Written by Beth James, S4TP Marketing and Communications Lead
As Marketing and Communications Lead for Solutions for the Planet, I spend most of my time behind a computer screen but last week I had the chance to step out from behind the laptop and join one of our Big Ideas Programme Regional Finals, camera in hand, ready to capture the energy of the day. What I didn’t expect was that the most powerful moment wouldn’t happen on stage, or during a pitch, or even in the judging room. It happened on a university tour.
I was accompanying one of the school groups as they were shown around the campus hosting the final. My job was simple: take photos and gather content. But as we moved through the cafeteria, the students’ union, the gym and the faculty buildings, I found myself listening in on the conversations happening around me.
“Is this where you get a degree?”
“Why do you come to uni?”
“I want to be a nail technician when I’m older.”
“I want to be a nurse.”
“Do I need to come to uni?”
These weren’t scripted questions. They weren’t prompted by a worksheet or a teacher. They were natural, curious, honest. You could almost see the gears turning as the students tried to map what they were seeing onto their own futures. Futures they’re only just beginning to imagine.
And that’s when it hit me: this is why programmes like the Big Ideas Programme matter.
Yes, the students have learnt a huge amount by taking part — teamwork, confidence, sustainability knowledge, problem‑solving, creativity. But this experience gave them something different. Something bigger. A glimpse into a world many of them have never stepped into before. A chance to ask questions they didn’t know they had. A moment to picture themselves in spaces they might not have thought were “for them”.
A university student leading the tour probably thought they were just showing a group of Year 8s around campus. But what they were really doing was opening a door. For some of those young people, that door will stay open.
And of course, this widening of horizons doesn’t only happen on university tours. Throughout the Big Ideas Programme, students work closely with mentors from a wide range of STEM businesses — people who bring real‑world experience, real job titles, and real career stories into the classroom. For many young people, it’s the first time they’ve met an engineer, a sustainability specialist, a data analyst or a designer. Those conversations, just like the ones on the campus tour, give them a glimpse into futures they may never have considered and encourage them to think bigger about what’s possible.
For me, it was a reminder that the impact of the Big Ideas Programme isn’t only in the ideas pitched or the awards given. It’s in these quiet, in‑between moments; the ones where a young person suddenly sees a new possibility for themselves.
And a note to all universities – having a gaming room is a really big draw for prospective students!