STEM Engagement Officer

UHI Shetland is delighted to host this exciting opportunity in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to support the continued growth of the Science Skills Academy (SSA) across the Highlands and Islands. Building on the success of the SSA's work throughout Highland, this new part time temporary post will play a key role in expanding STEM engagement across Shetland, delivering inspiring hands-on learning experiences that encourage young people to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Working collaboratively with UHI Shetland, HIE and local partners, the successful candidate will help ensure that young people across Shetland have access to high-quality STEM education regardless of where they live.

The Science Skills Academy (SSA) was originally established to engage young people across the Highlands and Islands with STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and maths) through hands-on learning experiences. The SSA aims to encourage more young people to study STEM subjects in school and beyond, and raise awareness of STEM-related careers, particularly careers in the north of Scotland. This project aims to ensure equity of provision, overcoming barriers of geography and scale, to reach all school children in the Highlands and Islands.

Sessions are run in bespoke Newton Rooms, which are tailored to complement STEM industries in the local community. The chosen model of delivery has been informed by the work in Norway where STEM is delivered through a network of Newton Rooms, reaching remote and rural parts of the country and has now been taken up in seventeen countries worldwide.

As of 2025, the funding situation has allowed the reach to be extended within the Highlands and Islands. The first of these new projects will be established in Shetland. The Shetland project expansion is envisioned to take a similar approach to the Highland Pop-Up Newton Room, enabling it to visit more remote schools and communities across Shetland.

The Pop-up Newton Room is a mobile version of the permanent Newton Rooms, found in Fort William, Dingwall, Inverness, and Thurso. The Pop-Up is set up in community halls, leisure centres, and school halls, giving us the ability to reach those communities more distant from a permanent location.

Last year the Shetland Newton Room had over 2,000 engagements with young people across Shetland, with 758 of these being in full-day Newton module sessions; the rest being made up of a combination of shorter workshops, public events, and other community engagements.

If you have a genuine commitment to embedding STEM in the heart of education and have excellent organisational skills, then we want to hear from you. This is an exciting opportunity to join a small team designing and delivering STEM activities in schools and educational settings.

This role offers the opportunity to make a lasting difference to the lives of young people across Shetland. By delivering inspiring, hands-on STEM experiences in schools and communities, you will help build confidence, curiosity and aspirations, encouraging young people to consider future study and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As our reach continues to grow across the Highlands and Islands, you will play a key role in shaping STEM education in some of Scotland's most remote communities.

UHI Shetland

UHI Shetland is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), a regional university partnership based across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. We provide modern, well-equipped learning facilities and deliver applied research, consultancy and knowledge exchange activity, alongside high-quality accredited and bespoke training

UHI Shetland mirrors National terms and conditions, offering a generous 45 days per year Annual Leave allowance (pro rata), and a standard 35 hours per week for full time staff.

For residents of Shetland, Distant Islands Allowance is currently set at £2,997 which would be in addition to any salary payment (pro rata).

UHI Shetland is an equal opportunities employer operating a blind recruitment process and will not accept CVs as part of an application.

Please download and complete the application form attached and return to recruitment.shetland@uhi.ac.uk please ensure that you specify which role you wish to apply for in the application form.