Bringing the textbook to life

从蒸汽机到万维网，英国的发明改变了世界。然而，目前STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）缺乏多样性，英国的教育课程不支持发明。在英国，只有15%的科学家来自工人阶级背景，在过去的15年里，只有7%的英国专利是由女性申请的。我们需要去神秘化和多样化STEM。我是Sara Berkai，我经营Ambessa Play，这是一家致力于科学的神秘化和多样化的社会企业。我最近完成了牛津大学儿童发展硕士学位，因为我想更多地了解孩子们是如何学习科学的。我们为9-15岁的孩子设计DIY教育工具包，并为“小学生高级”儿童举办免费科学研讨会。基于家长对屏幕使用的担忧，以及我们对150多名家长进行的调查，我们设计了无屏幕的DIY教育玩具。我们的创新在于我们的参与式设计过程，孩子们作为我们的共同设计师。从那以后，我们收到了一些学校的反馈，他们希望将工具包整合到课程中，供课堂使用。我正在申请“女性创新”，因为我们想在未来12个月内测试与课程配套的工具包，并将我们的设计从TRL 5（技术就绪水平）提升到TRL 7。我们已经获得了5万英镑的拨款，用于支付这个项目的分包部分，我们将与英国最好的设计机构Pentagram合作。作为第一次独自创业的人，人脉和指导是必不可少的。作为英国2020年“青年创新者创新”（Young Innovator Innovate UK）的前获奖者，我知道这非常有用。例如，多亏了Innovate UK，我今年被选为英国科学协会（British Science Association）“打破刻板印象”（Smashing Stereotypes）活动的一员。到目前为止，我一直是自力更生的，经营一家硬件企业一直很困难。我已经被投资者拒绝了200多次，他们认为这“风险太大”。我们想进入下一个阶段，用我们的原型测试教师和家长的参与式设计。

British inventions have changed the world, from the steam engine, to the World Wide Web. However there is currently a lack of diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and the UK education curriculum does not support invention. In the UK, only 15% of scientists come from working-class backgrounds and in the last 15 years, only 7% of UK patents were filed by women. We need to demystify and diversify STEM.I'm Sara Berkai and I run Ambessa Play, a social enterprise working to demystify and diversify science. I recently completed an MSc in Child Development from the University of Oxford because I wanted to learn more about how kids learn science in particular.We design DIY educational kits for kids aged 9-15 and run free science workshops for 'pupil premium' children. Based on evidence of parent concerns of screen-use and the evidence we've conducted with over 150 parents, we designed screen-free DIY educational toys. Our innovation lies in our participatory design process, where children as our co-designers.We have since received feedback from schools that would like kits integrated into the curriculum for classroom use. I'm applying to the Women in Innovation because we want to test curriculum-fitted kits and move our designs from TRL 5 (technology readiness level) to TRL 7 in next 12 months.We have secured a £50k grant which covers the subcontracting portion of this project, where we'll be partnering with Britain's best design agency, Pentagram.As a first-time solo founder, the networking and mentorship would be indispensable. As a previous Young Innovator Innovate UK KTN 2020 winner, I know incredibly useful this can be. For example, thanks to Innovate UK, I was selected as part of the British Science Association's Smashing Stereotypes campaign this year. I have bootstrapped to date and this has been difficult running a hardware business. I've been rejected 200+ times by investors who deemed this 'too risky'. We want to move onto the next stage of our journey and test a participatory design with teachers and parents using our prototypes.