Applications for our charitable Trust STEM Grants programme are now open!

Our 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 region. Applications close at 5pm on Friday 8th December 2023, meaning you have got just under a month to apply. You can apply here.

We want everyone to have the best chance of success. That’s why we have put some useful tips below.

A good plan is half the work done

To get started, complete the form that can be easily downloaded from our website. Have a read through all the sections and start to complete them in as much detail as you can as this will help us when our team begin to shortlist applications.

Clearly plan what the aims of the project and how those aims will be achieved. Don’t forget to include details on how the success of the project will be measured. This is where using ‘SMART’ objectives will be useful.

Make sure your application is detailed with what activities will take place, when, and where they will be carries out will also help chances of being successful. Have a look through your budget plan and ensure it contained the correct pricing and quantities for everything you need to achieve your project.

When talking about your project look at the link between the project and the selected category choice. Make sure the connection is clear to show why you’re doing the project and how it will benefit your chosen group. Also plan about the duration of the project, will it be throughout the year, or could the project be done in a day? Can the project be repeated with the resources bought, or is it a one-off project?

For extra help the guidance and FAQ pages will help you with your application, you can always contact our friendly Trust team too STEMgrants@millenniumpoint.org.uk.

Submitting your application or grants

Have a read through your final application, ensure that it’s clear, precise and explains all about the exciting project you have planned.

After you have decided you’re happy with your application, submit it to us by email – STEMgrants@millenniumpoint.org.uk. Make sure you send it in before the 5pm on 8th December 2023.

What happens next?

Once it’s sent over, out fantastic Trust team will send you an email acknowledging receipt, you won’t hear from us again until a decision has been made. All applications will be read through by the Grants team and then moderated by a separate panel. It will finally be presented to our Trustees who will make the final decision on the successful applicants. At this stage you don’t have to do anything but wait for the good news!

Our grants help make STEM happen!

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 designing the perfect community at Lyng Primary School and Sandwell College going 3D.

Last year Millennium Point Trust saw 100 applications from not-for-profit organisations in aim of receiving a share of the grant money.

 

We may be known as home to Birmingham Film Festival and a great destination to have a film showing. But did you know our wonderful building has also been used as a backdrop for several films and tv shows?

From zombie hoards to crime fighting, we take a look back at our favourite moments.

Can you escape the aliens?

Invasion Planet Earth is about how a man loses his faith after his daughter dies, and on the day he finds out his wife is pregnant again, aliens invade the Earth.

Would be good to keep it upbeat so it doesn’t trigger anyone. Would it be appropriate to instead say:
Invasion Planet Earth follows a man who finds out his wife is pregnant and aliens are invading Earth…on the same day!

Directed by Simon Cox, various locations around Birmingham were used to complete the film, with over 900 Brummies even used for extras. Millennium Point’s Atrium was the perfect place for a chase scene down the open Atrium staircase.

Watch below for a behind the scene in Millennium Point

Can good win against evil?

As Strange as Angels is the story of when a talented artist’s destiny to change the world is destroyed, people from the future come back to restore his true path. But their mission isn’t be simple.

Directed by Matt Cannon, the film is also known as Revolution X. Viewers may spot a few scenes in the film that look familiar. Millennium Point’s glass elevators were used, although you really can’t miss them as they’re marked with a giant red X.

Watch the trailer below

The original home of Line of Duty

Steve Arnott, Ted Hastings, and Kate Fleming all called Millennium Point home in the first series of BBC crime drama Line of Duty.

Jed Mercurio’s gripping series centred on the efforts of a police anti-corruption unit to tackle corrupted coppers and transformed our meeting complex into interrogation rooms as the case of DCI Tony Gates unfolded.

Millennium Point was used for internal shots of the police headquarters – most notably in episode three of the first series – where you can see our iconic Atrium, glass elevators and space-age looking escalators.

The first series was famously filmed in Birmingham with several other landmarks and familiar sites, including the Grade II listed pub in the Jewellery Quarter, The Queens Arms, and Broad Street, is also spotted in several scenes.

