Education Initiative 2019

19 September 2019

PepsiCo International - The PepsiCo Beaumont Park STEM Initiative

In 2018, the PepsiCo Beaumont Park Research and Development site launched a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative, branded 'The Curiosity Club', to increase STEM engagement amongst young people in the UK.

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As part of this initiative, a new brand, animation, and six interactive workshops were developed, linking STEM to the food industry, for ambassadors to use and deliver in local schools.

Because of this initiative, STEM ambassadors on site increased from 16 to 78 (now over 25% of the site) and in 2018, 103 events and activities were attended and over 3000 students reached.

The 78 ambassadors are now responsible for delivering 12 lead programmes within the
Curiosity Club. The project spans across the ages of 5 to 21 covering all aspects of STEM
including: coding, food science, data insights, a-level and university work placements. Key local school partnerships have now been built to ensure continued engagement at critical education decision points, with the aim of increasing the number of students continuing with STEM into later education.

In 2019, the Curiosity Club initiative was awarded PepsiCo's most prestigious Global Harvey C. Russell award. This was due to the high level of engagement this programme has delivered across the UK, promoting diversity and inclusion within STEM, one of PepsiCo's key values.