Bosch was built on strong philanthropic principles and has always been particularly passionate about promoting STEM to the next generation, it’s taken a gold-standard approach to STEM engagement through IET programmes and an ongoing education partnership with the institution.

Last year, the company hit an auspicious milestone – 125 years of UK operation. To celebrate this rare achievement, it chose to become a FIRST® LEGO® League National Partner.

This entailed working with the IET to host a number of FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Tournaments for 9 to 16-year-olds and Explore Festivals for children aged 6 to 9. These took place at Bosch’s Worcester office, its UK Headquarters in Denham, Bucks, at Bosch subsidiary ETAS in York and also at Coventry University.

This partnership was only originally meant to last for the length of Bosch’s anniversary year but the events were such a great success with tremendous impact and support from Bosch employees that they opted to maintain the running of the regional Tournaments and Festivals.

The secret to a successful event

So, what’s the secret to Bosch’s FIRST® LEGO® League success? According to Sarah Harling, HR Lead for ETAS in York, and the person responsible for its STEM activities, it’s a case of teamwork and planning.

“No one person can organise an event like this, you need a team of volunteers around you. You also need to prepare for every eventuality. Being Bosch employees worked in our favour, as the company instils a kind of professionalism and a view to planning ahead in everything we do, so this lined up well with Bosch’s work ethos.”

Of course, the team at Bosch wasn’t working alone on these events; IET staff were always available to provide training, advice and support, however, the team admits that even with the IET behind you, it can still take some time to find your feet.

“It can feel overwhelming at first,” says Bosch STEM and Schools Outreach Coordinator Barrie Flemming. “There’s a lot to consider and coordinate, especially when you’re kicking off the event ­– you’ll be trying to get interest from schools, coordinate with the IET and then actually run the event. There’s coordinating the pit areas, having a schedule so teams and volunteers know where they need to be and when, training judges, referees and getting the numerous safeguarding and photo consent forms signed by the schools and the volunteers.

“But once the volunteers are brought on board and trained, they’ll just carry you through,” Harling continues. “I like to joke that my job on the day is to make myself redundant,” she laughs. “All my work is done ahead of time. On event day I sit back and let the volunteers run with it!”

“Simply put, if you tick all the boxes and do all the planning correctly, you’ll have a successful event,” Flemming adds. “And each time gets easier. With experience under our belt, it’s felt like a breeze this year and I’m hoping that the company will want to continue this work into 2025.”

Two sides to every coin

The reason Bosch first got involved with FIRST® LEGO® League was to give something new back to the community, but there are, of course, benefits to engaging in a programme like this, both for the volunteers and the business.

“It’s about giving schools something they can come and participate in, and FIRST® LEGO® League really aligns with the values of giving back to the community. It also helps to inspire the next generation of engineers, and hopefully improve diversity in engineering. This is because FIRST® LEGO® League plays an important role in getting girls interested in STEM and also showing them that they have a place in the world of engineering and technology,” says Harling.

“There’s two sides to this coin, and the business also benefits,” she continues. “By inspiring those who will become the next generation of engineers, we’re filling our future pipeline.

“In addition, those involved from Bosch’s side get so much from seeing the enjoyment of the participating students. Many of the volunteers shared their experiences on LinkedIn, giving the company social media comms that hasn’t come from the official corporate Bosch account. They’re happy, proud and keen to share the work we’ve been doing as an organisation, and that’s fantastic for us!”

The benefits of taking part

FIRST® LEGO® League events also inspired a new wave of STEM ambassadors at Bosch and led to the creation of other events that take the learnings gained from running these sessions.

“I have to say, I think this is a really good event to dip your toe in as a volunteer,” Flemming says. “There’s a structure to follow, which really helps, and we’ve now got people so engaged in this kind of outreach work that we’re running two different events based on FIRST® LEGO® League style of learning.

“We’re hosting two on-site work experience events where students come and code LEGO® robots. So having experienced FIRST® LEGO® League as a volunteer, they’ve been eager to find other ways to keep giving back.”

Advice from a FIRST® LEGO® League alumni

If, having read of Bosch’s experience, you are interested in getting your organisation more involved, Flemming and Harling have these words of wisdom.

“Go into it with open eyes,” begins Harling. “You will need someone to drive it and that person needs to be aware of everything that’s needed and have a methodical approach to the event. I’d say it takes a good six months from starting planning to delivering the event, so keep that in mind. It’s a big task to take on, but well worth it.”

There are also some simple practical steps you can take if your organisation is new to this kind of work. Before going into launching your own event, Flemming advises that a business begins by making several employees STEM ambassadors and sending them to attend, or volunteer at, other FIRST® LEGO® League events first. This might lead to opportunities for you to buddy up with another organisation that already has experience in hosting such events.

“This is what we did in Coventry, because our office there was too small,” he says. “Coventry University had hosted competitions in the past so we teamed up with them for the 2023 event. That was a really good learning curve – I learnt so much from the event owner there. Partnering with local universities or businesses is a great way to start out,” he concludes.