The show has gone on to be recognised as one of BBC’s most successful projects and we are proud to have played our part in its opening series.

Once you’ve filmed with Millennium Point, why not host your premiere with us?

Accommodating up to 354 delegates, the Auditorium at Millennium Point is the perfect location for conferences, lectures, product launches, AGM’s, award ceremonies and film screenings. Featuring a 30m2 stage and a giant screen, this space is perfect for making a big impression. The space has multiple branding opportunities such as changing light settings to match your brand colours to truly make it tailored to you.

The Auditorium has upgraded AV equipment which involves a M32R digital mixing desk with 40 input channels, high fidelity audio, intelligent LED lighting system and Panasonic PTC-280 cameras controlled remotely for high quality live streaming. The Auditorium also includes the new Panasonic PT-RQ25 projector which will show your content on the screen in 4K. When booking Auditorium, you will also receive support from Millennium Point’s on-site AV technician to support throughout your event.

Still not convinced? Why not look at the premiere Bader Media Entertainment CIC held last year for their world premiere of horror film The Shimian.

Choose Millennium Point to shoot your cinematic masterpiece

With multiple spaces, both private and public, Millennium Point has a range of rooms that can be customised into any set-up.

Get in touch with our friendly events team to see how we can help today!

Background

Lyng Primary School’s vision is to provide a nurturing, happy, and safe environment. Surrounded by caring adults, pupils are provided with opportunities to become the best they can be. The school strive to ensure that every pupil leaves feeling confident, self-motivated, and independent so that they are ready for the next stage in their lives.

Aim of the project

Lyng Primary School’s aim was to engage all pupils in STEM by encouraging them to become ‘Lyng Architects’. They were given a design brief asking them to design and build their perfect Lyng community. The brief included a strong enthesis on being eco-friendly, promoting rewilding, and sustainability. The pupils responded with innovative designs for the community.

The designs and creations were achieved by using CAD software. The work was then 3D-printed to display in the school foyer alongside handmade examples. The project was also supported by parents who came in to help their children build their designs.

The Millennium Point Trust Grant provided the grant that allowed the school to purchase 3D printers, laptops and resources to make the project happen.

What impact has it made?

Over 500 students benefited from the Millennium Point Trust Grant. It has provided staff with amazing opportunities to plan and deliver an exciting STEM project for their class. Over 95% of students never have had the opportunity to use 3D printers or CAD software before. The grant allowed them to learn about career options that may not have been accessible to them prior.

Parents who got involved in the project had high praises for the project, one parent said ‘kids get more fun by seeing their parents working with them inside school, sitting with them together’. Another said ‘it was nice to be invited into school and involved with my child’s afternoon, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you.’

Governors were also invited to the ‘Inspire’ afternoons, one comment received mentioned ‘I really enjoyed the afternoon, it’s always great to come in and get involved with what they are working on. I thought the project was brilliant and the children had so many great ideas, I think there might be some budding engineers amongst them and clearly some pupils are cut out to be supervisors! It was great to see them all working together and making their ideas come to life. Really great event, would love to see more of these.’

Get involved with Millennium Point Trust

Our multi-award-winning charitable trust invests more than £3m each year towards furthering STEM education within the West Midlands.

Over the years we have provided funding to Scholarships, Grants, and projects that benefit the region. Find out more about our Trust and see how you can get involved here.

Background

Sandwell College is the largest provider of 16-19 year old study programmes in the West Midlands. Their mission is to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to reach their full potential, achieving a successful career in their chosen field.

Aim of the project

The aim of the project was to set up a 3D Immersive Learning Lab, introducing exciting, engaging and innovative STEM-related learning projects across the colleges curriculum, using emerging technologies such as virtual reality programming.

A series of workshops will be run to inspire students to become more engaged in STEM, promoting careers through virtual reality workplace tours, connecting with those who previously might not of seen STEM careers.

What impact has it made?

The project has begun with great success, giving students a fantastic insight into 3D modelling and virtual reality activities around STEM.

The college has partnered with Cadbury College in Kings Norton to use some of their facilities to host the equipment for students.

