science, Culture and society at the Royal Institution, said: “One of the many reasons why we enjoy working in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire is because it has such a strong focus on building links with local communities. It’s so important to reach out to those who are unfamiliar with the world of science, and this is exactly what Liz and her team excel at. It’s so brilliant to see their work being formally recognised by this award.”

The UCLan and Ri Young Scientist Centre is modelled on the successful L’Oréal Young Scientist Centre at the Ri in London and is a collaborative partnership with the Ri. As the first of its kind in the UK outside the capital, the centre aims to encourage interest, learning and creativity in all aspects of science and technology among primary, secondary schools and local community groups.

The centre was officially opened in 2015 by the then School Reform Minister Nick Gibb along with Jamie Edwards, a local school pupil and the youngest person in the world to carry out a nuclear fusion reaction. 

Find out more here.

The Royal Institution is closed 19 March

The Ri is closed this week on Tuesday 19 March.