To ingenuity and beyond

aql’s chief operating officer, Sarah Tulip, spoke yesterday to a group of sixth-form students at Ingenuity and Beyond, a new initiative from University Technical College Leeds.

Ingenuity and Beyond gives students, stakeholders and supporters a taste of the opportunities available in the city. Monday’s event, titled ‘Rockets’, is the first of three planned for the 2017-18 school year, and featured representatives from NASA, CERN, ISU, ARES and STFC, as well as an appearance from Tim Gregory, a recent finalist in the BBC’s Astronauts. The other events will be ‘Robots’ and ‘Racing’.

Tulip used her speech to highlight the rapid growth the region has experienced in recent years, particularly in the tech industry, and the number of technology businesses that use science in innovative and unexpected ways, noting: “In all my time in Leeds, there have never been as many opportunities as there are now, and the region continues to transform into one of the UK’s major innovation hubs. It’s an incredibly exciting time to live and work here.”

aql plays a key role in transforming the region through the Northern Powerhouse, and works with schools, colleges and universities to engage the workforce of tomorrow and encourage a focus on science, technology and digital. The company has also built major parts of the North’s internet infrastructure, which opened the doors for companies and startups to flock to the region and create the kinds of jobs that retain talent.

Prof. Adam Beaumont, aql’s founder and CEO, is himself a scientist and engineer with a longtime interest in education. He holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Leeds, where he went on to become its young lecturer, aged 24; his work there developed into an interest in the early internet and, in 1998, the forming of his company. Beaumont was recently made a visiting professor at the university, and is also a governor at Leeds City College.

For more information, visit www.ingenuityandbeyond.com.