Maria Rana 6th Former and STEM2D

On Tuesday 9th October, Sixth Form student Maria Rana returned from Lisbon, Portugal where she took part in an international programme to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Manufacturing and Design: “STEM2D” subjects in education.

The programme, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson in partnership with Johnson & Johnson UK, was launched in 2016, selected 50 Year 10 students (including Maria) attending Highcrest Academy to be exposed to a “variety of programs, events, and activities involving Academic Enrichment, Higher Education Exploration & Preparation, and Career Exploration and Readiness”. The programme aims to educate and inspire Bridge to Employment (BTE) students, as well as to impart “key skills that are the foundations of future success in the workplace – resilience, teamwork, communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem solving”.

While the programme itself has been running internationally, with partnerships in over 65 communities worldwide, there just 16 funded BTE sites currently operating in the continental US, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Latin/South America.

For the past three years Maria has been working in conjunction with Highcrest Academy, in High Wycombe, by taking part in activities, such as masterclasses, lectures and shadowing employees that will build up to the earning of a digital badge in Intercultural Fluency, and by planning and carrying out an experiment, along with a team, to promote STEM2D for students. Each BTE site in the country will select the top two students in their programme to go to Portugal and conduct their project.

After leaving Highcrest Academy at the end of Year 11, to join Great Marlow sixth form, Maria became one of four external students continuing with the programme. For her, the interest in the project stemmed (excuse the pun) from a love of engineering which, due to just missing the grade she needed to take the class, she was unable to continue at Great Marlow. However, for the past year Maria has continued to dedicate her time and effort to the project alongside her A-levels.

On Saturday, Maria travelled to Lisbon, where she attended a welcome dinner, a

conference for the participants, a formal business dinner, a visit to the UN park and Pavilhão do Conhecimento (Science Museum). The participants earned their badge in Intercultural Fluency and conducted their experiment which, for Maria’s team, included successfully instantly freezing liquids using a hotel freezer. Finally, she attended the Alliance Building Training Session (ABTS) Conference, which is a “celebration of the program and its accomplishments, a chance to hear from experts, and an exciting opportunity for peer learning”.

After returning on Tuesday, Maria reports she has earned earn valuable skills, which she plans to utilise for university and further ventures in the future. She would also like to thank Rubens Magri, Gill Manning, Jackie Bryant and Darshini Sharma for making it such as an unforgettable trip, with a special thank you to Alex Merrik,  without whom she wouldn’t have been able to excel as far as she has.