The Goodwood Education Trust hosts record-breaking STEM Seminars at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Goodwood Estate | Press Article
06/08/25
The Goodwood Education Trust, the independent environmental education charity operating on the Goodwood Estate, has for many years hosted STEM Seminars for secondary school students, in conjunction with Dick Powell of design agency Seymour Powell.
This year was no exception. 350 students, a record-breaking number, and 30 teachers, attended over the two days of seminars. The students attending had an interest in creative or product design, enjoyed a half day access to the Festival of Speed site and a half day of seminars, and it was completely free to access.
Hand-selected by Dick Powell for their interest and relevance to young people, the speakers talked about their work, about their experience and about their design and life journey. The impact could be felt by the sheer number of questions raised by the students to the speakers. Thought-provoking questions were raised around the impact of Artificial Intelligence on roles, the challenges to business and employability over the next few years and possible salaries. One school said ‘It is invaluable for students to hear directly from professions who work in the industry rather than just from teachers and career advisers’.
Speaker topics were incredibly varied, ranging from immersive story-telling to motorsport waste and spacecraft. Schools said the sessions were informative and engaging, and most importantly, for their cohort, inspiring.
They included Elena Lewendon, who spoke about ‘Adventures in Deep Sea Discovery’. Chief Operating Officer of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, Elena leads projects that blend cutting-edge technology, underwater robotics, storytelling and science to explore some of the world’s most remote and hostile environments, and she’s passionate about opening up STEM careers.
Stewart Miller spoke about ‘A Future with Robots’. He is Chief Executive Officer at the National Robotarium, having previously been Chief Technology Officer of the UK Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, Stewart aims to grow the reputation of the National Robotarium to help create greater inward investment and talent attraction to both Scotland and the UK and fulfil national potential for the development of robotics manufacturing.
The feedback from the schools was really positive. One school said, ‘Attending the event encouraged students to keep studying Design Technology and Engineering’. A visiting teacher said "Thank you for an amazing day. It has been inspirational for our students, and they have all gained so much from the experience".
Anne Bartlett, Education Officer at the Goodwood Education Trust said, ‘We’re very grateful to Dick Powell for supporting the Education Trust in making the two days such a success. We prioritised under-represented schools and students, such as those eligible for means-tested Free School Meals. The seminars that Dick curated were inspirational and aspirational with many of the speakers sharing their own journeys to success’.
Schools who would like to secure a place for the 2026 Seminars (9 and 10 July) can contact Anne at get@goodwood.com
