Passing on a passion for STEM
Last week marked the end of a series of exciting FIRST LEGO League Challenge tournaments atour UK sites. After two Bosch-hosted tournaments held in Coventry and Denham, it was York’s turn to welcome eight teams aged 9-16 to the ETAS office to show off their robots and innovation projects to a panel of Bosch judges.
Each team’s robot had to carry out a number of energy-themed missions over a two-and-a-half-minute run and compete for the highest score. The teams were also scored on an innovation project based on a real-world problem that the team had identified, which was presented to a panel of Bosch judges tasked with assessing each team against the FIRST LEGO League judging rubrics to demonstrate their core values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun.
After a day of competitive spirit with ‘gracious professionalism’ – one of the FIRST LEGO League core values that encourages good sportsmanship and professionalism in all competitors, each team was presented with an award to recognise their strengths and achievements from the day. The team that won the Champions award – the Incredilegos - will go through to the Harrogate national final in April, alongside the winners from our Coventry and Denham tournaments as well as the 47 tournaments hosted across the UK this year.
Associates dedicating time to closing the skills gap
This run of tournaments saw over 70 Bosch associates volunteering across the three events to offer their expertise and time to the teams, with many volunteers coming along to multiple events. Volunteer roles ranged from judging and refereeing to being a team chaperone and a general event volunteer and our associates took on these roles with great enthusiasm. One volunteer described it as an “amazing experience to be able to support and inspire the next generation of engineers”, which perfectly captured the spirit of LEGO League – a chance to support and inspire the next generation into STEM in order to fill the skills gap in the technology sector. As STEM industries face a shortage of highly skilled workers, it is important that we dedicate our time to programmes such as FIRST LEGO League which allow our highly skilled workforce to directly engage and share their knowledge and enthusiasm for STEM subjects with young people.
Many of our associates that took part spoke about their rewarding experience and the importance of engaging local communities through STEM. Ali Lokhandwala who attended both the Coventry and Denham events described them as ‘inspiring’ and ‘motivating’ and noted that he felt there was ‘value added in terms of contribution to society.’ Similarly, in York, judges Tash Newland and Richard Wilkinson spoke about how rewarding it was to see the students enjoy themselves and engage passionately with projects that they had worked so hard on.
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Volunteers at Coventry. -
Volunteers at Denham. -
Left to right top row, Richard Wilkinson, Nick Keeling, Oliver Critchley, Sam Proyer, Steven Daglish, Katie Maison, Luke Taylor, Seph Walker, Josh Purdy, Gavin Williamson (IET), Barrie Flemming, Jason Raubenheimer.
Inspiring future generations
The eight teams in York were thrilled to participate in the event with Fulford School STEM Club describing it as a ‘memorable and inspirational day.’ When asked what they had learnt throughout the day, students responded with a wide range of responses from ‘how to code properly’ and ‘work more as a team’ to ‘what Bosch is.’
A highlight of the day saw Mirfield Free Grammar School win a LEGO trophy for ‘Most Improved’ team. When the school arrived in the morning, they were struggling with their robot and unable to compete in their first game. ETAS volunteer, Mark Routledge, jumped in immediately and worked with the team throughout the day to show them how to use the software to get their robot moving and by the end of the day, the team had managed to compete in their final two matches!
Some students also took the opportunity to speak with associates about their experiences in the workplace in STEM industries and took a keen interest in their career journeys to get to where they are now.
'I brought a group of academically talented students who struggled working with others and a group of neurodiverse students for whom it was a really big deal presenting in front of a bunch of strangers. Both groups got loads out of it on so many levels …it was great how every team was rewarded, affirmed and encouraged: they left buzzing with ideas about future jobs, competitions and opportunities.’ – Pete Dring, Fulford School
These Challenge events have given associates and students the chance to engage with each other as a way of bridging the skills gap in STEM industries and inspiring the next generation. Each tournament brought out great creativity, skill, and innovation in the teams demonstrating what associates sharing their passion with the next generation can achieve.
“This was such a fun event for all involved, but the real heroes of the day were the children. They came with such enthusiasm and so well prepared. Listening to school pupils presenting their innovative ideas on how to improve energy generation and manage waste really connects with our #InventedForLife ethos. All the groups understood how to work as a team, how to support one another to become greater than themselves. I now believe that the future is in good hands” – Richard Wilkinson
We thank all the wonderful Bosch volunteers who have given their time and efforts to such a great string of events, we could not do this without your support.
We are now looking forward to our Explore events, for the younger age group of 6-9, in the summer at our Worcester, St Neots and Denham sites.