This nationwide celebration has been highlighting British achievements in science, technology and engineering since 1994, as well as involving the largest possible number of people in that celebration
National Science and Engineering Week, which runs from 6th to 15th March, is part of the DIUS led Science: [So what? So everything] campaign which aims to show people how science benefits our everyday lives, is crucial in strengthening the UK economy and meeting some of the major challenges of our time. In 2008, nearly 1.4 million people took part in around 3,500 events across the UK.
This year, for the first time, the week is preceded by The Big Bang – the UK’s first Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, at which around 200 projects from students aged 13-19 from across the UK will compete for the prestigious titles of UK Young Scientist of the Year and UK Young Technologist of the Year under the DIUS funded National Science Competition.
The case for a national celebration of science continues to be relevant, as it was back in 1994. There is a need not only to ensure the flow of young people into careers in the sciences and engineering, but also to debate and wonder at the achievements of science as part of our culture. The great public interest in the Save Our Bees Campaign and the many other activities going on during NSEW show how people can relate to scientific issues when these are expressed in an engaging way.
This year's theme is 'Change'. This links in with the celebration of the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, who was one of the world’s most influential and creative thinkers, and the International Year of Astronomy which will help citizens of the world understand the impact of astronomy and other fundamental sciences on our daily lives, and understand how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society.
