More than 150 parents and students tried out a variety of activities at the Heartspace with a focus on the UTC OLP’s specialisms – Health Sciences and Sports Science and Computing.

Those delivering the activities and talks for Human Sciences included Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC), Sheffield Hallam University Health and Wellbeing Department and the University of Sheffield Department of Medicine, Dentistry and Health.

Mandy Brailsford, from Sheffield Hallam University, delivered a resuscitation, defibrillation and choking simulation activity: “The students were really interested and I was amazed at how detailed they are about their career pathways; they’ve got some really specific ideas. This meant we were able to say to them that these activities [at the UTC event] are some of the things that will be involved in that career pathway, get them to have a go and show them some of the skills.”

Emma Parr, from the University of Sheffield, said, “It’s great to come to events with younger students, as they often aren’t aware of all the different courses that are available to them in healthcare.”

One prospective student, Bethan, had this to say about applying to the UTC and the event: “I want to go on to midwifery or nursing. I was interested in the UTC because it offers practical learning and it looks good to do. I like the idea of the employer projects because it will give us more of a head start. I’ve learnt a lot about CPR and other things at tonight’s event.”

Another prospective student, Zara, commented: “I want to go into healthcare but not 100% sure what career yet. I was attracted to the UTC because of the GCSEs and qualifications that they offer and how they work with employers. I think tonight’s event has been really useful and I’m looking forward to coming to study at the UTC.”

For the Computing specialism, in attendance were Sheffield Hallam University Computing Department, Sheffield Robotics, video games recruitment company Aardvark Swift, the head of IT at SiV and web design and IT support specialists ESP Projects. Computing activities included software demonstrations, robotics demonstrations, gaming experts, and coding activities.

Seth, a prospective student commented, “The robotics section was interesting, I’ve had a talk with the graduate recruitment agency Aardvark Swift, and the presentation [by Sheffield Hallam students on network and security] was pretty good.”

Attendees also had the opportunity to meet and hear from the recently appointed Principal, Sarah Clark, and Assistant Principal, Brigidin Crowther. Sheffield Futures were also in attendance to offer careers advice, as well as Student Ambassadors from both universities.