admin, Author at Millennium Point

Every year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust Small Grants programme gives out grants of up to £20,000 to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education projects in the West Midlands. We have funded many different projects across all areas of STEM, supporting learning development for young students.

Here is an example of the type of work we do, this project was funded in 2019 and shows the power of what the grants funding can achieve for STEM organisations.

Who are The Play House?

The Play House is a small theatre and education charity based inside Birmingham, who specialise in engaging schools through educational and interactive performances.

What’s the project all about?

The Play House are passionate about addressing learning gabs and developing children’s education within STEM, so they don’t miss out on career prospects. The Daughters of Invention project is a drama and engineering education project originally created through a Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious award.

The project is aimed towards girls and children from marginalised backgrounds, using interactive tasks, acting and storytelling, to develop the children’s interest and understanding of problem solving, creative thinking and team work within engineering.

What did the Millennium Point Trust fund?

After a successful first run in 2019, The Play House were eager to bring the project to new schools in areas of deprivation across Birmingham. The Millennium Point Charitable Trust offered a fantastic opportunity for the project to expand with it’s Small Grants offering. After receiving the application, our Trust team were immediately taken to this project by it’s unique creative dimension to teaching engineering, and made no hesitation in getting involved. Our funding helped the following areas of the project:

Overheads for the production and delivery of the project (content creation, travel to schools etc.)
Resources to produce and deliver the performances in schools
Equipment to produce and deliver the performance in schools

What impact has the project made?

This project once again showcased the impact the Millennium Point Trust can have on young peoples lives. Over 240 children in 8 key stage 2 classes across 5 schools benefitted from the project, increasing their knowledge and understanding of engineering, while building confidence and awareness of careers within the subject.

The project also worked with the University of Birmingham, encouraging UOB students to get involved with STEM public engagement, while learning what impact it has on education in the local area.

The Play House were over the moon with the results and said: “Because of the grant from Millennium Point, The Play House is going to be inventing and creating with real-life engineers and KS2 children in Birmingham primary schools in 2020. Our STEM and drama project, Daughters of Invention, is coming back! Thanks to the Millennium Point Charitable Trust we are able to inspire a new cohort of children and their teachers.

“We will be working a with our partners from the School of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Birmingham and a cohort of young engineers to develop children’s interest (particularly girls and children from BAME backgrounds) in engineering/STEM and increase their understanding of the part problem-solving, creative thinking and team-work play in engineering.”

Help save The Play House

The Play House have an exciting program ahead for 2021-22, bringing creative activities into children’s education. The COVID-19 crises has however hit the organisation hard. The Play House need your support in order to continue helping thousands of children in economically challenging areas of the West Midlands. You can support them by clicking below to donate on their website.

About educational grant funding from Millennium Point

Educators, Charities and Not-for-Profits within the West Midlands Combined Authority can apply for up to £20,000 from Millennium Point to fund their STEM activity. For more information on how to access this funding please visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/grants

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.

Our award winning events and conference venue just got better, with a new £350,000 investment to upgrade our 354 seat Auditorium.

Originally opening as the first IMAX cinema in Birmingham, our Auditorium has been a popular destination for large-scale events, conferences, esports tournaments and screenings, and is one of 17 diverse events spaces available at Millennium Point.

Transformed to new heights

We’re always looking to reach new heights and this investment was a great opportunity to transform the Auditorium to the next level for clients and visitors. We’ve installed 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.

Hybrid and Virtual Event Capabilities

We’ve also recently launched our new range of hybrid and virtual event packages. To support this we’ve upgraded our AV equipment which includes an M32R digital mixing desk with 40 input channels and high fidelity audio; an intelligent LED lighting system including a dozen moving wash lights and spot lights; mounted Panasonic PTC-280 cameras controlled remotely for high quality live streaming and a Kramer 8×8 Matrix switcher which allows switching of screen content seamlessly.

Additionally, six trusses have been installed around the Auditorium creating 30 more opportunities for clients to add their own lighting equipment to further enhance their event.

Equipped with a new recording studio

The upgrades don’t stop there! We’ve added new studio spaces alongside the upgraded Auditorium, to allow for live streamed performances, meetings and debates.

