Students take part in innovative project around medical solutions

Phoenix Collegiate in West Bromwich has been chosen to be part of "The Bridge to the Future" project run by multinational medical industry company Boston Scientific.

Boston Scientific is dedicated to transforming lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world.

A spokesman for Boston Scientific said: "There is a low representation of diverse socio-economic groups, including racial and ethnic groups within healthcare and medical device industries, particularly in managerial positions.

"Boston Scientific wants to change this over the long term and provide equitable access to career opportunities in this industry for everyone."

Starting in November last year, employees from Boston Scientific have been working with 30 students from Years 10, 12 and 13 during a number of workshops.

The company organised six sessions with students as part of their "Bridge to the Future" programme and in one session they were working on pacemaker testing equipment and heart ablation.

During the six month programme, students have had sessions on medical matters, along with some on media and marketing as well as CV development, in order to help build core life skills which can be applied in the students’ academic and career journeys in a meaningful way.

Throughout the programme, students have engaged in mentorship with professionals from Boston Scientific, who have supported the exploration of their academic and career aspirations and helped them consolidate the learnings from the workshops.

Mike Smith, head teacher at Phoenix Collegiate, said: “Everyone at Phoenix Collegiate is over the moon that we were chosen for this programme with Boston Scientific.

"That this is the first time the programme has run outside of London is just the cherry on the cake.

“I want to say a big thank you to Boston Scientific for the amazing and insightful workshops they have run and for the top quality mentoring they have provided for our students.

"I want all our young people to know the sky’s the limit when it comes to their career aspirations and I know many of those who have taken part are thinking a lot about their future.”

Sophie Blackman, DE&I UK & Ireland champion from Boston Scientific, said: “At Boston Scientific, we want to boost the full potential of students who come from systemically less privileged backgrounds by offering an insight into career opportunities in the medical device industry and developing core skills.

"Through this programme we aim to generate awareness of careers in the MedTech industry, via workshops that showcase our roles and technologies.

“It’s been brilliant working so closely with Phoenix Collegiate, their students have been an absolute credit to the school and I can see they have great things ahead of them.”