KQ Liverpool skills programme reaches hundreds of LCR students
Knowledge Quarter Liverpool’s KQ Futures Programme has engaged with more than 500 children and young people in its first full year of activity.
Almost 350 students from 31 secondary schools and colleges were welcomed in the last academic year via the organisation’s Career Insights Day and its Future Innovators Experience Days, which offers an opportunity for young people to visit a range of pioneering organisations in the KQ Liverpool innovation district.
Working closely with the Liverpool City Region Careers Hub, students from across the City Region were able to meet with and hear from industry leaders across a range of sectors including vaccine development, cosmetics product design, materials chemistry and innovation funding.
Meanwhile, more than 150 primary school children enjoyed the Animates Roadshow, an interactive showcase of ‘The Animates: Learning in Liverpool’ illustrated story.
Devised by KQ Liverpool with Connected Places Catapult and written by local author Natalie Reeves Billing, the book aims to introduce young readers to the concept of innovation and inspire them to understand more about the various career opportunities available in the city region. The sessions also included a visit from Splodge, the robot dog, supported by the Manufacturing Technology Centre.
Ten young people were also invited to participate in KQ Interns, a three-week programme running in the summer holidays, offering a fully-funded Living Wage placement with KQ Liverpool and organisations including MyCardium AI, Royal College of Physicians, Harker, Liverpool John Moores University, LYVA Labs, and Atomik AM, to enhance their real-world understanding of work and career opportunities.
In addition, KQ Liverpool has offered training for local teachers as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to help them learn more about innovation growth sectors and share that knowledge with their classes.
KQ Futures is part-funded by the LCR Life Sciences Innovation Zone, which aspires to create 8,000 new innovation-led jobs.
KQ Liverpool is also developing a new website to help support the continued growth of the KQ Futures Programme and other KQ Liverpool initiatives, which will be live in the coming weeks.
Emily Robson, assistant chief executive of KQ Liverpool, said:
“Our KQ Futures Programme aims to inspire the next generation of innovators by bringing together education and industry.
“It has been fantastic to engage with so many young people and their teachers over the past 12 months and have an opportunity to open their minds to the endless career possibilities here in the Liverpool City Region.
“This is only the beginning, we’ve got so much in store for the next academic year, and we are keen to hear from more students and teachers who would like to join us on this journey.”
Rachel Newman, inclusive innovation officer, said:
“We are so proud of the KQ Futures programme and the impact it has on changing lives, but we couldn’t inspire and encourage the students without the help of the fantastic businesses and organisations that support our programme of activities.”
Codi Ellis, skills project coordinator, said:
“The KQ Futures Programme is a fantastic opportunity for students from across the Liverpool City Region to come together and discover all the exciting things going on in the world of innovation. We have seen students learn so many invaluable skills that will help them on their career journeys.”
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