Blog Archives - Page 24 of 34

The deadline for our life-changing fully funded undergraduate scholarship at Birmingham City University has been extended to 28th February 2021

Each year, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust fully fund an undergraduate degree at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, which covers over 20 different courses across computing, digital technology, engineering and the built environment. Now in its seventh year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has already funded six young people from the region through their degrees at Birmingham City University.

Young people in education are among those most impacted over the past 12 months by the pandemic causing uncertainty and anxiety over final grades and their future. This has caused a dramatic increase in young people taking to time to carefully consider their futures. After listening closely to the anxieties of young people and feedback from schools and colleges across the region, we have taken the decision to extend the deadline for applications to our life-changing fully funded scholarship from the end of January to 28th February 2021.

The objective of the Millennium Point Scholarship, and the Millennium Point Charitable Trust, is to give young people the support and encouragement they need to unlock their future in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The offer of a fully-funded undergraduate degree is more appealing than ever to young people in the region with value for money being a key driver in applying to uni. With the decision to extend the deadline of the scholarship project this year by four weeks, we are hoping to offer respite and reassurance to students by giving them extra time to apply for this unmissable opportunity to have their tuition fees paid for.

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 2021. To apply, they need to download and complete our quick and easy application form from our website by answering four questions. They will then submit their completed form to [email protected] by Sunday 28th February 2021. We will invite five applicants to a final assessment day in April 2021 before deciding a winner.

Why apply?
If you win you we’ll pay your tuition fees. If you make it to the shortlist you get a range of benefits and support that develop your core skills and create opportunities to help you kick start your career in science, technology, engineering and maths. You have nothing to lose by applying.

Get started
If you or someone you know is interested, head over to millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship to download the application form before midnight on 28th February 2021.

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.

The Millennium Point Charitable Trust has joined the Connect_In campaign to help the hundreds of families who have fallen victim to ‘digital poverty’, by not only donating refurbished laptops but acting as a drop-off and collection point for donations.

What is the Campaign?

Launched by The Child Poverty Action Forum and supported by Wowdot CIC, the Connect_In campaign aims to ensure the most disadvantaged families are receiving the help that they need with homeschooling during the pandemic, in the form of laptops and a stable internet connection.

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point, commented: “Education and STEM are in the trust’s DNA, so it was clear to us that we had to get involved with the Connect_In campaign.

“It’s essential that every child has access to education and digital provision during the pandemic, to give everyone the same life chances and to prevent the “huge gap” between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their peers. We’ll not only be serving as a hub for drop-off and collection of laptops, but we’re committed to donating thousands of laptops to disadvantaged local school children too.”

Ongoing support for STEM in the region

Despite a year rocked by covid-19, the Millennium Point Charitable Trust amassed multi-millions in contributions and donations in 2020 as part of its mission to provide continued support for the region’s STEM sector; this has included funding more than 40 projects in the form of small grants to fund STEM-related projects in the region; working with Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and The Built Environment to offer a free undergraduate degree through the Millennium Point Scholarship, with applications for the seventh year is open now; an annual donation to ThinkTank Science Museum and rent reductions for STEM tenants.

Abbie comments: “This is another example of our continued investment in STEM-related organisations, projects and initiatives that benefit Birmingham and the wider region, which has totalled more than £25m over the past six years.”

Donated laptops can be dropped off at Millennium Point reception on Level 0; to find out more about the campaign, go to https://wow-group.co.uk/wowdot/

IMage caption (left to right): Cas Majid (CEO of WOW Group), Abbie Vlahakis (Millennium Point CEO) and Bevil Williams (Managing Director at Repc Ltd) delivering laptops and equipment to Highfields School in Saltley

Press enquiries please contact Jon Perks or Allyson Loots at CAB Campaign – [email protected] / [email protected]

At Millennium Point, we are offering a fully paid undergraduate degree for one student to join Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment as we look to boost STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning across the West Midlands. The deadline for applications for our fully funded degree ends at midnight on 28th Feberuary.

