The STEM Careers Fair
The STEM Careers Fair took place at MTS on 13th February 2024, and marked the end of a series of three themed careers fairs that started in Spring 2023. Read on to Samay's (Divs) reflection on the event.
The event was very lively, with members of both Merchant Taylors’ School and the Royal Masonic School for Girls attending for an eye-opening and thought-provoking experience. Events like this are especially important as they provide opportunities for students to connect with those who work in industry to gather information, resources and ideas on how to build a successful career writes Samay, Divs, one of the MTS Young Reporters covering the event.
A wide range of pathway options exist to get into STEM careers and, as one parent commented, "it was really interesting to hear about graduate trainee schemes and degree apprenticeships from different companies".
The event halls were filled with exhibiting specialists involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) fields and the whole evening was organised by the Merchant Taylors’ School Careers Department, with support from the RMS Futures team. Over 45 specialists were present, many of whom were already in the MTS community – many parents of students at the school or MTS alumni (OMTs). Most of the exhibitors were employees of companies across an extraordinary range of STEM career areas including carbon trading, academia, high-tech kitchenware, climate forecasting, various types of engineering, robotics, satellite technology, transport, legal tech, software engineering, AI, intellectual property protection, marketing and brand development, scientific publishing, pharmaceuticals, construction and sustainability (and much more!).
Parents found the event useful in terms of developing their own knowledge to support their children. As described by one sixth form parent, "it was really valuable to have the chance to see and hear more from people in a different field than my own", while some pupils realised that their assumptions about careers may be incorrect, for example "I didn't know you can switch specialisation as an engineer later in your career" and "one can end up in a computer-driven field even without doing computer science".
There were three talks held across the evening on engineering futures, artificial intelligence’s application in the diagnosis of cancer and its treatment, and data science. Industry experts in research-based fields shared their personal journey to their dream careers and the challenges they faced. There were great pieces of advice for students at both schools to take with them. One sixth form student commented "it was useful to see the many different sectors in engineering that all have a focus on sustainability and the environment" and a Divisions pupil said they "gained knowledge on the types of jobs and roles within in this sector, as well as the qualities required to excel in these jobs".
Overall, the event was hugely successful, and the turnout of around 600 pupils and parents was phenomenal with the MTS Great Hall and Exam Hall full of aspiring engineers, scientists, doctors, programmers, and many other future professions yet to be created!
The MTS Careers team is hugely grateful for the support for our programme received from the wider MTS community of parents, alumni and friends. They have lots of ideas for future events, so If you would like to get involved in some way, please drop an email to careers@mtsn.org.uk