admin, Author at Millennium Point

We are delighted to team up once again with the NHS. Our award-winning venue will be used to offer the public a location to receive their COVID-19 Booster Vaccination from the 3^rd January until the 31^st March 2022.

This follows on from the success earlier in 2021 when Millennium Point opened its doors to the NHS and became the first mass vaccination centre in the heart of Birmingham. Reopening the vaccination centre will play a vital role in protecting lives, and in supporting the continuation of the recovery of our region.

You can book your vaccination appointment here or through your GP.

Book an appointment, get vaccinated, save lives

Appointments can be booked 7 days a week between 8am and 6pm based on availability. The vaccination centre will be inside Millennium Point and you can book your booster vaccination online here, please do not call Millennium Point as we cannot book your vaccination for you.

There are safety and hygiene measures in place to keep visitors, staff, and volunteers safe during their visit at Millennium Point. These include the requirement to wear a face covering, enhanced cleaning regimes, plus hand sanitising stations available throughout the venue.

Vaccination

Need help?

Visit our frequently asked questions page where you can find information from about booking your vaccine, to what to bring with you. Or you can find more information on the Birmingham and Solihull NHS website.

Prefer to speak to someone? Call 119 for the COVID-19 NHS Emergency helpline who will be able to provide you with more information about what to do.

How to get Millennium Point

Being situated in Birmingham City Centre with onsite parking, getting to us is easy and accessible whatever mode you’re traveling. Look at our getting here page for more info.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.

Update: Keep an eye out for 2024’s application, opening Monday 8th January 2024.

Applications are now open once again for the life changing scholarship. In partnership with Birmingham City University, each year Millennium Point Trust funds an undergraduate degree at BCU.

There are over 20 courses to choose from included in the scholarship. Applications are now open, with the deadline on Friday 11^th March 2022, meaning plenty of time to complete the form.

Asima impressed judges last year and secured Scholarship victory

The 37-year-old mum of five was studying Social Science and Humanities at Dudley College, before she secured the scholarship in aims to study planning.

All the finalists attended an assessment day at Millennium Point, where they each presented to a panel of five judges, Asima impressed the panel and was selected as the lucky winner of the Scholarship, which has already helped launch the careers of six outstanding STEM students.

Applying is easy and simple

The competition is open to applicants aged 17 and over within the West Midlands Combined Authority, who are looking to start a qualifying degree in September 2022.

Read the application from carefully and start to answer each question. Think about why you want to study your chosen degree and what you want to do in the future. Also discuss any personal attributes and skills that could help you be the next winner of the Scholarship.

It’s a two-stage application, with the final stage being an assessment day. If you make it to the final, you will be invited to participate in developmental workshops that will focus on supporting our personal development and professionalism in both interview and presentation skills.

We’re here to help you every step of the way

We want everyone to have the best chance of success when applying for our Scholarship scheme, and sometimes bigging yourself up can be a little daunting. That’s why we have created a helpful guide to aid you through your application. Keep an eye out on our social media for any new blogs, videos or resources that can help further.

You can always contact our friendly Trust team for any other enquiries you may have.

Unlock your student’s future by getting your school involved

Get your school involved and spread the word about the Scholarship. Tell parents, young people, teachers, and colleagues. The bigger it gets, the more impact we can make together.

We have created a Teacher’s Portal with assets and information that can help you provide students information on how to apply.

Are you a business wanting to get involved? Visit our Business Portal here. We’re always looking out to collaborate with businesses and professionals on the MP Trust Scholarship.

Why do we do this?

At Millennium Point we believe that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is important for the future of the region. Now, more than ever young people need our support and encouragement for them to unlock their potential. The scholarship is just one of the ways we can provide support to help them achieve people’s goals.

Apply today to start your Scholarship journey

Applications are now open with the deadline on Friday 11^th March 2022, apply now and see what you can achieve!