Flexible Platform space below Auditorium

The Auditorium is supported by our Platform space, located directly below and features a fully licensed bar, AV equipment and provides additional room for networking, dinners, and drinks receptions.

Millennium Point team proud of results

Rebecca Delmore, Commercial Director at Millennium Point said: “Without a doubt the events sector has transformed considerably over the past year, but alongside the challenges that have been faced there are huge opportunities to embrace new technologies and open up events to a much broader and more diverse audience, both on and off-site.

“We’re proud to be able to offer best in class facilities and hospitality for visitors and event organisers to enjoy here at Millennium Point. With this investment in our auditorium we are also supporting and embracing the future of hybrid events to ensure that, wherever audiences are based, they can enjoy a high-quality experience.”

We are now open for bookings

Book a free tour of our new and improved Auditorium today and experience your event on our upgraded stage and giant screen. Get in touch by calling 0121 202 2200 or emailing [email protected].

Don’t miss out on five new exciting opportunities in our events and marketing departments.

Events Assistant (Zero Hours)

Working within our events team, we’re looking to recruit three new Events Assistants to our multi-award winning team. The main purpose of this role is to ensure the operational effectiveness of Events and Conferences, by focussing on the setting up of rooms and events spaces whilst providing exceptional standards of customer service. The chosen candidate will need to have:

Experience in a hospitality environment.
Experience of live event management and coordination.
Experience of planning and supervising activities and managing customer expectations.
Experience in a fast-paced customer service environment.

If you are interested in this role then please download the full job description by clicking below.

Marketing Coordinator

The Marketing Coordinator role involves working closely alongside our Marketing Manager and Digital Marketing Coordinator, to deliver a wide range of campaigns and services, both internally and externally which meet the strategic aims of the business across multiple strands – events, property, building and charitable trust. The chosen candidate will need to have:

Experience in a previous marketing role.
Experience working with communication tools across digital and print. E.g. WordPress, Adobe platforms and Google Analytics.
Experience with writing engaging copy on a variety of subjects.
Experience in analysing trends and performance across social media platforms.

If you are interested in this role then please download the full job description by clicking below.

Event Sales Coordinator

The Event Sales Coordinator will work alongside the Sales Manager, focussing on achieving our events income targets, building relationships and liaising with customers, colleagues and contractors to plan and deliver a wide range of events. The chosen candidate will need to have:

Experience in a comparable sector or industry, ideally events, conference and banqueting.
Experience of live event management and coordination.
Experience with planning and supervising activities while managing customer expectations.
Experience of planning complex projects that support engagement, experiences and events.

If you are interested in this role then please download the full job description by clicking below.

Millennium Point is delighted to light up green, doing our bit to support #StJohnsDay2021.

What is St John Ambulance Day?

St John Ambulance Day is all about celebrating the great work they do, while raising awareness that your support is needed to help train more volunteers and save lives. On average it costs around £100 to fully train one St John Ambulance volunteer. For every volunteer trained, they could go on to support up to 12 people, meaning more lives will be saved by this great organisation.

Our Auditorium goes green

On Thursday 24th June, we lit up our newly refurbished Auditorium in St John Ambulance’s iconic green, to show our support to all the great volunteers who work tirelessly in our community. As a mass vaccination centre, we have first hand experienced the instrumental work that St John Ambulance volunteers have done, to help protect lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is our way of saying thank you for everything they do.

How to get involved

Every contribution helps towards training more volunteers to support this fantastic organisation. There’s so many fun and creative ways you can get involved, from singing karaoke with songs that use the word “green”, to taking part in a green jelly tower competition. If you’d like to get involved or find out more, then please visit www.sja.org.uk/green.

Each year Millennium Point pay for the tuition fees of one young person to pursue a STEM related degree at Birmingham City University (BCU). This is part of the ongoing work of the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in greater Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas varius tortor nibh, sit amet tempor nibh finibus et. Aenean eu enim justo. Vestibulum aliquam hendrerit molestie. Mauris malesuada nisi sit amet augue accumsan tincidunt. Maecenas tincidunt, velit ac porttitor pulvinar, tortor eros facilisis libero, vitae commodo nunc quam et ligula. Ut nec ipsum sapien. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Integer id nisi nec nulla luctus lacinia non eu turpis. Etiam in ex imperdiet justo tincidunt egestas. Ut porttitor urna ac augue cursus tincidunt sit amet sed orci.