Through the use of iPads and VR, the students have taken part in a number of exciting activities to enhance their STEM learning. These include entering new worlds and visualising scientific concepts and diagrams, such as life-sized DNA structures.

They have also tested out Augmented Reality Cubes, which combined with a VR headset allows the students to hold the cube and they visualise holographic 3D models (such as engines, the human brain and CAD drawings) in the palm of their hands. As they rotate these around they can view them from all angles.

Moving forward the college are looking to attract more students to study STEM courses, using the equipment to engage them in a fun and effective way.

Get involved with Millennium Point Trust

Our multi-award-winning charitable trust invests more than £3m each year towards furthering STEM education within the West Midlands.

Over the years we have provided funding to Scholarships, Grants, and projects that benefit the region. Find out more about our Trust and see how you can get involved here.

Exhibitions are a great way to show off your products or skills, while being able to network and meet new potential clients. They’re also a great way to reach new audiences and boost sales.

Due to this we’ve put together a few tips to help you plan your next event.

How to plan an exhibition 

Art exhibitions are successful when planned carefully. This includes creating a visual plan and focusing on your marketing. When planning an exhibition you should consider:

If you’re looking to plan a trade show you want to make sure you fully promote your unique selling point (USP). When planning your show you want to think about:

Other things to consider include:

The venue 

Your venue determines the number of guests and exhibitors you can have at your event. You also want to make sure you choose a venue that reinforces the image you want to portray. 

Marketing

When planning an exhibition you need to consider how much money and effort you will need to put toward marketing. This will include marketing to exhibitors and attendees to persuade them on why they should attend/take part. 

Are you going to include any special guests?

Guest speakers are great for conducting seminars or talks . This can provide great talking points throughout the exhibition helping to boost networking and increase your clientele list. 

How are attendees going to get there?

When looking for a venue it’s important that you book somewhere that has easy access, transport links and parking. This will help increase attendee numbers as they’re more likely to attend if they can get there easily. 

Why host an exhibition in Birmingham? 

There are many benefits to hosting an exhibition in Birmingham, such as it having great access to transport links. There are many bus and train routes, as well as Birmingham airport being a short distance from the city centre for those travelling internationally. 

There’s also a wide range of hotel options to choose from to suit all budgets. This is especially useful if you have people travelling long distances.

Furthermore, Birmingham has loads of cultural spots to offer, such as museums and galleries, which is especially great if you’re holding an art exhibition as this will further emphasise the event you’re holding. 

Another great reason for holding your exhibition in Birmingham is the large number of businesses in the area. This poses great opportunities to increase attendance and further boost networking and future client opportunities.

Why choose Millennium Point to host your exhibition?

Millennium Point is situated right in the city centre of Birmingham near Moor Street and New Street station, as well as having lots of bus routes nearby. Those travelling by plane can also go straight from Birmingham International station to New Street station in just a couple of minutes, making it an ideal location to hold your next exhibition.

Hosting your exhibition at Millennium Point is also a great option as it’s close to various hotels like the Clayton Hotel, meaning attendees don’t need to travel far before and after the exhibition ends.

Millennium Point is also introducing 6 new spaces located next to the Auditorium that are perfect for training, presentation and exhibition purposes. If you’re looking for a space to hold smaller training events or presentations then our Curzon rooms 1-5 are perfect for you. However, if you’re looking for a larger space then our Curzon Suite might be a better option for you. 

Get in touch with us today to discover what room is perfect for you.

Background

Wood End Primary School aims to inspire confidence, happy, resilient learners who strive to be the best they can be through an engaging curriculum delivered in an inclusive environment.

They strive for positive partnerships between school, parents and their community and a shared understanding of their aims, being approachable, authentic, and honest.

Aim of the project

The school wanted to purchase Lego Spike Kits, with enough for a whole class  to work in pairs to create and program moving models.

They wanted a project that would help the pupils develop a love of engineering and computing, alongside an appreciation of how these skills are used in the world around them. From this the children would see the impact of STEM and the career options available to them.

What impact has it made?

