University of Hull aims to inspire the region's young people at TechExpo Humber

The University of Hull will be displaying robotics expertise at the TechExpo Humber event in Hull tomorrow to inspire young people to take on careers in technology.

The exhibition, which is being held at Bonus Arena over Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 October, will give students the chance to interact with the most up-to-date technology – including playing Connect 4, with a robot.

This event intends to ignite interest in technology and show students the variety of career opportunities available within the technology sector.  

At the University of Hull stand, students are invited to play popular children’s game Connect 4 with Baxter the Robot who usually resides in the university’s robotics lab. Students can also experience a flash flood through virtual reality (VR) and understand how a Formula 1 car is built using the latest digital design and simulation software.

Looking after Baxter at the two-day event is Martin Davies, second year student studying Mechatronics and Robotics at the University of Hull, he says: “Robotics is the future. Right now, we are seeing a huge boom across all industries as they upgrade their systems to include robotics. This is why I chose to study Mechatronics and Robotics at the University of Hull. The course combines different aspects of engineering such as electronic, mechanical and computer programming which is going to set me up really well for my future in the industry.”

TechExpo Humber is a partnership between the University of Hull, GB Recruitment, Hull and East Riding councils and tech giant IBM. They have come together to inspire young people across the region to progress a future career in tech eventually building a high quality and sustainable talent pool local businesses can access. This is in response to a noticeable tech-skills shortfall in the region.

Bill Walker, Director of Strategic Relationships and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Hull, who has pioneered this partnership, said: “The University of Hull is delighted to have worked with such an impressive range of partners in order to bring this idea to reality. TechExpo Humber will show the region’s young people a career in tech is creative, diverse and accessible to all. Our long-term goal is to develop a tech talent pool available in Hull and Humber. By developing this pool in our region, we will attract leading businesses to invest here, as they will have guaranteed access to top quality talent for years to come. In return, our talented young people will have access to quality tech jobs on home turf. This has truly been a brilliant quest and I believe this is the start of even better things to come in our region.”

Alongside playing with the technology, students will also have the chance to listen to a variety of experts from industry and academia, including, Professor Mark Lorch, Professor of Public Engagement and Science Communication, at the University of Hull.

Professor Lorch will be speaking on Tuesday afternoon about the technology his research team have been developing, which provide citizen scientists with the means to monitor pollution in their local waterways.

Around 900 school kids are expected at the two-day event as well as 400 further education students and undergraduates. They will all have a chance to speak to leading, innovative tech entrepreneurs in our region.