As we head into the festive holidays and approach the end of another year, Millennium Point has achieved some great things in 2021. Here is five key events that have happened at our award-winning venue this year.

Mass Vaccination Centre

Millennium Point made history as we were announced as a mass vaccination centre for Covid-19 in January 2021. It was one of eight centres to be opened across the UK, and the first mass vaccination site in the West Midlands region. Our venue opened it’s doors as a vaccination centre on 11^th January 2021. This announcement was welcomed by the general public and top media organisations alike.

The first day saw Sky News, BBC, ITV, LBC and Birmingham Mail at Millennium Point to capture the first vaccinations, and mark the historic moment that the UK could start the road to recovery. Below shows a video capturing the excitement and relief that accompanied it.

Across the whole time we were a mass vaccination centre, approximately 180,000 vaccinations took place at Millennium Point during this time.

Asima Adnan wins a fully funded degree

In 2021 our Scholarship program crowned it’s 8^th winner, with Asima Adnan from Dudley being named the winner of this year’s life-changing Millennium Point Charitable Trust Scholarship, earning a fully-funded degree at Birmingham City University (BCU).

Asima along with the other finalists, attended an assessment day at Millennium Point, where they each presented to a panel of five judges. Asima impressed the panel the most and was selected as the lucky winner.

The 37-year-old mum of five studied Social Science and Humanities at Dudley College, and began her Planning degree at Birmingham City University in September.

Applications open for the 2022 Scholarship on Monday 3^rd January. For more information please click here.

Millennium Point hosts first ever hybrid event

As part of our Hybrid and Virtual event packaging, we hosted our first ever hybrid event in May, Talking Point: The Future of Events. The conference included many discussion points from across the events sector, as well as provide valuable insights and a platform to debate the road to recovery, current trends, sustainability, and the impact of Covid-19 on customers’ relationships to events and hospitality.

The event welcomed two panels of industry experts and was hosted by events industry veteran Neil Thompson, Founder of popular event professionals network The Delegate Wranglers. You can watch the replay of the event below:

This follows on from a transformation of our Auditorium with a £350,000 investment, installing a new 10m x 3m participant stage area beneath the 16 m x 10 m giant screen to provide greater space and flexibility for panel events, presentations, and live performances.

With the launch of our Hybrid and Virtual Events package, we also upgraded our AV equipment to support that which includes an M32R digital mixing desk, intelligent LED lighting system, mounted Panasonic PTC-280 cameras and a Kramer 8×8 Matrix switcher which allows switching of screen content seamlessly.

Fans get time of their lives at movie and drinks nights

The well received Millennium Point Presents movie and drinks nights have continued to be a big success throughout 2021. Our partnership with the movie geeks, The Wine Events Company has offered more blockbuster showings including Back to the Future, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing, Rocketman and Love Actually.

With more exciting events on the way in 2022, want to get a feeling of what to expect? Check out our screening of the eighties classic Dirty Dancing below. Guests had the time of their lives with a live band, themed cocktails and movie trivia.

Millennium Point Charitable Trust reaches a £30m landmark in STEM support

In 2021 our Charitable Trust announced that it had reached a landmark £30m in STEM support to organisations across the West Midlands over the last seven years – including £4.98m in the last financial year alone.

For those that are not aware, our commercial activity that takes place in the Millennium Point building feeds back into the Millennium Point Charitable Trust. This enables the charity to donate to, invest in, and facilitate STEM-related projects, events and initiatives in the West Midlands. This has included over £2.7m in STEM grants to schools, not-for-profits and charities in Greater Birmingham and the Wider West Midlands.

To coincide with our grant programme , the trust funds £16,650 in STEM degree scholarships annually, in partnership with Birmingham City University. To date, scholarships have totalled over £83,000.

An example of the type of STEM projects we fund is showcased below.

Christmas is the season of giving, and with so many fantastic charities to support this year, we’ve listed 5 below that are worth the charity spotlight this festive season.