Here, in this blog, we take a look at the story of Cal Henderson, Chief Technology Officer at Slack. Cal graduated from the same faculty in which we are offering a fully-funded scholarship – Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, with a degree in software engineering in 2002 (equivalent to a computer science degree today).

Who is Cal Henderson?
Cal was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University in recognition of his contribution to the technology field. After graduating from the University in 2002 with a degree in Software Engineering, Cal jas enjoyed an illustrious career in the tech industry since graduating. In 2006, Cal wrote the best-selling book “Building Scalable Websites” and is currently working on a second edition. In his spare time, he continues to publish articles on web application development and contribute to open source projects. He is colour blind and has worked on applications to make the web more accessible for people with the condition.

He co-founded software company Slack in 2013, with three colleagues with their creation going on to be a major hit with users. Slack is a collaboration hub for teams at work, which brings together the people you need, the information you share, and the tools you use. Boasting more than 10 million users, the company recently made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange earning an estimated valuation of over $17 billion.

Cal was named as Birmingham City University’s Alumni of the Year in 2016 in recognition of his achievements and is now recognised with the University’s highest honorary accolade. On receiving the accolade, Henderson commented: “When I was a kid and thought I could one day work at Microsoft – it never occurred to me that I could build a company that might become the next Microsoft. Silicon Valley is a long way from Birmingham, and a university education opens up a world of possibilities.”

“I now lead a team of almost 100 engineers building a variety of applications and distributed systems that a million people rely on every day. While I spend most of my time these days in meetings rather than a text editor, the engineering knowledge and understanding that I gained at university is crucial for running an engineering organisation.”

Unlock your future with a fully funded degree
Your journey can start like Cal’s at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment and you won’t have to pay tuition fees. We are offering a fully-funded undergraduate degree – that’s over £27,000 you will never have to pay back – to study one of over 20 courses including computer science, video games design, computer forensics and cybersecurity.

The application form is quick, easy and could be the start of a life-changing opportunity. Deadline for applications is 28th February 2021, for further information or to apply please visit www.millenniumpoiint.org.uk/scholarship

Our Chief Executive talked about the importance of our fully-funded university scholarship in an interview with Nikki Tapper on her evening show on BBC Radio WM last Sunday.

The Millennium Point Scholarship offers a fully funded undergraduate degree to one young person each year in the West Midlands at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. Applications are open for 2021 and close on midnight 31st January 2021. To start your application or find out more information please visit millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship.

Talking STEM on BBC WM
CEO of Millennium Point Abbie Vlahakis featured on Nikki Tapper’s Sunday evening show on BBC Radio WM on Sunday 24th January 2021. The host interviewed Abbie on the importance of STEM as well as the life-changing fully funded scholarship that Millennium Point is offering to students in the West Midlands. You can listen back to the interview by following this link and skipping to 01:23:00.

Speaking to the host, Abbie discussed how the Millennium Point Charitable Trust is working with schools to break down the stigma of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers through the scholarship by funding a range of STEM-related degrees including video game design, film production, digital technology, cybersecurity among more traditional STEM subjects such as construction and engineering.

Abbie comments: “Children don’t realise the opportunities that are out there […] STEM subjects are not necessarily white lab coats […] they’re problem-solving careers, they’re creative careers. Don’t think of STEM as something that is feared.”

Other topics discussed included the importance of diversity in STEM, briefly mentioning world-famous mathematician Katherine Johnson whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and the subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights; and the need to encourage more people of colour into STEM subjects. Past winners and finalists of the scholarship, now in its seventh year, have included a range of students from diverse ethnic, social and economic backgrounds from across the region looking to pursue a spectrum of subjects from civil engineering the music technology.

Deadline for 2021 applications
The application is quick and easy with a simple application form which can be downloaded from our website and submitted to [email protected] before midnight on 31st January 2021. A shortlist of finalists will then be chosen to take part in an assessment day in early March.

Sagal, who won the scholarship in 2017, comments about her experience of winning the life-changing scholarship: “Winning the scholarship has given me the confidence to yes to every opportunity and as a result, I am working in a field that I am passionate about. I would definitely advise you to apply for the scholarship if you’re thinking of studying a STEM degree at BCU!”

