PRESS RELEASE
24 March 2011
THALES SUPPORTS THE ‘BIG BANG’ 2011
Thales UK’s graduates and apprentices at the Big Bang, from left:
Tom Maule, Samantha Ridgway Jennifer Forrest, Matthew Slade, Matthew Mead, Ademola
Adebiyi, Naomi Mitchison, Fraz Khan, Hardik Makrani.
Thales UK has once again supported the ‘Big Bang’ science and engineering fair for school and
college students, held at London’s ExCel Centre from 10-12 March. This fun event is designed
to make science and engineering come alive for young people.
Following on from the success of the previous two years, this year’s Big Bang fair attracted an
estimated 35,000 young people, making it the UK’s biggest celebration of science and engineering.
On the Thales stand, designed and managed by graduates and apprentices, students had the
chance to get hands-on experience of some of the technologies produced by the company, including
a thermal imaging camera, data protection systems and navigation equipment being used by
soldiers in battle.
As well as giving thousands of nine-to-19-year-olds an opportunity to see and use technology,
it also gave them a chance to learn more about potential careers in science, technology,
engineering and maths.
Students visiting the event had the chance to meet graduates from a range of Thales sites,
including Crawley, London, Wells and Glasgow, and representing a range of engineering
disciplines and market sectors. They were able to ask questions about their jobs, what they
think of the graduate programme and what made them want to become engineers.
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PRESS RELEASE
The Big Bang saw the start of National Science & Engineering Week (NSEW), a 10-day
celebration of science, engineering and technology that ran from the 11-20 March 2011 and
saw people of all ages taking part in, and organising, a vast array of events across the country.
Following the event, graduate Samantha Ridgway, who was among the team that organised the
Thales presence at the Big Bang, said: “This has been a hugely popular event, and has given us
the chance to portray Thales UK’s wide range of technology.”
“By manning our Big Bang stand with graduates and apprentices it allowed us to speak directly
to young people to encourage them to think about possible jobs in this industry, and with a
good mix of genders supporting the stand it helped overcome the stereotype that this is a male
dominated industry.
“We had lots of interaction throughout the day, and it was a great experience for the visiting
youngsters as well as for the graduates running the stand who were able to share their
experience and encourage more people to think about a career in science and engineering.”
Victor Chavez, Thales UK’s Chief Executive, says: “Thales UK employs 8,000 people throughout
all regions of the UK, with a high proportion of them being highly trained in science, technology
and engineering disciplines. It is therefore essential that we do every¬thing we can to encourage
the next generation of scientists and engineers, and this is why we are so enthusiastic about
supporting the Big Bang event and host our own events around our sites in support of NSEW.
We believe very strongly that this type of activity is crucial in raising the profile of engineering in
the minds of young people as an exciting career for their future.”
Among the graduates and apprentices running the Thales stand at the Big Bang were:
•production engineer Samantha Ridgway, software engineer Tom Maule, supportability
engineer Fraz Khan, hardware engineer Naomi Mitchison, from Thales’s Crawley site.
•product line management supporter Jennifer Forrest from Glasgow.
•rail signalling engineers Hardik Makrani, Matthew Slade, Nelli Alexandrou and Martin Cooper,
rail signalling designers Jamie Skinner and David Light (both apprentices), installation, testing
and maintenance engineers Glynn Taylor and Matthew Mead (both apprentices) all from
Thales’s St Katherine’s Dock site in London.
•systems engineer Ademola Adebiyi from Wells.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
NATIONAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING WEEK (NSEW) is a 10-day celebration of science,
engineering and technology, which will run from the 12-21 March 2011. Last year around 1.4m
people attended over 3,500 events across the UK and this year we aim to make it even bigger!
National Science and Engineering Week is coordinated by the British Science Association,
funded by DIUS (Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills), in partnership with
Engineering UK and is made possible by the hard work and effort of hundreds of event
organisers around the country.
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PRESS RELEASE
ABOUT THALES AND THALES UK
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace and Space, Defence, Security and
Transportation markets. In 2009, the company generated revenues of £11.5bn (€12.9bn)
with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales
has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that
meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint,
with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.
Thales UK employs 8,000 staff based at 40 locations. In 2009, Thales UK’s revenues were
around £1.5bn.
PRESS CONTACT:
Thales UK
Kathryn Bell
M:+44 7813 903274
E: [email protected]
www.thalesgroup.com/uk