Digital Futures

It's been a 'pinch-me' year for Cognition Creative Learning CIC as we've seen our outreach and profile grow exponentially. This year wouldn't have been possible without the calibre and enthusiasm of the STEM Ambassadors we've worked alongside in 2024. We've absolutely loved building our role as regional partners for Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) delivering both FIRST LEGO League and the Faraday Challenge day across Cornwall and Devon. We've continued to work alongside the incredible outreach team from GCHQ Bude and have loved delivering our revamped, co-designed 'Robots, Signals and Ciphers workshop' to over 150 primary school children this term. We've also had the pleasure of continuing to work with CyNam delivering activities at their Cyber Horizons events across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Our regional FIRST LEGO League event was our largest ever, seeing incredible growth in the North Devon/North Cornwall region, doubling our reach from 2023, and we're very grateful for local industry sponsors for making entry possible for so many small schools and teams. We've loved working closely with local schools to help your teams take part and will forever be grateful for teachers who take on new challenges and say yes to trying new things. At Easter we hosted a free 4-day LEGO Spring Holiday Camp for 40 students from rural Devon and Cornwall. We hosted the camp alongside a team from LEGO Education at Shebbear College, who couldn't have been more accommodating. The international team attending were incredible with the children and we were so proud to be able to bring something like this to the South West. I loved being a Head Judge at the FIRST LEGO League national finals in April, and was blown away by the quality on all angles; from volunteers to event production and the teams taking part. Working with a plethora of supportive and inspiring people from Cornwall and Devon county councils, careers hubs is always a pleasure and we've been excited to grow our network this year. We loved running our STEM by the Sea holiday clubs in May 2024, part-funded by our local Bude Stratton Town Council, and joining at the Bude Castle to meet the Duchess of Edinburgh to challenge her to a robot race. Across 2024 we've been proud to support and run sessions as part of the Digital Futures project, Tech Cornwall's Festival of Tech and Youth Agile on the Beach, TECwomen CIC Reach for the Skies, these are great events to be part of and we're so grateful to be involved. The energy we get from working with you is off the scale! All these additional events have run alongside our regular offering of PPA Cover, Computing Curriculum delivery, after-school clubs (FLL, French, Spanish, Robotics, Stop Motion; you name it we'll run it!) and one-off robotics workshops for schools. It's been a busy, busy and incredible year for our team, and 2025 is looking bright. That's a wrap for now, we can't wait to see what next year brings.

Take a look back at the BIG Cornish Tech Showcase 2024! 🌟 Last year’s Showcase was packed with innovation, inspiration, and incredible connections. From cool tech demos to powerful talks and buzzing networking opportunities, it was a celebration of Cornwall’s thriving tech community. 💡 This year, we’re ready to go even bigger! Join us on 27th February 2025 at the Atlantic Hotel, Newquay, and be part of Cornwall’s premier tech event. Whether you’re looking to exhibit, speak, sponsor, or attend - there’s a place for you at the BIG Cornish Tech Showcase. 🎥 Check out the highlights from last year and get ready for what’s to come! 🔗 Find out how to get involved: https://lnkd.in/e9zjE-Xz #CornishTech #TechShowcase #InnovationInCornwall #FestivalOfTech

Headforwards’ Scrum Master and Product Owner, Ruby Harris believes that when employees bring their whole selves to work, creativity and productivity thrive. Early in Ruby’s career, she was pressured to suppress her authentic self. But as she progressed, she realised the problem wasn’t her, it was an outdated idea of “professionalism.” True professionalism is about respect and trust, not conformity. Read why Ruby recommends embracing your own authenticity to get the best out of your people: https://lnkd.in/dcJ_UBZr

***opportunity alert*** Ever had a great idea for an tech event but never had the funds to get it off the ground? Tech Cornwall have grants of £1000 for up to 20 small community group or individuals to help them launch own community event as part of the 2025 Festival of Tech. The event must have a tech, digital or software focus. It could be a meetup, a hackathon, a demo event, something for your local community, a lecture, a showcase, a ‘come and try’ day, a conference, an experience or a workshop. The possibilities are endless and the more creative the better! DM me to chat through your ideas, or visit the website: https://lnkd.in/eTnaEbFv