Sagal graduated with first-class honours in Civil Engineering last year and now works full time for esteemed international engineering company Jacobs.

Photo caption: L/R – Hanifah Shah (BCU), Abbie Vlahakis (Millennium Point) Shennice Talburt (Scholarship winner 2020) Professor Nick Morton (BCU)

For further information on the fully-funded scholarship or to start your application please visit www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship

The deadline for our life-changing fully funded undergraduate scholarship at Birmingham City University is midnight on 31st January 2021.

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 2021. To apply, they need to download and complete our quick and easy application form from our website by answering four questions. They will then submit their completed form to [email protected] by Sunday 31st January 2021. We will invite five applicants to a final assessment day in March 2021 before deciding a winner.

Get started
If you or someone you know is interested, head over tomillenniumpoint.org.uk/scholarship to download the application form before 31st January 2021.

We are delighted to report that the Millennium Point Charitable Trust has contributed more than £25m over the past six years to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) across the West Midlands.

Profits from the commercial activity from the building and venue go towards trust.

CEO Abbie Vlahakis standing next to Jean McLeod of the PSP at King Solomon International Business School.

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point said: “This year has highlighted the significant role STEM plays in the world today, from medical breakthroughs to technology that keeps us all connected. We’re immensely proud of the quality and breadth of STEM-related projects that the Millennium Point Charitable Trust has been able to support. The Trust has made a significant difference in the region and, particularly with projects such as our scholarship, it’s encouraging to see young people taking a real interest in STEM as a future career.”

Where does the money come from?
All of the commercial activity that takes place in the landmark building and multi-award-winning conference and events venue feeds back into the charity. The charity then donates and invest in STEM-related organisations, projects and initiatives that benefit Birmingham and the wider region.

For further information on the charity or the venue please get in touch with our team.

Press enquiries please contact Jon Perks or Allyson Loots at CAB Campaign – [email protected] / [email protected]

Our landmark venue opened its doors on Monday 11th January as the first NHS mass vaccination site in Birmingham. The centre is run by the NHS in Birmingham and Solihull as part of the regions Covid-19 vaccination programme and will vaccinate up to 2,500 people a day and play a vital role in protecting lives, and in supporting the recovery of our region.

Five days on we take a closer look at how the first week of having this life-changing vaccine has gone.

As part of its support for the vaccine centre, Birmingham City Council has gifted use of the multi-storey car park based on Jennens Road, to enable NHS patients attending their vaccination appointments to park free of charge. Millennium Point is also easily accessible on foot from New Street, Moor Street and Snow Hill Stations is well served by local bus routes and is a 10-minute walk from the city centre.

Please note: Only attend the vaccination centre at Millennium Point once you have confirmation of an appointment.

For information about receiving vaccinations in Birmingham and Solihull please visit www.birminghamandsolihullcovidvaccine.nhs.uk/ or call 119

For information about vaccinations at Millennium Point please see www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/nhs

Our landmark venue, Millennium Point, will become the first Covid-19 mass vaccination centre to operate in the Midlands.

The centre will be run by the NHS in Birmingham and Solihull as part of the region’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. It will be run on a strictly appointment only basis, with the NHS contacting people directly to book their appointments over the coming days.

Commenting on the announcement, Abbie Vlahakis, CEO at Millennium Point, said:

“We are very proud to be able to support NHS staff in delivering the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Birmingham. We are working closely with the NHS in Birmingham and Solihull, partners, staff and volunteers, to provide a crucial service to thousands of people across the region.

“It’s important that we’re clear with the public that this centre will be operating by appointment only, so they should not attend unless they have already been directly contacted by the NHS and have an appointment booked. We would like to thank everyone in advance for supporting us and the NHS to ensure that the centre can operate as efficiently as possible.

“Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods in Birmingham and the opening of this mass vaccination centre represents a vital next step in the region’s recovery from the pandemic. We are delighted that Millennium Point can play its part in making this happen.”