Here is an example of the type of work we do, this project was funded in 2019 and shows the power of what the grants funding can achieve for STEM organisations.

Who are Ahead Partnership?

Ahead Partnership is a leading social enterprise which works across the country to connect schools and children with employers to promote education and employability and raise awareness of STEM careers.

What’s the project all about?

Ahead Partnership wanted to address an issue in the West Midlands, where many students are only taught very basic STEM practices due to lack of resource. They launched a new project which features a week long STEM festival that aims to enthuse young people about STEM careers whilst they are still in education and build a stronger talent pipeline for the sector. The festival showcases the career opportunities that exist and encourages young people to make subject and study choices that open up these opportunities.

What did the Millennium Point Trust fund?

The Millennium Point Trust team were excited to get involved with this project and understood the importance of improving STEM learning for young people, while opening more doors for future careers within the industry. Our involvement helped fund the following areas of the project:

The operation and delivery of key events within the festival.
Resources and materials for the events.
Travel subsidies for schools travelling to the events.
Hire of additional equipment and resources for the events (i.e. AV equipment).

What impact has the project made?

The project had a positive outcome on over 250 students, 16 secondary schools and 2 education colleges. The students gained improvements in confidence, developed STEM learning across business and sectors, and workplace specific skills that will be valuable for their career choices.

Ahead Partnership were delighted with how the project unfolded and said: “Working with Millennium Point Charitable Trust will help us increase the pool of younger entrants to STEM occupations and to support the growth potential of businesses by promoting and furthering understanding of STEM.

“Currently, too few young people have a concrete understanding of the opportunities that exist within the West Midlands region. Employers have a very valuable role to play in developing this understanding and bringing careers alive through direct interventions with young people.

“This project will bring together education and employers, to contribute to regeneration in Birmingham, resulting in a future workforce that has STEM, entrepreneurial and creative skills to build on the City’s heritage and legacy and benefit the public through new products, services, businesses, jobs and economic growth.”

#GirlTechWM is back in 2021!

Following the success of two previous #GirlTechWM events, we’re delighted to say we are supporting once more. This year Ahead Partnership are taking the experience for Year 8 girls across the West Midlands ONLINE. This week-long festival will see young people from across the West Midlands take part in interactive workshops, guest speeches and panels to meet and ask female role models in the tech industry their questions, as well as give them a hands-on experience of what working in this sector is all about. Online means it’s safe and more accessible than ever.

About educational grant funding from Millennium Point

As we continue to move towards normality resuming, local hospitality needs your support to help with their road to recovery from the pandemic. With summer on the horizon (hopefully with plenty of sun), it’s a great time to grab a pint with your friends (safely) and do your bit to help. We’ve put together a few great pubs based in Eastside Birmingham for you to explore. Get the drinks in and help Birmingham get back on track.

The Woodman

First up is The Woodman, located on New Canal Street, directly opposite Millennium Point and Birmingham City University (BCU). This newly restored Victorian pub is based in the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside Park and serves a quality range of ales from a diverse set of brewers. The Woodman also offers a 50 person capacity function room for hire all year round, perfect for hosting a number of events.

Eagle and Ball

After finishing off your drinks at The Woodman, the next pub on our list takes you to the Eagle and Ball which has been ran by the Birmingham City University (BCU) Students Union since 2015. Like The Woodman, this pub has a authentic Victorian layout to it, standing on the corner of Penn Street and Gospel Street since the 1840s. Whatever your drinking preference, this pub has you covered with a range of drinks on offer, from a chilled pint of beer to spirits, wines and cocktails.

The Gosta Green

Keeping the student bar vibe, we now move across the way towards Aston University. Order your next round of drinks at The Gosta Green located on Holt Street. This is an enjoyable pub in the Eastside of Birmingham which welcomes customers with the important three on offer, “beer, burgers and live sport. Gosta Green offers a number of facilities including a HD projected screen, outside area, pool tables and a great drinks selection including real ale’s, ciders, beers and spirits.