UK Sepsis Trust & Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation

UK Sepsis Trust and Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation have decided to extend their Sepsis savvy awareness campaign to schools at the Schools and Academies Show in Birmingham. Developed in collaboration with education professionals, the new resources for all key stages, intended to help protect students and their families against this life-threatening condition associated with 1 in 5 deaths worldwide (11 million people – that’s 1 life every 3 seconds).

Carefully curated to each appropriate age group, the comprehensive Sepsis Savvy Schools lesson plans are informative and interactive, and include educational videos, teaching resources and an animation narrated by UKST’s ambassador, Harry Potter and Star Wars actor, Warwick Davis. The campaign is also supported by TV medic, Paediatrician and UKST Ambassador Dr Ranj.

St Basils

St Basils is a charity that work with young people ages 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities, and prevent homelessness.

This year St Basils planned their oldest and biggest sleepout in the UK in Birmingham. On Friday 3rd December, the event was held at a new venue, the versatile event space Millennium Point. Previously held at Birmingham Cathedral, the organisers hoped to fill it to capacity this year.

Due to last year and the pandemic, 2020’s sleepout was cancelled. Usually, the event raises over £100,000 so the organisers are hoping that this year’s is the bigger than ever. The aim was to appeal not only to the adventurous nature of people. But also, to their willingness to support young people with additional challenges of homelessness through these difficult times. You can find out more on this year’s event here.

Big Sleepout

Millennium Point Charitable Trust

Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning conference and events venue in the east side of Birmingham city centre. The charity use profits made by commercial activity being invested in projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) in Birmingham and the wider region.

Over the past 6 years MPT have given more than £25m back into the local region. They have previously seen the rewarding outcome of past projects such as Bishop Vesey Grammar School – STEM Robotics Club. South Bromsgrove High School had an insightful and imaginative project with their Automatic Weather Station. Millennium Point also saw a fantastic Sensory Garden achieved by City Road Primary School.

Millennium Point Trust are always looking for new partnerships to support STEM in the region.

Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity

Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity are passionate about improving patient experience for all the women and families at their hospital.

They are a centre of excellence, offering a rage of services to thousands of women, babies, and families every year. The hospital provides specialise care in five key areas: fertility, genetics, gynaecology, maternity, and neonatal.

They’re currently raising money for the Woodland House Appeal, they’re hospital cares for over 2,000 grieving mums and dads every year who have lost a baby. News is delivered in cramped ‘quiet’ rooms, often on the maternity ward or in a busy outpatient areas/ Woodland House would change this. It will be a brand new, purpose-built, centre away from the hustle and bustle of the main hospital. They have just £1 million left to raise, to make this a reality.

Aston Villa Foundation

Working alongside key local and national stakeholders, Aston Villa Foundation delivers projects, initiatives and provides opportunities to achieve its mission of ‘Working Together to Enrich Lives’.

The Foundation and its partners work with people from a variety of backgrounds in Birmingham as well as supporting the wider ‘Aston Villa family’ through several departments including schools, football in the community, disability, health and wellbeing, education, interventions, and community relations.

Imagine it – Christmas dinner has just been eaten and the family have migrated to the sofa with a tub of celebrations at the ready. It’s on you to put on a Christmas film, but which one?

Well, we have you covered with some of our personal festive favourites below. We guarantee no Hallmark Christmas films here!

Elf – For the family

Buddy (Will Ferrell) was accidently transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa’s elves. Unable to shake the feeling that he doesn’t fit in, the adult Buddy travels to New York, in full elf uniform, in search of his real father. As it happens, this is Walter Hobbs (James Caan), a cynical businessman. After a DNA test proves this, Walter reluctantly attempts to start a relationship with the childlike Buddy with increasingly chaotic results.

Home Alone – For the mischievous

When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother (Catherin O’Hara) makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters mistakenly leave for the airport without Kevin, he awakens to an empty house and assumes his wish to have no family has come true. But his excitement sours when he realizes that two con men (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) plan to rob the McCallister residence, and that he alone must protect the family home.