As well as being a landmark building and events business, Millennium Point is an award-winning not-for-profit Charitable Trust, with all profits from its activities as an event, conference and exhibition space being reinvested to support science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) related projects, initiatives and organisations across the West Midlands.

Abbie Vlahakis continues: “The mission of our Charitable Trust is to advance science, technology, engineering and maths for the benefit of the public, so it’s a great honour to work in partnership with the NHS to deliver this ground-breaking vaccination programme. It’s thanks to incredible advances in research that we stand ready to roll-out the region’s biggest ever mass immunisation project and we’re committed to doing all we can in support.”

For information about vaccinations at Millennium Point please see www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/nhs

For all press enquiries, please contact:

Ruth Pipkin              [email protected]
Rachel Worthing        [email protected]
Grace Coniry            [email protected]

The saying goes “Eat, Drink and be Merry”, so despite the new restrictions we plan on doing just that! Christmas is well underway and the team at Millennium Point is back with another list of awesome ideas to make your Christmas that little bit more Brummie! As always, businesses listed are in no particular order and are by no means the only Brummie independents on offer, a quick google will show you loads more or you can check out sites like Independent Birmingham or Birmingham Updates who have their own lists of independents. Here are 3 ideas for Christmas Treats that Support Local Brummie businesses!

Wine & Cheese
There are very few things in life that are better than cheese, and having a cheese board is the staple for many of us at Christmas time. Add wine into the mix and it’s pretty much what dreams are made of, with both components bursting with their own unique flavours which pair with each other surprisingly well. With that in mind, Arch 13 at Connolly’s Wine, Jewellery Quarter, is a wine bar and retail experience which showcases unique wines, great cheese and meat platters and pairings between the two. Right now, they are offering some excellent Christmas cheese boards which include locally sourced chutney. It also goes without saying that they have an abundance of sensational wine to keep your Christmas merry. Check them out here.

Locally Brewed Festive Beers & Beer Crackers
Birmingham is a hotbed for micro-breweries with around 15 of them in operation from the the crisp IPAs of Indian Brewery Company, the funky ice cream flavours of Burning Soul, or the zany and totally vegan Rock & Roll Brewhouse. With the ongoing measures a lot of these places are now doing an array of home deliveries of their choice favourites alongside gifts, merchandise and more. For the ultimate festive vibes however, we wanted to talk about Backyard Brewhouse and their selection of seasonal thirst quenchers. Bad Santa, Kris Kringle and Sanity Claus have all been specially brewed for the season. Bad Santa (6.8%) is a full bodied, tawny special bitter. Sanity Claus (5%) is a double dry hopped beer with a light sweet note. Amber in hue, it has a blend of hops like Mosaic and Citra to create a big tropical flavour. Our festive favourite however, is Kris Kringle (4.3%) for both look and taste. Light red in colour, Kris Kringle is a full bodied golden ale with a delicate blend of spice and orange giving you that warm and cosy festive feeling. Backyard Brewhouse also stock beer crackers, with a mystery bottle of beer in each cracker! These are great stocking fillers or could even replace the traditional crackers on the dinner table.

Hand Crafted Christmas Cupcakes
It’s a fact that calories don’t count at Christmas time, and even if they did, any guilt can be instantly nulled by the phrase “Oh go on then, it IS Christmas”. For a mouthwatering festive treat look no further than the Christmas Cupcakes from Kiss Me Cupcakes. This local cake studio in West Heath, is everything we love in an indepentent – ethically sourced ingredients, creative in their artistry and products made with passion. Now you can celebrate the magic of Christmas with a festive selection of cupcakes decorated with adorable reindeer, holly and robins in 4 four flavours. That’s not all they do, with a variety of other festive treats to enjoy alongside the cupcakes such as Christmas Tree Brownies. These are handmade in their cake studio and delivered directly to your door.

There you have it! While Christmas is a little different this year, there is no better excuse than to enjoy it as much as possible and feel good doing it knowing that you are helping small businesses have a Christmas too! Share your top picks for festive treats from local Brummies over on social media and tag in @millenniumpoint.

