Developing a University-Council Partnership to Create a Network to Promote STEM in Rural and Deprived Communities

STEM activities are often centred around city hubs such as Universities and Science Centres. This makes them inaccessible to rural and deprived communities due to long travelling distances and associated costs. In this seminar we describe the experiences of a University-Council partnership created to develop a model to provide STEM engagement in remote and disadvantaged areas of Scotland, particularly the Highlands. The partners from the University of Glasgow have experience of delivering STEM activities in their local community and wanted to extend these events to more remote parts of Scotland. The partner from RAiSE and Highland Council has an excellent local knowledge of this area, and other ongoing intervention at local authority and 3rd party organisations. A combination of the partners’ experience in outreach and expertise in the local area helped establish partnerships with Universities, schools and local communities and increase exposure to STEM and Science Capital in these areas