The Grinch – For the grumpy

In this live-action adaption of the beloved children’s tale by Dr. Seuss, the reclusive green Grinch (Jim Carrey) decides to ruin Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville. Reluctantly joined by his hapless dog, Max, the Grinch comes down from his mountaintop home and sneaks into town to swipe everything holiday-related from the Whos. However, the bitter grump finds a hitch in his plans when he encounters the endearing Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen).

The Holiday – For the hopeless romantic

Dumped and depressed, English rose Iris (Kate Winslet) agrees to swap homes for the holidays with similarly unlucky in love Californian Amanda (Cameron Diaz) for a much-needed break. Iris finds herself in a palatial Hollywood mansion while Amanda navigates the lanes of a picture-perfect English village. Soon enough, both lovelorn ladies bump into local lads perfect for a romantic pick-me-up.

Die Hard – For the controversial

This may raise a few eyebrows and potentially has the power to cause a Christmas day bicker, but we’re putting it in as a Christmas film any way!

New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned business she works for. But the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it. Very soon McClane realises that there’s no one to save the hostages… but him.

Bonus Christmas Film – Love Actually – the modern Christmas classic

We liked this movie so much we showed it on our big screen back in early December paired with 5 delicious wines!

Nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love. Among the characters explored are David (Hugh Grant), the handsome newly elected British prime minister who falls for a young junior staffer (Martine McCutcheon). Sarah (Laura Linney), a graphic designer whose devotion to her mentally ill brother complicates her love life, and Harry (Alan Rickman), a married man tempted by his attractive new secretary.

Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands. Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint

Applications for our Charitable Trust STEM Grants programme close this Friday so don’t miss out on funding for your next STEM project.

Have a STEM project plan that needs funding? Our small grants are available from £1,000 to £20,000 to individual applicants to support science, technology, engineering & maths (STEM) education in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. Applications close at 5pm this Friday, meaning you don’t have long to get your application submitted!

An example of the type of projects we fund is detailed in the video below.

You can start your application by clicking here.

Endless possibilities with STEM

Over the past five years, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust has awarded over £2 million to charities, not-for-profits, community groups and schools to further STEM education. Millennium Point Charitable Trust has previously seen the rewarding outcome of past projects such as the science area at Ark Tindal Primary and Sensational Science at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The latest round of funding in 2021 saw a wide range of successful applications – from a proposal to build a fully operational light aircraft, STEM training toolkits for schools and a car engineering workshop for girls.

Last year Millennium Point saw 70 applications from not-for-profit organisations in aim of receiving a share of the grant money.

Applications for Millennium Point Charitable Trust STEM Grant Programme is now open

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point said. “Along with our hugely popular degree scholarship, the Small Grants Programme is why we do what we do. To promote STEM education across the region and increase the opportunities for the next generation via some of the most exciting career paths available.

“Every year the quality and volume of applications that the Millennium Point Charitable Trust receives is fantastic. I have no doubt that will be the case again – I can’t wait to see them.”

Read more about our fantastic case studies here.

Top tips for writing your application

We understand writing an application can be tricky, but we don’t want you to feel overwhelmed. We’ve created a blog that lays out some of our most useful tips and advice using our many years of experience with the grants programme, making your application as easy and quickly as possible.

To read more please click here.

Book with Millennium Point and help support the future of STEM

Everything Millennium Point Charitable Trust achieves is made possible by the commercial activity that takes place in our landmark building. It all feeds back into the charitable trust, enabling it to donate and invest in STEM-related organisations, projects, and initiatives.

When booking events with Millennium Point you are widening your CSR and supporting the local region. Find out how and more about our 17 unique event spaces here.

At Millennium Point we believe that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is instrumental to the future. “STEM” accounts for a large breadth of industries in the UK and is one of the key factors to economic growth and prosperity. For example, the construction industry contributes £90bn alone.