The club has started with great success. The pupils have already made and controlled various  Lego  structures – such as carousels. The club also has a great intake of female pupils, who are traditionally underrepresented in the field, and are interested in learning how to code.

On some sessions, the school branched out invites to the pupils’ parents to join in.

One parent from the session said ‘STEM’s important to children’s education because it gives them a big scope of careers when they’re older’.

Their first project was how to program a space rover to move and detect an object. At the beginning, the pupils will explore the purpose of a rover looking at real life examples of Mars rover and the engineers who have created them. They then went on to build and control a rover including a motion and tilt sensor and programmed the model using coding and debugging.

After the initial project, the pupils will launch the design and make competition on how to find solutions to solve ‘real life’ problems. Along with parent workshops, they will also invite people from the industry to talk about their STEM career choice and have Q&A sessions with the pupils. Parents will also be invited to judge the winner of the competition.

Get involved with Millennium Point Trust

Our multi-award-winning charitable trust invests more than £3m each year towards furthering STEM education within the West Midlands.

Over the years we have provided funding to Scholarships, Grants, and projects that benefit the region. Find out more about our Trust and see how you can get involved here.

 

Hall Green School is a secondary school located in Birmingham, with a track record of high standards and inclusivity for pupils of all backgrounds and abilities.

The challenge

The school’s budget had  become stretched with increasingly less money available for significant investment in equipment. They realised that, even with a money-saving plan, only basic equipment could be purchased which risked leaving their pupils uninspired.

Hall Green wanted to use the Millennium Point Trust Grant to fund their STEM week. Their aim was to inspire young people to learn about STEM careers such as engineering, science and other jobs that they may have never thought were accessible to them.

What impact has it made?

The Grant paid for workshops throughout the week including hiring a planetarium so students could travel through the stars in an immersive environment.

Hall Green School also launched a stargazing club for interested students who could learn about space, physics, and other astronomy topics.

Tying in with STEM week the school ran a competition to create a project on space with STEM prizes on offer. Talented students created posters, dioramas, and essays all around space and technology. The winner created a model of an astronaut walking on the moon and wrote a story about an alien visiting Earth for the first time. Four talented runners up also won prizes including a telescope, museum tickets and a light-up model of the moon.

Why did they receive a Grant?

When visiting Hall Green it was instantly reaffirmed why they deserved the Grant. The teachers who were strong ambassadors of STEM wanted to promote why knowing about space was important in the curriculum. They spoke about how in the future there is a possibility that people will visit the Moon again, as well as potentially voyage to Mars. This generation of students will most likely be the people working on these projects in their careers, heightening the importance of teaching it as a career option and school topic now.

Discover more about Millennium Point Trust

Our multi-award-winning charitable trust invests more than £3m each year towards furthering STEM education within the West Midlands.

Over the years we have provided funding to Scholarships, Grants and projects that benefit the region. Find out more about our Trust in our brand new brochure here.

It’s already widely known that females are massively underrepresented in STEM education, but what is being done to change this? Currently females make up 28% of the science, engineering, technology and maths workforce, highlighting that males outnumber females in the STEM industry.

What is STEM Education?

STEM education is all about teaching students science, technology, engineering and maths.

Rather than teaching these subjects separately, STEM uses a combined applied approach to encourage and better equip students to consider careers within STEM.

Why is there a lack of females in STEM Education?

There is a noticeable difference between the amount of females and males in STEM education that decreases continually after GCSE level education. After GCSEs, only 35% of females choose to study STEM subjects, with this decreasing to 25% of females choosing to study them at university.

Students, and people more generally, are often misled into thinking that STEM subjects are ‘meant for boys’ which can therefore be off-putting for girls to apply for or sit in classes where they may be one of a few girls or even the only girl in the class.

How can we change this and encourage more girls to apply for STEM subjects and consider a career in the industry?

Improve job satisfaction

Research shows that 1 in 10 girls want a job that makes a contribution to society. Due to this, more should be done to highlight that studying STEM subjects can lead to a career where girls can meet their ambitions to make a contribution to society. This will help close the gender gap by encouraging more girls to study STEM subjects relating to their aspirations.

