Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity
The coming year (2020) is a big one for CSES: it's our centenary. It also marks the 100th anniversary of the first radio entertainment broadcast by Dame Nellie Melba from the Marconi works at New Street, and the exciting news that Chelmsford will be hosting the 2020 British Science Festival.
All of this is brought together as Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity.
CSES will be holding its usual programme of talks, socials and school activities, but look out for more events throughout the year as the celebrations take place. With our partner organisations we will be holding special events, some of which will continue in the future.
Our events pages have all the details.
- The first talks include electromagnets, space/time and Big Data.
- We have scheduled a full social programme including Café Scientifique and the annual Christmas Party.
- We will be taking part in PhysicsFest in October.
- My Smarter Essex is back. We will be running this in early 2020: please look out for further details.
Are you able to help for 5 evenings in Nov and Dec 2019?
Teledyne e2v (Te2v) and CSES are launching an engineering challenge that will see local schools working with Te2v apprentices and CSES volunteers to develop prototype solutions to real engineering problems faced by Te2v production staff.
This will be a pilot scheme which, if successful, will be run annually. We are starting with a small number of local schools and need CSES volunteers to help the apprentices to mentor the student teams.
Can you help? Remember that any time spent volunteering counts as Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Read more: Mentors sought for Teledyne e2v schools' engineering challenge
The Imagine! STEM Club is a new CSES/ARU event for school students and young people
The inaugural launch of the Imagine! STEM Club took place at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) Chelmsford campus over three days (29-31 July 2019). Over twenty students aged between 12 and 15 attended with an approximate 50% male-female ratio.
CSES Imagine! STEM Club was conceived and planned in consultation with ARU and Essex County Council (ECC) with the aim of promoting STEM learning and career options to young local school students and home-schooled students. CSES Council Member Bob Easby drafted the programme together with Professor David Humber from ARU, who were keen to show off their new £4 Million SuperLab, and Ed Bye, a CSES member who works with Schools and ECC providing specialist STEM support. The interactive practical sessions were delivered in the SuperLab by David Humber, Bob himself and Paul Cotton the SuperLab Manager at ARU, with some additional help and support from some enthusiastic ARU Ambassadors.
In Analysis HESA's Annual Report, Study in UK Highlights the Increased Number of Female Students Enrolling in Postgraduate Study.
With the release of HESA's (Higher Education Statistics Agency) annual report, Study in UK has looked at the figures and drawn a number of conclusions in terms of student numbers in a range of disciplines. More details can be found at the link below:
Study in UK: Female Students Enrolled in Science Programs in Steady Increase
Congratulations to everyone who won an award at the 2019 Schools' Competition, which took place on Friday 28 June 2019 at Anglia Ruskin University.
A Research Opportunity at the Essex Record Office for Master’s or Ph.D. Students Interested in the History of Science and Technology
Within the varied holdings of the Essex Record Office (ERO) are a number of collections of value for researching the history of science, technology, engineering and medicine. These include over 100,000 photographs from the Marconi Company, dating from the 1890s to the 1980s.
In collaboration with the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS), the ERO is offering the chance for a Master’s or Ph.D. student to spend four weeks (or equivalent part-time) investigating the potential of collections held at ERO for research in science, technology and engineering subjects, and to raise awareness of and engagement with particular records – primarily the Marconi Photographic Archive.
My Smarter Essex, Tue 15 Oct 2019 16:00-19:30, The College at Braintree
My Smarter Essex is returning to Braintree, with a second run of "The Internet: is it Good For Us?" which was last held at Anglia Ruskin University in November 2018. We are now taking bookings for this event.
We know that some students and schools were unable to make the previous event so this is an excellent opportunity to take part. The Braintree location is also intended to ease travel for schools based towards the north of Essex.
Sticking to the new format trialled previously, this session will interactively examine how data, connectivity and artificial intelligence will influence our health.
We have limited spaces for attendees and places must be booked in advance, please contact us to book. Spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
CSES and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) hosted another successful Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Faraday Challenge on Wednesday 30 January 2019.
Teams of students from Hylands School, St John Payne, Chelmer Valley High School, Greensward Academy, Chelmsford County High School for Girls, The Gilberd School, Colchester Royal Grammar School, Felsted Preparatory School and King Edward VI Grammar School participated in this tough but exciting challenge.
Are you interested in inspiring 12-14 year olds in STEM?
EDT (the Engineering Development Trust) is looking for industrial mentors to support a team of 6 Year 8 and 9 students through a 10-week STEM project for one hour a week.
CAN YOU HELP?
EDT is seeking a mentor for Woodlands School in Basildon for this year's Go4SET, which runs between 24 April and 10 July. Go4SET is a project-based scheme linking teams of 6 Year 8/9 students with an industrial mentor to complete an environmentally-themed, school-based project.
If you are interested in this opportunity and want to find out more, please get in touch with Stephanie Bright at
CSES President's Dinner, Thursday 25 April 2019, 18:45 for 19:45, The Warren Golf & Country Club
We are pleased to welcome members and their guests to our 2019 President's Dinner. Book now for what promises to be an excellent evening!
As usual, we have a great menu and after-dinner speaker, Stuart McIntyre, who will talk about his work developing a hypersonic craft to take payloads from conventional runways to the edge of the atmosphere (low earth orbit).
- Chelmsford Science Festival 2019
- Images from space – with technology from Chelmsford
- The Schools' Competition 2019 is now open
- Introducing a STEM Club with a difference...
- CSES is looking for a new Secretary
- Save the date: Schools' Competition 2019
- The 2018-2019 season begins...
- Greensward Academy STEM 2018
- PAPi Competition National Finalists
- Chelmsford primary schoolchildren create LEGO designs for the Year of Engineering