Outside of economy, STEM provides vital services and mechanisms which improve quality of life, improve sustainability by shrinking human environmental impact, and provide innovations that help us flourish as a species.

However, these advances are being stifled by numerable issues plaguing STEM industries – chiefly of those in a STEM skills shortage, and STEM education poverty which is having a serious impact on young people, their futures, and the future of the UK as a whole.

Read more below as we look more into the impact of STEM education, and five reasons why investing in it creates the foundations for success for young people’s futures.

Better Education around STEM opportunities increases ambitions for young people

STEM

An impact report from STEM Learning surveyed (what age group or key stage level were they?) on their aspirations. Before ambassadors visited, 80% of the young people wanted to be YouTubers, Vets, Footballers, or Gamers. STEM Ambassadors then showed them bigger global projects and found they then wanted to pursue a wider breadth of careers in STEM.

Many commented that they suddenly had their horizons broadened and started to consider different careers in STEM.

STEM Education + STEM Industries = Economic Growth

STEM

The Royal Academy of Engineering found that engineering alone accounts for 25% of gross value added for the UK economy. It goes on to say manufactured goods account for 50% of UK exports. In whole STEM underpins the whole economy.

STEM industries are rapidly expanding and with that comes the need for more skilled workers. Currently there is a skills gap costing the UK economy £1.5bn. Investment in STEM education and support for pathways will increase appetite in STEM industries – providing more skilled workers to fulfil the jobs required to reduce this deficit.

Better Education will reduce the STEM gender gap

According to WISE, a mere 24% of the current STEM workforce are women. Additionally, only 8% of women progress to a level 4+ STEM qualification. This means there is a huge pool of potential talent which is currently being overlooked.

More investment in STEM education will reduce the gender gap and go a long way to shrinking the STEM skills shortage in the UK.

Girls Who Code is an international non-profit organisation working to close the gender gap in technology by teaching girls computer science, bravery, and sisterhood. Alumni are choosing to major in computer science or related fields at a rate 15 times the national average. Their research shows if they continue, they can close the gender gap in in new entry-level tech jobs by 2030.

More diversity, more people, more innovation

It has often been pointed out that there is a strong correlation between diversity and innovation.

According to STEMWomen, research has proved that when underrepresented groups have access to inspiring role models, they are more likely to feel like they belong.

In an article published by The Royal Society, a study found that only 18.7% of academic staff in STEM were from ethnic minority groups, with only 1.7% being black.

More diversity can be achieved by improving STEM education to underprivileged and underrepresented groups. This not only encourages more welcoming conditions for these groups but will start a chain reaction for attracting future talent, by creating role models out of those who have achieved before them.

Similarly, to the gender gap, this will bring a wider talent pool to STEM industries – and an exponential increase in chances for innovation.

Accessible education, expanding possibilities

Education Hub made the point of in the past that STEM subjects have been harder for children and young people to access, particularly among girls, minority ethnic groups and students from low-income and disadvantages backgrounds.

However, it looks to be changing as between 2010 and 2020, the number of women accepted into full-time STEM undergraduate courses increased by 49%. The rate also increased for 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds by 79%. The results suggest that young people are benefiting from increased support in these subjects, with potential barriers to access based on gender, race, or class gradually being lifted.

More investment in STEM education will go a long way to continuing this positive trend.

How the Millennium Point Trust STEM Grants has helped education

Since 2018, the Millennium Point Trust STEM Grants has provided over 120 projects with funding. From Lego cars to a night under the stars, we have seen some amazing things achieved with STEM.

Over the past five years, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust has awarded over £2 million to charities, not-for-profits, community groups and schools to further STEM education. The Millennium Point Charitable Trust has previously seen the rewarding outcome of past projects such as the Science Area at Ark Tindal Primary and Sensational Science at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The latest round of funding in 2021 saw a wide range of successful applications – from a proposal to build a fully operational light aircraft, STEM training toolkits for schools and a car engineering workshop for girls

The next round of applications for the 2022 grant are now open and close at 5pm on Friday 17th December 2021, to apply just simply download the application form from the website.

