Sparking STEM Futures

EESW (Engineering Education Scheme Wales)

EESW is an incorporated, not-for-profit educational charity dedicated to inspiring young people across Wales to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, particularly focusing on Engineering. In the Swansea Bay City Deal region, EESW will work in collaboration with Swansea University, who will provide training, access to new technologies, and equipment loan.

Primary School Project: Circuit Explorers

EESW is continuing its successful pilot project from the 2023-24 academic year, which introduced primary school pupils in the region to compound semiconductors. This project provides practical, hands-on workshops where students learn about the basics of electrical circuits, semiconductors, and their applications in the real world.

Secondary School Project: Smart Homes

Targeting pupils in Years 7–9, the Smart Homes project tasks students with building sustainable home models using micro-bits, sensors, and actuators. This team-based initiative introduces programming concepts and explores how semiconductors help reduce energy use in modern, connected homes.

Celebration Events: Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM)

Upon completion of the primary and secondary school projects, some participating pupils will be invited to attend a celebration event at the CISM facility at Swansea University’s Bay Campus for those pupils receiving the EESW Circuit Explorers after September 2025.

Iungo Solutions

Iungo Solutions is a Digital & Green Skills training provider headquartered in Cardiff Bay, with a presence across the whole of Wales and the Southwest of England. Iungo have recently co-developed the WJEC Level 2 Award in Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (Semiconductors).

Iungo’s School Workshops

Iungo Solutions is delivering an introductory workshop for students aged 14-18, focused on semiconductor technologies and the broader semiconductor industry. This 2.5-hour session provides students with an understanding of the semiconductor supply chain, the key technologies involved, and the industry’s impact across various sectors such as electronics and healthcare. Following the workshop, schools will be equipped with Semiconductor Activity Kits to further engage students in practical activities.

Multi-School Enterprising Engineers© competition

The Iungo Solutions The ‘Enterprising Engineers©’ competition is a full-day co-curricular program aimed at students aged 14-18, where participants will engage in a hands-on engineering challenge. Over the course of the day, they will develop a commercially viable solution to a semiconductor-themed engineering problem, guided by expert facilitators and local case studies. The competition also serves as a pathway for students to earn the ‘Commercialising Semiconductor Innovations’ Unit of the WJEC Level 2 Certificate in Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (Semiconductors).

STEM Saturday/Summer clubs

Iungo’s STEM Saturday/Summer Clubs provide a hands-on, project-based learning experience for young people aged 12-17. Running over 10 weeks, these clubs offer alternating themes in Semiconductors and Net Zero Engineering. Participants will gain practical skills and complete the WJEC Level 2 Certificate in Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (Semiconductors) while working on projects related to key technologies shaping the future of engineering. The sessions will take place at Iungo Labs in Cardiff, offering convenient access for students across South Wales.

Techniquest

Techniquest is a dynamic and engaging science discovery centre in Cardiff, dedicated to inspiring young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Techniquest’s outreach programme reaches over 30,000 pupils annually across South Wales, engaging them with fascinating science and industry-related topics.

School Workshops

The Techniquest school workshops aim to engage up to 3,000 primary school pupils, aged 7-11, in innovation and technology, with a specific focus on the semiconductor industry. The initiative will provide a classroom-based workshop, designed to increase understanding of the semiconductor sector and inspire future careers in STEM. Research shows that careers education must begin at primary school age, and this project seeks to plant that early seed.

Theatre Show

Following completion of the outreach programme by the end of July 2025, an in-house semiconductor-focused event could be developed and hosted at Techniquest during the Autumn term. This event would provide a second engagement opportunity for schools that participated in the outreach workshops, reinforcing key messages about the semiconductor sector and related careers.

CREST Superstar Club (Semiconductor Investigator Club)

The ‘CREST Superstar Club’ is a structured, multi-session programme designed to engage 7–11-year-olds in hands-on scientific investigations related to semiconductors. Delivered as part of the CREST Awards framework, this club will provide young learners with an opportunity to think and behave like scientists and engineers through practical experiments and challenges.

Techniquest will develop and deliver the Semiconductor Investigator Club, which will run both in schools and as after-school clubs. A total of 9 clubs will be delivered from April 2025 onwards, each engaging around 20 pupils per club, resulting in 180 children participating in a high-impact learning experience.

UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF)

The UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) is a registered educational charity established in 2010 to address the growing skills shortage in the UK’s Electronics sector, with a particular focus on semiconductor design and manufacture.

Secondary School Project: UKESF inspire/Girls into Electronics

UKESF’s programme will provide classroom resources to help Physics and Computer Science teachers deliver the Electronics parts of the curricula in an engaging way to those in Years 11-13. The programme also supports gender inclusion through the Girls into Electronics initiative. As part of the secondary school project UKESF will also be supporting the GCSE in D&T Engineering Design.

Girls into Electronics

Hosted by Swansea University UKESF will organise a Girls into Electronics day in the summer term following GCSE exams. This event is open for up to 40 Female students aged 15 – 17 from schools across Southwest Wales.

What are Semiconductors?

UKESF will also organise two 'What are Semiconductors?' Days in partnership with CISM at Swansea University. One of these events will be held in the spring term and the other in the Autumn term. 50 (KS4) students from local schools across Southwest Wales will be invited to both events hosted.

UKESF will also hold a Careers and Industry Forum in the autumn term for pupils to visit and teachers from the schools involved in the programme.

Oriel Science

Oriel Science is Swansea University’s award-winning public engagement project that brings cutting-edge research to life through dynamic, interactive exhibitions and hands-on workshops.

Schools and Public Engagement Workshop Programmes

Oriel Science will be running two separate types of workshops. The School Workshop Programme will run 25 school-based workshops. These sessions will be delivered by their Learning Manager, a former Head of Science in a local comprehensive school, with support from experienced Workshop Assistants. The content will be co-developed with Swansea University physics colleagues and linked to key curriculum themes, helping teachers meet learning objectives while providing students with hands-on STEM experiences. 

The second project is their Public Engagement Workshops, in addition to the school workshops Oriel Science will host 10 Public workshops during weekends and school holidays at Oriel Science’s city-centre venue. These shorter, more open-ended sessions will reach a wider audience, including families and young visitors. Designed as informal STEM learning opportunities, they will showcase semiconductor science in action and introduce new audiences to careers in science and engineering.