Date: 25th March 2026
Location: online 14:00-15:30
Please note this event is for Members onlyWe are really pleased to have two exciting talks on working with primary schools and students at our next STEM working group meeting. Silje Andersen, Imperial College London will be talking about supporting transition from primary to secondary school, and Dr Wendy Sadler will be discussing effective ways to challenge stereotypes.
Please come along to hear about these approaches, share your own experiences and discuss ways to effectively evaluate this work.
The session will run from 14:00-15:30
Silje Andersen, Imperial College London
In this presentation Silje will talk about The Maths Transition Programme, designed to support continuity in learning and strengthening the progression between primary and secondary mathematics.
Dr Wendy Sadler, Cardiff University: “It ain’t what you do, it’s the person that does it…” Why attributes and characteristics matter to diversify STEM
Long-term research has shown that students are interested in science and see it as relevant to society, but they just don’t see it as for ‘people like them.’ Stereotypes about what scientists and engineers are like are hard to shift but although this is a complex problem around self-identity and confidence, it can be tackled with targeted role model initiatives. Using two case studies as examples we will explore some of the techniques that can be used to ensure diverse students feel like STEM careers can be for them.
The session will run from 14:00-15:30
Speaker Biographies:
Silje Andersen is the Partnerships and Projects Manager and has worked in Outreach and Widening Participation for 20 years as part of the Imperial College London Outreach team. Silje leads and oversees a number of different projects that focus on reaching the under-served audiences, including the new Primary Maths Transitions Programme.
Dr Wendy Sadler is a Reader in science communication for Cardiff University, Head of the Physics Education Research Group and the Director of EDI. She delivers public engagement and communications training for researchers and has a research interest in how role models can be used to inspire young people.
She is the founding Director of Science Made Simple – an award-winning social enterprise that offers science shows across the UK and internationally. Since 2002 they have reached over a million people and have worked in over 38 countries. She was awarded an MBE for services to science and engineering communication in the Queen’s Birthday honours list 2017.