Showcase more role models in STEM industries

Showcasing more female role models in STEM industries will help encourage girls to consider STEM subjects and careers as they can be inspired by someone more like them. This could be done by including more female role models in school career days.

Furthermore, universities could have more female lecturers, helping encourage girls to pursue university degrees, by providing a female role model that understands the career path they want to pursue.

What problems do females face in STEM industries?

Over half of females in a male dominated STEM workplace have felt some kind of discrimination while at work.

Furthermore, 1 in 5 women stated that, before the Me Too movement, they felt being female had held them back from succeeding at work and gaining promotions.

Women also face problems such as:

What can education and not for profit leaders do to close the gender gap?

Education and not for profit leaders can make small changes to the way schools deliver STEM education to females to help close the gender gap.

For example education and not for profit  leaders could:

Generate excitement

Generating excitement around the creative opportunities STEM education can give to females could help encourage them to further study science, technology, engineering and maths.

Excitement can be generated by:

Provide hands-on experience

With 47% of women saying they learn best with hands-on experience, it’s important to mix theory with hands-on learning. This allows all types of learners to access teaching in the way that best suits them, helping them thrive in STEM education and making them more likely to study these subjects in further education.

Hands on experience can be provided by:

Encourage a growth mindset

Encouraging a growth mindset among both students and teachers will help to open doors into the STEM industry and encourage teachers to do more to support students going into STEM related subjects.

Encouraging a growth mindset could be done by:

How have female positions in STEM education changed since 2015?

In physical sciences and engineering and tech, the percentage of female graduates has increased since 2015, however there has only been a tiny improvement. Similarly, female graduates in mathematical sciences decreased by 1% in 2018/2019 compared to 2015/16. However, female graduates in computer science dropped between 2016 and 2017, but increased to 16% of graduates in 2018/2019.

While it’s great that we’re seeing an increase in female graduates in STEM related subjects, it’s clear that there’s a lot more educators and not for profit organisations can be doing to help encourage more females to enter STEM related subjects.

How can Millennium Point help close the gender gap in STEM education?

The Millennium Point Charitable Trust has created the STEM roundtable to help bring together STEM industries, primary and secondary education, further education and not-for-profits in STEM sectors.

What’s the purpose of the working group?

Get in touch with our Trust Team today to see how you can get involved in closing the gender gap in STEM.

Background

The Dorothy Parkes Centre is an award-winning community centre based in Smethwick, an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands. They provide a safe place of welcome and opportunity for the local and wider community.

There is a variety of groups, classes, and activities that are available at the centre which all aim to help tackle local issues.

Aim of the project

The Centre had the aim to deliver eight science shows, during the school holidays over a twelve-month period and engage an audience who would not normally participate in learning in environments like this. The three-hour long sessions were themed around seasonal times of the year. They were led by science communicators from award-winning STEM organisation Femtinos.

Continuing, the aim with the project was to also raise the profile of STEM skills and careers. Dorothy Parkes thought that the members of the local community did not know the value of STEM and how it was linked to a diverse range of careers.

What impact has it made?

A £20,000 grant was awarded to Dorothy Parkes Centre. The project was popular in the area with a range of events happening throughout the year. Halloween, Easter & Commonwealth were all fun and interesting themes to engage the young community. Each session welcomed 50 young people and 50 parents to take part.

To build on the grants legacy, sessions were filmed and then uploaded to YouTube for wider audiences to view and the accessibility to do it from home.

‘We are delighted to have had the opportunity to run this project for the last twelve months. The quality of the shows and the feedback received was fantastic and it will be missed. A lot of families commented on what a great offer it was during the school holidays and the fact it was educational helped the children and even some of the parents.’

Why did they receive the grant?

The centre wanted the local community to view the centre as a one stop hub for the community. STEM was completely missing from the schedule and they hope they can continue the sessions for the wider community.

The project application was all about the advancement of STEM and education for the public benefit within the Smethwick area of Sandwell. The Dorothy Parkes Centre wanted to address the STEM skills gap through education and re-education of STEM skills for children and parents.

Here at Millennium Point we offer grant funding to help support companies and charities improve engagement within STEM related subjects. 

