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News Release

Reference: UKESF036
Date: 7 July 2014

Record number of students attend UKESF summer school

Summer schools address decline in UK electrical and electronic engineering degree applications by offering prospective EEE students first-hand electronics experience

The fourth annual, and biggest ever,UKESF(UK Electronics Skills Foundation),summer school is being hosted by the University of Southampton from the 7th to the 11th July.

“The UK electronics systems industry is estimated to contribute £78 billion[1] to the economy with the potential to grow and generate 150,000 new and highly-skilled jobs by 2020.” said Indro Mukerjee, chairman of the UKESF strategic advisory board and member of the ESCO council, adding “To nourish this growth, we need more young people to aspire to careers in this sector, but of great concern at the moment is the decline inUK university applicants for electronics. I am delighted that our summer schools are proving so popular and hope they will ignite the enthusiasm offuture electronics engineers.”

Whilst UCAS data show a significant rise in demand for engineering and technology courses since 2002, UKESF is addressing a 26 percent drop in British applicants to EEE courses between 2002 and 2013[2]. In partnership with the EDT Headstart, UKESF runs a programme of summer schools encouraging school students to consider degrees and careers in electronics.The UKESF programme also includes a scholarship scheme linking university students with employers for sponsorship and work experience.Since UKESF was launched in 2010, 174 students have been awarded UKESF scholarships by 21 companies.

This year80 A-level and Scottish Higher students from 77 schools across the UK will participate in the UKESF summer school, twice as many as the inaugural course in 2011. The event is being sponsored by a number of world-leading companies that create or rely on electronic systems including, ARM, CSR,Dialog Semiconductor, Imagination Technologies, Jaguar Land Rover, and Thales, and the Broadcom Foundation.

Tony King-Smith, EVP Marketing at Imagination Technologiessaid, “At Imagination we are committed to developing theelectronics skills of UK youth. By sponsoring UKESF we get early access to the brightest and best students. The summer school is integral to this and gives us the opportunity to promote our company and the industry as a whole, while identifying and nurturing talent early, which is very important to us.”

The five-day course will consist of practical lab work and lecturesfrom academics from UKESF university partners, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Imperial, Manchester, Nottingham, and York as well as the host university. There will also be field trips to course sponsors Thales and the Science & Technology Facilities Council;offering students the opportunity to gain practical insights into the lives of workingelectronic engineers across a range of disciplinesincluding aerospace, defence, security, transport, particle physics and space technology.

The course will be supported by UKESF scholarship students currently studying at the University of Southampton, and will feature presentations from previous UKESF scholarship students who will talk about their experience of working in the industry.

“These courses are a fantastic way for school students to learn about electronics and to encourage them into degrees valued by an industry that has a range of rewarding careers to offer,” saidProfessorBashir Al-Hashimi, Associate Dean for Research at the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering.“Since UKESF started,over 30 of our students have been part of the scholarship scheme, undertaking valuable work experience that has informed their career decisions.”

References:

ESCO: The ESCO Report: A Blueprint for UK June 2013, available at

2 University and College Admissions Service: Data available on request from

For further information and reader enquiries:

Wendy Daniell, UK Electronics Skills Foundation

Tel: +44 (0)1506 401210E-mail:

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Alexandra Sorton, Publitek Limited, 18 Brock Street, Bath, BA1 2LW, United Kingdom

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About UKESF:

The UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) is a charity registered in Scotland (SC043940).

A collaboration between public bodies, private companies and UK universities, it was co-founded in 2010 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), NMI, Semta and industry partners. UKESF addresses the threat of the diminishing engineering skills capability in the UK electronics sector. Its principal aim is to secure a sustainable supply of good quality, industry-ready graduate engineers for the industry to maintain and grow its global leadership position. UKESF is achieving this aim through an industry-specific programme which provides opportunities for employers to engage with young people at school and university through to graduate employment.

The UKESF programme currentlyfocuses on three activities:

  • Encouraging electronics employers to engage with schools to raise awareness of the industry and range of career opportunities;
  • Electronics summer schools to attract pre-university school students to degree study and careers in electronic engineering; and
  • The UKESF Scholarship Scheme which links undergraduate students with companies for sponsorship and work experience opportunities to encourage their progression into careers within the industry.

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About the University of Southampton

Through world-leading research and enterprise activities, the University of Southampton connects with businesses to create real-world solutions to global issues. Through its educational offering, it works with partners around the world to offer relevant, flexible education, which trains students for jobs not even thought of. This connectivity is what sets Southampton apart from the rest; we make connections and change the world.

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