SmartSTEMs marks ten years with Glasgow event focused on equity and early access to STEM

Returning to Glasgow Caledonian University a decade after its founding, the charity hosts 500 students as it reflects on national reach and future direction.

SmartSTEMs, a UK-based education charity focused on broadening access to STEM, is marking its ten-year anniversary with an event at Glasgow Caledonian University, the same location where its first student outreach event was held in 2015. The milestone event will welcome 500 young people and is supported by digital services firm Atos.

Founded by Stuart Macdonald through a corporate social responsibility initiative at Glasgow cyber security firm SERIC, SmartSTEMs has since evolved into a national organization. Its stated mission is to ensure that all young people, regardless of background, gender, location, or belief, have equal access to STEM education and career opportunities.

To date, the organization has reached more than 70,000 students and worked with over 5,500 schools across the UK.

Program design rooted in early intervention

SmartSTEMs focuses on students aged 10 to 14—a stage identified as critical for influencing long-term engagement with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Its programs now include not only large-scale events, but also in-classroom activities and collaborations with academic and industry partners.

Stuart Macdonald, founder of SmartSTEMs, says: “What began as a one-off idea to support young people into STEM careers quickly revealed a gap far wider than we expected. We didn’t set out to start a charity, but the response from schools, young people and industry partners made it clear, this work was needed. We know that great things happen when great people get involved; ten years later, we and our partners have had the privilege of working with tens of thousands of young people, and we’re only just getting started.”

A teacher from Hillhead Primary adds: “Our pupils… enjoyed everything from bridge building and code breaking to plumbing and wheel fitting. These events open up the world of STEM as a place where anything is possible for young learners, and STEM as a way we can shape the world we want. This is why we love SmartSTEMs and hope it continues and grows for many years to come.”