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We wish to make a positive contribution to education and will adopt transparent and open principles in interacting with schools to address concerns about industrial involvement in education. All activities undertaken by UKOOA will contribute to one of the following objectives: scientific literacy and application of technology; problem solving, inquiry, testing and questioning; developing core skills.
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The work that UKOOA undertakes with schools is part of a much wider communications and reputation strategy which is concerned with raising awareness of what the industry does and why. Knowledge and understanding about how and where oil and gas are formed, along with the technical expertise required to recover them, are essential to an appreciation of the challenges faced in exploring for and production of oil and gas. UKOOA's strategy for working with schools, therefore, concentrates on two parts of the curriculum, Earth Science and technology, which underpin these core aspects of its members business. Implementation of the strategy requires an education partner to be involved.
Earth Science. As well as the programme below (see Commitment No.30), UKOOA supports and participates in the Joint Earth Science Education Initiative which is organised by the Royal Society, bringing together the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Biology and the Earth Science Teachers Association. Its purpose is to develop materials that use the earth and its systems as the context for scientific teaching and investigation. Visit the Earth Science Education Unit website.
Technology. Work has continued in Scotland on the development of controller technology projects, with kits being made available to all Young Engineers Clubs in Scotland. The UKOOA Challenge, held recently, required teams to design and build a remotely controlled vehicle capable of detecting and collecting table tennis balls. The vehicles use a PICAXE micro-controller chip as their brains. This follows from earlier kits supplied by UKOOA, with Grampian Education and Scottish Enterprise, under the Higher Still Curriculum changes in Scotland.
| BOX: Growing School Links programme
Links have been established with 46 primary and secondary schools, all of which are close to the main employment areas, including Aberdeen and Great Yarmouth. A wide variety of programmes are offered to the schools, under a national scheme that is largely delivered through accredited third party NGO's.
There are three strands to the programmes - STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics), Environmental Education and careers advice. In the Environmental Education strand, the charities, Learning through Landscapes and its sister organisation Grounds for Learning in Scotland, are supported to help the schools best develop their school grounds. The company also sponsors energy efficiency work in schools, via CREATE (the Centre for Research, Education and Training in Energy).
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Sustainability Strategy Commitments
