Rolls Royce : Inspiration for all ages

Tuesday, 05 October 2021

Inspiration for all ages

Nicola Swaney, Education Outreach Manager explains how projects like ACCEL help inspire the game-changing engineers of tomorrow

More about:

• Our stories
• Sustainability
• Women in engineering
• STEM
• ACCEL
• People
• United Kingdom

When the Spirit of Innovation takes to the skies for its world record attempt, it's safe to say that there'll be a fair few people following the flight.

Yes, most of these will be ACCEL project team members, or people already working in the aviation industry… but we also know that there'll be an altogether younger audience with their eyes glued to the skies.

That's because one of the most uplifting aspects of this unique project has been witnessing the way it resonates with children and young people. It's a project with twin-appeal: the excitement that comes from imagining this incredible all-electric aircraft flying through the sky at circa 300mph using ground-breaking technologies; but also the optimism that is inspired by witnessing the latest, tangible step towards sustainable air travel in a world that must drastically reduce its emissions over the coming years.

"It's programmes like this that can really make a difference," says Nicola Swaney, Education Outreach Manager at Rolls-Royce. "Young people are so aware of the importance of tackling climate change, and it helps reassure them that not only are industries taking it seriously but that there's a bright future potentially for them within that industry."

In this respect, it's been great to see the energising impact that the project has on children's interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects. It's something that everyone at Rolls-Royce - a company that is essentially built on STEM excellence - cares deeply about, not least the man who will be sitting in the Spirit of Innovation cockpit come the day of the world record attempt. So we were thrilled when Director of Flight Operations Phill O'Dell suggested a novel competition for primary and secondary school-aged children: rather than wear the flight helmet he had originally intended to don during the record attempt, he would wear one featuring a winning design inspired by children.

Despite having less than two weeks to enter, the response to the competition was tremendous, with over 600 entries flooding in, filled with a truly diverse, creative display of ideas from children across the UK. The winning entries: have been combined and applied to the helmet and Phill is wearing it throughout the flight-testing campaign as we work towards the world-record attempt!

And in the classroom itself, teachers welcomed projects linked to the record attempt with open arms - as Nicola notes, "teachers are always looking to map activities to the curriculum and of course ACCEL is all about responding to climate change; getting children to think about how to solve real-world challenges using STEM." That's why we have developed activities for children on the ACCEL project, that can be downloaded from our website.

Our Education Outreach programme starts at the Primary school level and aims to inspire young people about STEM and encourage them to think more about the paths they will be taking, through the education system and into the world of work. Our message can be particularly impactful for students living in areas that don't typically see school leavers entering such sectors, and that don't have STEM role models in their communities.

Projects such as ACCEL, provide the chance for STEM role models working at Rolls-Royce - female members of our team; team members from a range of diverse backgrounds - to connect with schools and provide a glimpse of the exciting career opportunities on offer at Rolls-Royce.

And from there? At Rolls-Royce we really believe that young people should be able to enter our business by whichever route works best for them - whether that's as a school-leaving apprentice, via a summer internship or in a graduate role. Those pathways give our early career employees the chance to work on real Rolls-Royce projects that will have a tangible impact on the business and the wider world. And, hopefully, inspire the same sort of excitement as the ACCEL project has, with so many children getting involved and creating their wonderful helmet designs.

"Projects like ACCEL are so inspiring and we try to champion that in our outreach," says Nicola, in conclusion. "We tailor the message, or the activities, for all different age groups, but all with the same aim, ultimately: to make that young person think, 'do you know what, I want to change the world. And maybe I can.'"

For more information about our Early Career opportunities, see Students & Graduates - Rolls-Royce

For more information about our STEM programme, see STEM - Rolls-Royce

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