With awareness on the environment ever increasing, it is no surprise that people are now looking at ways to be more sustainable at Christmas.

From Christmas tree choices, to making your own advent calendar, we look at ways you can be more eco-friendly without ruining the festivities this season.

Rent a real tree for the festive season

A tree shouldn’t just be for Christmas, GWP found that as many as 8 million Christmas trees are thrown away each year. This includes 14 per cent of people who will even be binning their fake Christmas tree. Fake Christmas trees are made up of plastic and metals, therefore often can’t be recycled.

For next year, if your fake Christmas tree is in good condition, why not donate it to a charity shop and opt for a real tree instead? Simply Plants and Love a Christmas Tree, both offer tree renting services, enjoy the tree for Christmas and after, it gets planted back in the ground for Spring.

If you have bought a real Christmas tree this season, don’t worry, Birmingham City Council offer tree recycling which is free. Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice Treecycling also offer the service, although free, a donation of £10 is recommended, with all proceeds going to St Mary’s Hospice.

Christmas Tree

Make your home merry and bright with LED lights

Being sustainable doesn’t mean your home has to be dark and gloomy this Christmas. Choose LED lights to hang on your tree, LED lights use 80-90% less energy than non-LED, the cost of powering them is less too.

There’s lots of LED light options to choose from this Christmas, so you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Get creative with your wrapping paper

The amount of wrapping paper thrown away at Christmas in the UK alone would stretch to the moon, according to estimates by recycling advisors WRAP. That’s 225,623 miles of wrapping paper!

The problem with wrapping paper is often due to the foils, dyes, and paper it’s printed on which makes it unable to be recycled. There is alternative paper that can be used such as kraft paper, although brown, why not customise it with reusable ribbons and patterned biodegradable zero plastic Sellotape.

Wrapping Paper

Replace your throwaway advent calendar for a reusable one

Advent calendars and selection boxes add to the three million tonnes of extra plastic waste created every year during the festive period in the UK.

There are lots of ways to get a reusable advent calendar, support independent businesses and find one on Etsy. Or if creativity is your thing, upcycle old items to make your very own. You can fill it with chocolates, make-up, whatever you want!

Eat sustainably without cutting out on quality

During Christmas, 2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince pies get disposed while still edible, causing almost 270,000 tons of food waste in total during the festive season.

Earlier this year we wrote a blog about sustainable supermarkets to try in Greater Birmingham. There are also lots of other ways to eat more sustainable this Christmas.

Try planning your shopping for the winter break to avoid over buying and only buy what you plan to eat. Organise your fridge so you can store food properly, so it will last longer and not get spoilt. If you have leftover untouched food and it’s in date, look for a food bank to donate it to during the Winter to help others.

Christmas Dinner

Millennium Point and sustainability

This Christmas we have looked at how we can enjoy a sustainable Christmas, continuing our journey to be more eco-friendly. For example, our 39ft Christmas tree, which is rented, is fitted out with LED lights.

We have also placed a range of processes to ensure we’re not adding to our carbon footprint. Energy management and the journey to net zero carbon are at the heart of all our decisions. We try not to create waste but where we do, we segregate and recycle as much as we can. Lastly, we encourage staff, tenants, and visitors to make green travel choices when visiting us.

The Millennium Point Charitable Trust has announced it has reached a landmark £30m in STEM support to organisations across the West Midlands over the last seven years – including £4.98m in the last financial year alone.

Opened in 2001, Millennium Point is a landmark public building in the Eastside of Birmingham city centre. Inside, it is home to 17 versatile event spaces including a 354-capacity Auditorium, meeting rooms and offices, and tenants, including ThinkTank and Birmingham City University (BCU).

