STEM and its importance to all of us
Zuzanna Smith, supply chain plan manager at Ossian
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing) learning is so important to the future of our planet.
Across the globe, we have ambitious targets to improve our climate and ensure the world is left in a better place for generations to come. Key to this will be generating the STEM skills required to make this happen and guaranteeing the projects and initiatives we are working towards have true longevity.
The next generation and the future workforce are vital to realising our net zero goals.
Ossian is a game changer
When complete, Ossian will be one of the largest floating offshore wind farms in the world with up to 3.6GW of potential capacity – enough to power up to 6m homes. It is one of the largest lease areas of the ScotWind projects, occupying 858km2 of seabed located 84km off the east coast of Scotland.
The scale of Ossian, alongside the floating technology we use, will make it a game changer in the UK renewable energy sector and a critical driving force behind the journey to net zero offsetting up to 7.5m tonnes of carbon emissions.
However, the future of Ossian and similar offshore projects will be in the hands of the next generation, and this is why we are dedicated to supporting essential STEM projects and initiatives.
Stephanie and Jessie at the Babcock Festival of Engineering
Ossian support
Recently, our team attended Babcock’s Festival of Engineering, an innovative event designed to inspire young people aged between 10 and 12 to pursue careers in engineering. The event saw 300+ primary school pupils attend over two days.
Stephanie Kennedy, our senior floating manager, attended the event on behalf of Ossian and praised the impressive knowledge the pupils had about renewables and the wind sector. Despite the appeal of the giant bowl of Haribo, she noted the pupils' strong engagement and proactive interest in learning more about our project and offshore wind. As a female engineer, she was especially excited to see the enthusiasm among the girls.
Stephanie's highlight was the children's reaction to the VR kit, which allowed them to explore a floating offshore wind farm, from jumping on top of a 150m turbine to diving 80m underwater to examine the cable route. Their responses were full of "wows" and "very cools."
Georgie Harbottle, our geotechnical project engineer, also attended and was met with pupils asking insightful questions about the turbines. Reflecting on Ossian’s presence at the event, Georgie spoke of the current shortage of qualified people entering the renewables sector, highlighting the importance of events like this one to showcase the opportunities and necessary qualifications in this field.
Daiki Yasue, Ossian’s structural engineer, joined Stephanie and Georgie, and stressed the value of sessions like this and introducing the world of engineering to young people. He hopes today's interested children might join our Ossian project in the future when it becomes operational.
Overall, the event effectively displayed the wide variety of careers in renewables and STEM, showcasing both local and global opportunities and the exciting challenges faced daily. The energy from the kids was electric from start to finish.
Alongside participating in these events, Ossian has committed to collaborating with University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) and fellow ScotWind projects to support the expansion of STEM across the country to ensure we can build a skilled workforce for the future of offshore wind.
Working together
It is important we work together as an industry to encourage and support STEM learning to secure the future of our sector.
As a project, we are committed to supporting STEM by attending relevant workshops, careers fairs, STEM festivals, and continuing to work with UHI.
The Ossian support for UHI’s STEM programme is the first initiative under our broader MoU with the university, ensuring that education and industry are aligned and work together to shine a light on the opportunities that exist within this innovative sector in the years ahead.
We would love to hear how we can support STEM projects in your local area, please do get in touch with us via the project email, contact@ossianwindfarm.com