About the Author
This article was written by Chloe, an alumnus of the Millennium Point Scholarship in 2020. Chloe is an aspiring young engineer who is currently undertaking a degree in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Warwick as part of an apprenticeship with design & engineering consultancy, Atkins. Her lifelong passion is Motorsport, which she hopes to pursue a career after her studies. She aims to inspire the next generation of engineers through her work, with a particular focus on bringing more women into engineering and motorsports.
Follow on LinkedIn

What has STEM ever done for us?
Well, if you look past the attempt at a Monty Python reference, quite a lot, actually! In a time where uncertainty reigns and the education system is facing (likely) its biggest challenge yet, it is interesting to see the strength of one career area: STEM. STEM is the combination of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, though is also recognised by some as STEAM with the arts now beginning to be incorporated. We all rely on STEM massively; yet often do not realise this. As a young person just beginning to step into STEM at the end of my mandatory education it is clear to me that we need to highlight not only the importance of careers in STEM but also the potential for excitement and job satisfaction these jobs have for young people. By the end of the next few minutes, I will have hopefully given you an insight into why careers in STEM are important to us all.

Why STEM?
I was first drawn to STEM at quite a young age. I grew up surrounded by a number of family members and friends of the family who were involved in engineering and STEM. I would often try and join in when we were having building work done on the house or would want to watch my Dad working away in the garage to repair or come up with a solution for something. As I continued to grow older, I became LEGO obsessed (which, quite understandably, is even the case for many adults). I always wanted to know how things were made and why they worked. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realised this way of thinking could actually be a career.

From building blocks to building a career.

At the point where I had to start making decisions about my future, STEM seemed like the way to go; I could have a job where I could design, fix and innovate all while making a positive difference through my work. For example, without STEM we wouldn’t have X-rays to help us when we get injured (I learnt the importance of this being a quite adventurous child), or our water supply and sanitation systems which we all see as a necessity in modern times. Even the day-to-day is full of STEM – like sending a message to a friend using an app that has been developed by programmers for a phone which has been constructed by a team of engineers and technicians. Without these necessities, our lives would be very different in a negative way.

Remote working and learning has only been made possible through the advancements in digital and technology

Why STEM now?
While the current pandemic has stretched our healthcare system further than ever before and put a stop to ‘normal’ life, people working in STEM (including scientists and engineers) have worked hard to reduce the strain the virus has put on us all. Many engineers, designers and even students utilised 3D printers to manufacture additional PPE equipment for our healthcare workers who needed it. F1 teams banded together to help design and manufacture ventilators to help hospitals care for those in need of medical attention and scientists are still working hard to find a cure for this virus. The clear benefits of this hard work really drive home the point that STEM careers are key in the continuing fight against Covid-19 and whatever may be thrown at the world next. It doesn’t end at using STEM to combat the virus. Without the innovations in digital and tech, remote working and learning would not have been possible. Many more businesses would have been impacted more severely, which have resulted in even more job losses and a bigger impact on the economy. The impact on education was hard-hitting for school leavers like me, but at least through the use of technology, we could still get through it.

Millennium Point offers funding for STEM education and a fully-funded STEM degree at Birmingham City University.

It is essential that going into the future we not only encourage young people to follow careers in STEM but also support them to see it through. We as young people are the future innovators, the future leaders and will be the future of STEM in years to come, in roles that have not even been conceived yet. This is especially important for female students and those of minority races, genders and sexualities, who often feel discouraged from working in STEM due to hostile atmospheres and workplaces. This matters because without diversity we are minimising the talent pool and hindering progress which impacts every facet of our society. According to the IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology), only 13% of the people working in STEM are female. More must be done to help and encourage girls to pursue and remain in STEM careers to continue to innovate further.

STEM is essential and now, more than ever, we each have the responsibility to support that growth by acting now to support the world of tomorrow.

Start Your Career in STEM With the Millennium Point Scholarship

Millennium Point is offering a fully funded undergraduate degree at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. Applications are open now until 31st January 2021. This unique opportunity is open to people over 17 looking to start a STEM degree, and includes a wealth of development opportunities to further kickstart your career.