Birmingham’s Millennium Point Trust has announced £350,000 in grants to organisations supporting and advancing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It brings the total awarded by the Trust to £4.2 million. The Trust this year has received its highest number of applications, totalling more than £600,000.

The Trust, which mainly achieves its funding through the commercial activities of Millennium Point, Birmingham’s Eastside anchor building, is awarding grants to six different organisations in the education, charity and business sectors.

Recipients this year include Holywell Primary School in Rubery, Birmingham, which has been awarded £5,185 towards the costs of purchasing learning resources, including advanced Lego equipment that will allow the school to further enhance its current STEM learning provision.

The Design and Robotics Club at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School has been awarded over £21,000 to allow for the procurement of machinery, installation and materials relating to robots and a 3D printer. This will allow students to gain experience and improve their knowledge and skills in design, analysis and operation of advanced technology.

Over £41,000 will go to Ahead Partnership, which helps employers widen their social impact, providing more funding for younger entrants into STEM occupations.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce will receive £12,000 funding for six specialist STEM events held at Millennium Point.

Ronald McDonald House, a charity which provides accommodation for families with children in hospital to stay close by in a safe and welcoming environment, will receive more than £9,500 for a sponsored room at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The room will have access to STEM related learning resources and each family will receive free entry into Thinktank.

The largest award goes to Birmingham Museums Trust which will receive almost £282,000 to coincide with their activity marking 2018/2019 ‘Years of Engineering and Innovation’. The donation will enable them to fund four projects including Year of the Engineer 2018 and a Science and Heritage Career Ladder Legacy.

Millennium Point Trust will also be working with Birmingham Museums Trust to ensure the grant directly benefits students from deprived areas and assists in their visits to Thinktank.

In addition to these grants, Millennium Point Trust will continue its flagship initiative, the Millennium Point Scholarship. Now in its fifth year, the Scholarship encourages underprivileged young people to pursue STEM careers by funding one young person’s STEM degree each year at Birmingham City University.

Judith Armstrong, Chief Executive of Millennium Point said:

“This year we received a record number of applications and deciding which should receive awards was challenging. There are many creditable projects out there deserving funding but this range of awards will ensure that our focus on promoting STEM, particularly to young people, is maintained.

“Over the years, the Trust has made a significant difference and it is encouraging to see young people taking a real interest in STEM as a future career. It is what Birmingham, the West Midlands and Britain needs.

“It gives me and the trustees great pleasure to see the direct impact we can have as a charity on other organisations in line with our aims of promoting STEM education opportunities.”