RS Components Hosts Live STEM Learning Sessions on Facebook

July 8, 2020

RS Components, the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, a global omni-channel solutions partner for industrial customers and suppliers, has launched a series of streaming STEM education and inspiration sessions, as part of its Grass Roots at RS program. The series delivers aspirational online sessions to encourage innovative thinking and feed students’ creativity and can serve as a supplement to RS Components’ existing Imagine-X virtual STEM education modules.

‘Friends of RS’ is a four-part series of Facebook Watch parties presented by a selection of inspirational young engineers, inventors and educators. The bi-monthly learning workshops, which include live question & answer, are being hosted on the RS Facebook channel during July 2020, and all of the sessions will be available on demand after initial airing. The four interactive Facebook sessions cover:

Primary education:

•   –  Covering the basics of turning a creative idea into an invention (Ruth Amos, Kids Invent Stuff – available on-demand)

Secondary education:

•   –  Cleaning the oceans – highlighting the problems facing our oceans and its wildlife, and how engineering innovations are helping to solve plastic pollutions. (Ludovic Grosjean, OceanX Group – available on-demand)
•   –  A maker activity to create a social distancing lanyard for helping people to return to school and the workplace safely. (Nathan Ruttley, Embedism – available July 13, 2020)

Higher education:

•   –  How students can showcase themselves effectively to prospective employers and how to stand out from the crowd. (Volunteers of the Electrocomponents Fresh Advisors Board – FAB15 –  available July, 27 2020)

Speakers from each session will be available to answer live questions online following the 15-minute pre-recorded video learning sessions.

Isabella Mascarenhas, VP of Grass Roots at RS, commented: “Opportunities for students to engage in classes online are particularly important at the moment, and are invaluable for supporting parents in their home-schooling efforts. Our Friends of RS video series provides an unconventional and uplifting learning experience that we are sure will inspire creativity across the different youth groups.”

About the speakers:

•   –  Ruth Amos is co-host of Kids Invent Stuff, a YouTube channel that brings to life invention ideas submitted by 4- to 11-year olds by building and testing them, often with hilarious consequences.
•   –  Ludovic Grosjean was named as one of Australia’s most innovative engineers in 2019 and awarded Young Innovator at the United Nations as “One of six Rotary People of Action”. He is a chartered engineer with 13 years of ocean expertise over a large pipeline of worldwide projects. He is passionate about saving our oceans using technology and people.
•   –  Nathan Ruttley is co-founder and electronic engineer at boutique consultancy Embedism. He works alongside firmware engineer Chay Strawbridge to help clients bring their product ideas to life.

Fresh Advisors Board (FAB15) committee members:

•   –  Tegan Forbes is a 4thyear MEng Product Design Engineering student at Loughborough University, currently on a year-long placement as a Manufacturing Engineering intern at Rolls-Royce in Derby.
•   –  Hemanshi Galaiya is a Chemical Engineering graduate and the CEO and Founder of Young Stripes; an initiative that aims to educate, empower and incubate the next generation of STEMists and create leaders of tomorrow.
•   –  Joe Gibson is an Electronic & Electrical Engineering student at the University of Strathclyde, currently working on a robotics start-up focused on developing kinetic counter-drone solutions.
•   –  Kyle Hazelbaker is a Management Consultant based in Dallas, Texas.
•   –  Wayne Hutt is a Learning and Development professional in the Grass Roots team at RS. He works alongside universities, further education students and recent graduates in helping to develop people’s ‘work ready’ skillsets.

For more information, visit americas.rsdelivers.com.