Sacks of Potatoes

A short walk from The Gosta Green brings us to Sacks of Potatoes for the next round. This traditional pub is filled with pictures depicting the history of Birmingham, bringing a very local feel to it. Despite being based on the Aston University campus, the Sacks doesn’t just attract students, with a number of local residents and business people regularly stopping by for a refreshing pint. Choose from a wide cask ale range with 6 real ales and 3 ciders available on the handpulls, 2 craft ales and a great selection of spirits, wines and cocktails. If the drinks are starting to make you peckish then why not select one of the daily food deals to have with your drink, they are not only delicious but great value for money too.

Save your local pub

Has your local pub closed, or is threatened with closure? During these difficult times for the hospitality sector, you can do your bit to help. CAMRA have put together an in-depth guide to give you all the tools you need to begin campaigning against pub closures. These guides are available for England, Scotland and Wales. For more information please visit https://camra.org.uk/pubs-and-clubs/current-campaigns/save-your-local-pub/.

Have the ’Time of your Life’ this Summer by joining us for ‘Dirty Dancing with Cocktails’ at Millennium Point.

Get ready to drink cocktails and have a good sing along as we team up with the innovative event specialists, The Wine Events Company to bring you the eighties classic Dirty Dancing on the big screen. This event takes place on Saturday 17th July at 7.30pm (doors open at 6:30pm) and you won’t want to miss it!

About the film

Baby (Jennifer Grey) is disappointed when her summer plans deposit her at a sleepy resort in the Catskills with her parents. Her luck turns around, however, when the resort’s dance instructor, Johnny (Patrick Swayze), enlists Baby as his new partner, and the two fall in love. Baby’s father forbids her from seeing Johnny, but she’s determined to help him perform the last big dance of the summer.

Featuring: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston and many more.

Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Experience more than just a film screening

Enjoy a unique experience as Wine Events Company guru’s Tony and Ryan provide movie trivia throughout the event and demonstrate how to make each of the four themed cocktails on our newly refurbished stage.

Ticket Pricing

Tickets are priced at £35.95 per person (plus Eventbrite fees), and include four tasty themed cocktails. Due to government guidelines, tickets are only available to buy in bundles of two, three or four. You can buy more than one block of tickets at a time however, you will only be able to pick seats as per the seating plan. Have the time of your lives and book tickets by clicking below.

Back to the Future with Wine recap

Last Friday attendees were wowed by our unique screening of Back to the Future with Wine. The eighties sci-fi classic was screened in our Auditorium with themed wines served throughout the event. We had some great feedback including one attendee that said “Having never seen Back To The Future properly before, I went into this showing with an open mind. Not only was the film incredible (especially on the huge screen), but the wines paired with the film went down an absolute treat!”

“Tony from The Wine Events Company was also hilarious – playing the characters of Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown, giving the audience insights into specific scenes during the film and also some interesting background knowledge of the wines we were tasting throughout.”

“A fantastic night out for anyone looking for something a little more than your regular cinema screening, that’s for sure!”

Getting to Millennium Point

Millennium Point is in the Eastside of Birmingham City Centre just 5-minutes walk from Moor Street and 15-minutes from Grand Central and the tram. There is also limited parking on-site which means we’re easy to find regardless of how you travel. For more information please click here.

Want to find out more about this event?

If you require further information on this event then please head over to our dedicated landing page by clicking here.

We are delighted to announce that Asima Adnan from Dudley has been named the winner of this year’s life-changing Millennium Point Charitable Trust Scholarship, earning a fully-funded degree at Birmingham City University (BCU). This degree is joint funded by Millennium Point Charitable Trust in Partnership with Birmingham City University.

Asima’s journey to Scholarship victory

The 37-year-old mum of five is currently studying Social Science and Humanities at Dudley College, with future plans to study a degree in 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.

Pictured left to right: Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point and Scholarship winner Asima Adnan.

The Scholarship winner said “Being told I had won felt amazing – I was shocked and got quite emotional; I couldn’t believe that someone would do something like this for me.

