TeenTech festival returns as live event

A festival designed to help young people discover careers in the tech sector is to take place in Preston after two successful years as an online event.

The event has been organised by TeenTech, the Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership (LDSP) and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

TeenTech Lancashire Festival will take place on 16 May at UCLan’s Preston campus.

The events aim to help young people from 8 to 18 understand the opportunities in the science, technology and engineering industries and to raise their aspirations.

The partners behind the Lancashire event are calling on businesses and universities from across the region to support the event by running inspiring activities and challenges relating to their areas of expertise, or by providing ambassadors who support a small team of students for the day.

More than 300 pupils from 30 secondary schools will be taking part. The students will then be invited to develop projects for the TeenTech Awards and provided with mentors to support this work. 

Maggie Philbin, chief executive and co-founder of TeenTech, said: "I’m delighted to work with the LDSP partners and UCLan to develop and deliver an exciting festival designed to bring careers to life for young people across Lancashire.

“It's a great opportunity to share the impact of your work on the technologies of the future and the next generation.”

Kerry Harrison, lead for the Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership, said, "After two years of successful online TeenTech events reaching over 1,600 young people in Lancashire, the LDSP is delighted that working with partners including UCLan, FutureU, Oracle, DCMS/DIST, Create Education and the Lancashire Careers Hub, we can now invite our schools to an in-person event at UCLan.

“We are thrilled that young people will get the opportunity to experience what the businesses and universities of Lancashire and wider national organisations are doing and the exciting careers they may want to choose in this county. All showcased in the fabulous facilities of UCLan."

Jo Brown, who runs UCLan’s Young Scientist Centre, said: "TeenTech Festivals have been enthusiastically received by students, teachers, and participating companies since the inaugural event in 2008.

"They are evidence-based, sharply focussed, and meticulously timetabled events, designed to ensure maximum learning and forge powerful connections between schools and universities and local and national businesses."

Organisations can support by: 

• Running an interactive stand in the Insight Zone where 5 students will be timetabled to your stand for 15 minutes at a time, along with either a teacher or an ambassador.
• Running a Challenge Zone activity where 10 students will be timetabled to your stand for 30 minutes at a time, along with their teacher and an ambassador.
• Providing business ambassadors who would support a small group of students, alongside their teacher, for the day as they move around the different zones of the event. 

Companies will not be charged for participating in the event.