Thanks for the link. As IET School's Liaison Officer (SLO) for Derbyshire I am delighted to hear this news. I will be running the IET stand at the Big Bang Fair, so if anyone else is coming please come along and say hi.
We'll be in the marquee with teams of students building machines to fire ping pong balls, as well as offering the chance to assemble a mini LED torch to take home. Of courrse, we'll also have a display with all our careers materials and lots of information about the IET and our amazing Education Programme.
In answer to your question, about where the money would be best spent, I can't say that I'm qualified to answer that speculatively. I do think it's important though to remember that Derbyshire is predominantly a rural county, so in general terms I would like to also investment in engineering and technology businesses away from the major conurbations. I realise that this specific example is a Derby City project, but it's a bit of shame that they are "inviting grant applications from enterprises primarily, in the aerospace, rail and automotive supply chains. The grants may be used to develop or improve products and related services." This rather narrows the opportunities for a local kid who'd like to stay closer to home and find an apprenticeship with a smaller local firm looking to expand, or a computer whizz looking for funding for a Web startup.
I am keen to widen my network of contacts in the county for my SLO work, so would welcome contacts and ideas relating to this. You can contact me at: spowley@theiet.org
