Fire Tech, the UK’s leading provider of tech education for children and teens outside of school, has teamed up with Greater Manchester Higher to offer funded scholarship places for their popular tech camps running in Manchester this summer.
The camps, which teach 9-17 year olds how to code programmes, engineer robots, design video games, create Virtual Reality experiences and more, combine holiday fun with giving children and teens the know-how they’ll need in their future lives and careers – and the UK needs to help fill our digital and tech skills gap.
Skills especially needed in the North West, where more than a quarter of digital and tech businesses say they have had to turn away work as a result of not being able to find the right skilled talent (Manchester Digital Skills Audit 2018).
Set up by USA-born tech enthusiast Jill Hodges five years ago while she was living in London, Fire Tech is now running camps for young people across the UK and the world and will take up residence at Manchester University and Manchester Communication Academy in Harpurhey during July and August.
Fire Tech camps, which run over 5 days, each focus on a particular field of digital tech, including coding, robotics, video game design, AR and VR and digital music production. There’s a course for every age and stage – from complete beginners to tech enthusiasts who want to learn more. Students studying science, engineering, design and computing at some of the UK’s top universities, including the University of Manchester, make up the handpicked Fire Tech tutor teams.
Students like Alice Porter (MPhys Physics Hons) who is currently studying at the University of Manchester. She said:
“I am excited to work with Fire Tech this summer. I have previously taught and mentored a variety of activities, from robotics to hiking to English as a foreign language! Now I am looking forward to tutoring coding and robotics, two of my passions, and developing some fun and creative projects.”
The funded Fire Tech scholarship places each cover the cost of a five-day camp during the school summer holidays, running all day from Monday to Friday. The places usually cost £375-£400 for the whole week, and the free Greater Manchester Higher places are on offer to young people in school year groups 9 to 13 (ages 13-17).
Jill Hodges, Founder and CEO, explains why this scholarship offer is so positive:
“Parents know that tech isn’t just for techies anymore and digital skills are necessary to function in everyday life and relevant for a range of careers. One of Fire Tech’s immediate priorities is to raise funds so we can expand our scholarship programme and make our courses available to everyone. We are extremely grateful to Greater Manchester Higher for generously sponsoring places on Fire Tech camps this summer for kids who might not otherwise be able to attend.
“And because tech is now powering everything we do, across all careers and many hobbies, Fire Tech is not just aimed at the data scientists and engineers of the future. What kids learn in Fire Tech camps will allow them to be better photographers, more informed doctors, deeper researchers, more creative stylists, broader communicators, stronger analysts, creative problem solvers and brilliant entrepreneurs.”
Greater Manchester Higher is a network of universities and colleges from across Greater Manchester, who are working together to provide activities for local schools and colleges.
Sam Kalubowila, Head of Greater Manchester Higher said:
“It’s great that Fire Tech are in Manchester this summer and Greater Manchester Higher are really pleased to be supporting their scholarship programme. We want to help young people to access interactive activities like these summer camps to develop new skills, confidence and knowledge to help them to make informed choices about their futures. There are lots of courses on offer so take a look at the website and try something new.”
The University of Manchester (All courses run over five days. Monday to Friday).
- Coding Games with Java: 30 Jul-3 Aug
- Digital Music Production: 6-10 Aug, 13-17 Aug
- 3D Game Development with Unity: 23-27 July
- Teen Coding With Python: 23-27 Jul, 6-10 Aug, 13-17 Aug
- Python & Electronics With Minecraft: 30 Jul-3 Aug, 13-17 Aug
- Creative Digital Design: 23-27 Jul, 30 Jul-3 Aug, 6-10 Aug
Manchester Communication Academy (All courses run over five days, Monday to Friday).
- Teen Coding with Python: 20-24 Aug
- Python and Electronics with Minecraft: 20-24 Aug
- Creative Digital Design: 20-24 Aug
For more information or to apply for a scholarship place on a Manchester Fire Tech camp go to www.firetechcamp.com/GMH or call 0203 950 7310.