Below are a few examples of Schools Millennium Point has helped through grants and funding.

Longwill School for the Deaf – Sensory STEM 

Longwill is based in Northfield, Birmingham and is a specialist school for deaf children aged between 2 and 11. The school is underpinned by a sign-bilingual philosophy that encourages the fullest possible development through early communication.

What challenge did Longwill face?

The school came to us wanting help to create ways for pupils to develop an interest and understanding in science through using speech and sign language. The small grant is being used to purchase 10 visualises and compound microscopes which are high impact learning tools. These can be used in STEM lessons to magnify flowers, leaves, skeletons or fossils onto screens to help children develop a scientific understanding.

What impact has this made?

This has given 50 children between 3 and 11 the opportunity to engage in scientific activities in ways they previously hadn’t been able to. 

The school received a small grant as they presented an outside-of-the-box approach to inspiring children with disabilities to engage with  STEM subjects.

To read more about the Longwill School for Deaf, click here.

Aston Villa Foundation – ‘STEM Stars’

The Aston Villa Foundation is a registered charity in charge of the community and social responsibility work of Aston Villa Football Club. Their mission is ‘working together to enrich lives’. They work with a variety of backgrounds in Birmingham and support Aston Villa’s wider family as well. 

What did the foundation need help with?

STEM Stars introduced a new STEM programme in six schools within a 3 mile radius of Villa Park, where funding will be used to buy a Sphero robot package to help teach young people coding through using football. 

The programme aims to encourage young people to better engage with STEM education and raise aspirational levels, as the areas around Villa Park are both educationally and income deprived. 

What impact has this made?

The STEM programme has allowed young people to engage with computer science in ways they wouldn’t previously be able to access.

The programme gained a small grant as they identified key problems in the area while providing imaginative solutions to STEM related issues. 

To read more about the Aston Villa foundation, click here.

Ahead Partnership – STEMfestWM

Ahead Partnership is a leading social enterprise aiming to connect children with employers to promote education and employability while raising awareness of STEM careers. 

The project

The project involves a week-long festival with employers and 250 students chosen from secondary schools and FE sixth forms/colleges across the West Midlands. The festival aims to enthuse young people in STEM and build a stronger talent pipeline. 

What impact has this made?

The project impacted 250 pupils, 16 schools and 2 further education colleges. Students have also developed confidence through participating in events and have developed an understanding of how their learning links to different careers. 

The partnership gained a small grant due to its extensive portfolio of successes in engaging young people in education and equipping them with the skills and links needed for the industry. 

To learn more about the Ahead Partnership, click here.

Trinity School – STEM Room

Trinity High School is a co-educational academy school for 13-18 year olds located in central Redditch.  

The challenge

Students at the school are highly interested in STEM, however the school was previously unable to provide them the resources they needed. The solution to this was to transform an old art room into a new STEM room, fitted with computers and CAD/CAM machinery to provide learning within ICT, Maths and Science.

What impact has this made?

The project has enhanced  teaching of the STEM curriculum and has allowed the school to expand their after school STEM activities. The room is also being used as a STEM learning hub for other schools, helping to expand STEM skills across the area. 

The school gained a small grant due to them demonstrating how the project would impact both the school and the wider community. 

To learn more about Trinity high school’s STEM project, click here.

King Solomon International Business School: Breaking the barriers to STEM

King Solomon International Business School is Birmingham’s first Christian free school with 1,200 students aged 4-19. 

The school aims to close the diversity gap through a fully realised STEM programme of extracurricular activities, helping encourage students to consider a STEM career path. 

How did we help to fund this programme?

Millennium Point has helped fund multiple extracurricular activities, including:

What impact did this have?

The projects aim to engage everyone in the school in STEM related activities, having a positive impact on 1,200 students between 4 and 19 years old.

The school gained a small grant as King Solomon School demonstrated a clear passion for STEM and provided a clear objective for increasing diversity in STEM. 

To learn more about the King Solomon project click here.

To learn more about how Millennium Point’s grants can help you impact STEM education, get in touch with us today.