Epistemic aims to increase the diversity of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics professionals in the long term by raising awareness and interest in STEM careers to young people across the United Kingdom. By matching carefully-selected professionals to young people with specific areas of interest, connecting them with video-conferencing software to allow presentations and discussions to occur, our hope is to show the wide range of careers available in these subjects and to give the young people an aspiration to job prospects which they had not previously considered.

Due to the flexibility afforded by video-conferencing software across time zones and geographical locations, these meetings could take place during school hours, within Personal, Social, Health and Economic lessons, or during activity-based groups such as Brownies or Scouts or youth groups. Ultimately the aim of Epistemic is to integrate this type of seminar into the school curriculum such that the reach of the message is maximised.

If we are successful, more people from around the country would consider STEM as a viable career path, paving the way for further diversity of the workforce and leading to a range of ideas never previously considered, increasing the output and productivity of the UK as a whole. Young people should not feel that their working life is predetermined and Epistemic is determined to demonstrate their freedom of choice, especially by matching professionals of similar backgrounds to the groups they are presenting to.

As some of the trustees are engineers with diverse backgrounds, we understand the power that one direct conversation can have. We hope that these sessions will encourage young people to explore engineering and inspire them to consider it is a career option in the future. We also aim to increase the number of engineers participating in STEM outreach by providing a less time-consuming commitment and greater flexibility through virtual events.

All speakers will be required to hold a DBS check as well as undergoing specific training in safeguarding and Epistemic’s policies before performing their sessions.