Commercial activity that takes place in the Millennium Point building feeds back into the Millennium Point Charitable Trust. This enables the charity to donate to, invest in, and facilitate STEM-related projects, events and initiatives in the West Midlands. This has included over £2.7m in STEM grants to schools, not-for-profits and charities in Greater Birmingham and the Wider West Midlands.

In addition, the trust funds £16,650 in STEM degree scholarships annually, in partnership with Birmingham City University. To date, scholarships have totalled over £83,000.

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point said: “Promoting STEM education across the region is what we do – increasing the opportunities for the next generation via some of the most exciting career paths available.

“As a meeting and events space, the last 18 months has been incredibly challenging, but it’s fantastic that we have continued throughout to contribute to the West Midlands’ myriad of exciting STEM projects and initiatives.”

Abbie Vlahakis visiting pupils at Meadows Primary School.

The trust has also announced an extension to the deadline for applications to the Millennium Point Charitable Trust STEM Grants Programme 2022, which is now 5pm on Friday December 17th.

Paul Hughes, Schools Manager at the Aston Villa Foundation, commented: “The STEM grant we received from the Millennium Point Trust funded our innovative STEM Stars project, which has allowed us to add a new dimension to our provision and provide children, teachers and schools the opportunity to embark on their STEM education journey helping to develop skills of the future and make a real difference.’’

With STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) funding grants of up to £20,000 available, the trust has moved the deadline to give more organisations time to apply for money that can often be life-changing for young people and their future careers.

The latest round of funding in 2021 saw a wide range of successful, creative STEM projects – from a proposal to build a fully operational light aircraft to STEM training toolkits for schools.

Abbie Vlahakis added: “Every year we are impressed and inspired by the applications we receive for our small grants programme, and this year has been no exception – and I’d urge any organisation looking to fund an exciting STEM project in 2022 that there’s still time for their idea to be considered.”

To apply for a grant, please click here.

With Christmas Day just over a month away, we just can’t stop talking about our spectacular 39ft tree! That’s why we’ve put together some fir-tastic facts together about our decorations.

The Christmas tree is based in our event space Atrium for everyone to enjoy as soon as they walk into our landmark building.

It’s starting to look a lot like CHRISTMAS

The tree built was put together by Christmas experts The Christmas Decorators. It takes a team of 5 installers and a team of 7 decorators, to prepare the branches and baubles. The Christmas tree takes around 10 hours to complete. With good reason too as there are over 21,000 lights and 1,500 baubles to set up!

Where do you even get a 39ft tree from you ask? We’ll let you in on a secret, it’s not actually a real tree! The Christmas tree is made up of a metal frame with each individual branch attached separately each with their own power source.

As far as we know we are the biggest indoor tree in Birmingham at 12 metres tall. It’s also accompanied by two nutcrackers and a (currently) nameless bear giving visitors lot of opportunities to snap a festive selfie.

Excited to share the Christmas Tree with everyone

We wanted everyone to enjoy our Christmas Tree, and with last year, we realise how important this Christmas is. In November we invited our industry friends and colleagues to have a catch up at our festive meet-up under our Christmas Tree. The event was well received by everyone, and we enjoyed catching up after a long time away from face to face events.

Feel Christmas all around you with themed wine and Love Actually

Love Actually with Wine event

Feel the love this Christmas with a screening and themed wine tasting experience of the seminal 2003 festive rom com, Love Actually. Millennium Point have once again teamed up with movie geeks The Wine Events Company for a fun and unique wine tasting. This festive event will include five themed wines and a very big screen, all for the price of £31.95 (plus fees). The event takes place on Sunday 5th December at 5pm. Tickets can be purchased by clicking below.

Imagine, your event and our Christmas tree

With 17 versatile event spaces to choose from, make Millennium Point your venue of choice this Christmas. Contact our friendly events team on 0121 202 2200 or click below to explore our award-winning event spaces.