There seems to be a lot of doom and gloom when it comes to the future of science and engineering in the UK writes ANUCYIA VICTOR.

Industry bodies (these include electronics giant Siemens as well as inventor/engineer James Dyson) are saying they are forced to look abroad to India and China to get the skills they need.

And throughout the country, colleges and universities are considering whether to cut their science courses.

So what is the answer? How do we encourage young people to engage with science and develop a love of the subject enough to study it at further and higher levels?

Young children can be turned on and off a subject for a variety of reasons. Teaching approaches, lack of relevance, perceived difficulty, poor careers awareness and teacher impact all have roles to play alongside the actual subject matter itself.

Dr Lynne Bianchi from the Centre for Science Education (CSE) at Sheffield Hallam University hasn’t given up hope. She’s spent the last few years leading a project at the CSE, to develop an integrated science resource for Key Stage 2 which she and her colleagues believe can make a real difference.

Dr Bianchi said; “The CSE has always had a long term interest in engaging and motivating youngsters towards learning science.

“We believe the best teachers of science have a unique range of personal skills and qualities; they are innovative, creative, critical thinkers, problem solvers etc and because of this they are able to find ways to teach science that do much more than just ‘deliver’ the curriculum.

“At the CSE, we scoped the types of skills that youngsters need in life, learning and the workplace and concentrated on the ‘top ten’ – naming these ‘Personal Capabilities’.

“We were convinced there would be an impact on achievement and long term interest in science if teachers were able to give more attention to these.

“If a teacher taught in ways that would bring attention to these capabilities through science then they would be teaching in a way that engaged children, their interests, emotions, and thinking, and thus would enhance and enrich their learning of science too.

“All in all Smart Science aims to encourage children to learn about science in motivating and meaningful ways.”

For more info, log on to www.personalcapabilities.co.uk/smartscience

There are five core personal capabilities:

Teamwork: Working well in groups and teams.

Creativity: Thinking of, sharing and playing with new or unusual ideas.

Communication: Communicating opinions and feelings appropriately.

Self management: Taking charge of your learning.

Problem solving: Working towards a solution by analysing a problem and forming strategies.

And five wider personal capabilities:

Tenacity: Sticking at a task in order to meet deadlines.

Positive self image: Valuing yourself and your achievements.

Self motivation: Motivating yourself to do what needs to be done.

Critical thinking: Critically reviewing and evaluating what you do and how you do it.

Social intelligence: Responding appropriately to people and situations.