“I feel very lucky, knowing how hard everyone has worked to raise this money and then helped me with it, makes me want to work even harder and do well. I know I have the potential to do well, I just needed the opportunity and support.

“I am so excited and looking forward to the next chapter of my life. I hope I can be an inspiration to everyone who thinks that they can’t do it, because if I can do it, you can too.”

A few words from the CEO

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point added: “We were really impressed by the quality of all the finalists; their passion, drive and knowledge of not only their own chosen subject but STEM in general.

“Asima embodies everything about the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship, which is here to support individuals with true grit and determination to succeed, and through their studies aim to have a positive influence on society in the West Midlands. Asima will be an excellent ambassador for Millennium Point Trust, proving that we can all achieve our dreams, no matter what life throws in our way. Asima will also be an excellent role model for women in STEM.”

“The scholarship is the flagship initiative from the Millennium Point Charitable Trust and exemplifies our commitment to supporting STEM; in 2020 alone, the Trust invested more than £560,000 in STEM-related organisations, projects and initiatives, based in the West Midlands.”

Identifying STEM talent

Now approaching it’s ninth year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has already changed the lives of eight people from the region through their degrees, including 2017 Sagal Qodah, who has since gone on to graduate with a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering.

Apply for the 2022 Scholarship

Each year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust jointly funds an undergraduate degree in partnership with Birmingham City University at their Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, which covers over 20 different courses across computing, digital technology, engineering and the built environment. We’re helping people across the region unlock their future in STEM. For more information on how to apply or get involved in the 2022 Scholarship program please, visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship.

After six successful coding Bootcamps including full-time, part-time and fully remote courses, the School of Code is back again this summer with a free coding boot camp for people in the West Midlands.

Starting on 26th July 2021, the Bootcamp will be full-time, intensive, and 100% FREE to all residents in the West Midlands. There are no prerequisites and no previous experience required – those applying for the course don’t even need to have seen a line of code before. School of Code takes a learner from beginner to software developer in just 16 weeks before helping them find their first role in tech.

Future proofing local tech talent

With rising automation, a changing job landscape, and the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, technology will be the engine driving the recovery of our regional economy. Dr Chris Meah, Founder of the School of Code states ‘Technology will be the engine of recovery for the country, but we need to make sure everyone is on board to benefit. At the School of Code we are open to everyone to help more and different types of people take advantage of the opportunities technology gives, and to future proof their skills and career.

These free coding bootcamps offer a short, intensive, immersive and transformational learning sprint to a new career. Bootcamps change lives and power growth by giving participants the right skills to be immediately useful to employers on day one and, most crucially, helps people to also learn how to learn.

Working together to drive success in STEM

With 125,000 unfilled tech jobs in the UK every year, our friends at the School of Code aim to equip its recruits with the skills that industry needs, as well as helping them find exciting career opportunities afterwards. School of Code’s cohorts had an enviable 75%-95% employment rate even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course prides itself on being open to anyone, with a 50:50 gender split, age-range of 18-60, and demographics matching those of Birmingham. Previous graduates have successfully secured roles at The Economist, Bravissimo, Santander, Wise, VoxPopMe, Dunelm, and many more great companies in the region.

Like the mission of the Millennium Point Charitable Trust, The School of Code hopes to challenge existing stereotypes of the tech sector and encourage diversity in the workplace by making it more accessible for everyone to enter and benefit from this thriving industry.

A Partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority

The School of Code is focused on providing a free route into tech, and is supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority through Mayor Andy Street’s “Beat the Bots” fund as well as through employers who hire through the course. They aim to continue to show more people that learning to code is fun, sociable, team-based and for everyone.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, sadly many people are going to fall out of work, but re-training or improving your current skills is a great way of finding employment again quickly. The Coding Bootcamp being offered by School of Code will help do exactly that.

“I would urge everyone of any age to look into the option of coding, and the success of people like Clare Streets, who went from being a stay-at-home mum to now running B13 Technologies, shows just what a difference it can make.”

Applications are open now for Bootcamp 7. You can enrol now by visiting: www.schoolofcode.co.uk