As vital as the athletes, the technical teams who bring you the Games

 
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Russ Thorne2 January 2013

When the first athletes take to the field for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in July it will be the culmination of years of training and hard work. That’s hard work on the part of the competitors, of course — but also on the part of those who have helped make the Games possible, and whose contribution will ensure that London 2012 leaves a lasting legacy.

Those contributions come from a variety of areas, but in terms of the equipment helping athletes and the infrastructure underpinning the Olympics, from stadiums to sockets, it's thanks in part to people with science, technology, engineering and maths expertise - Stem skills for short.

"Technology is a big part of my sport," said GB Paralympic cyclist Rachel Morris, "with advances over the last few decades opening up Paralympic cycling to a wider range of categories, events and competitors."

Technology is helping athletes like Morris to compete, and is also helping the wider world - an audience running into billions - to follow their events. The communications system put together by network infrastructure supporter Cisco and partners BT and ATOS includes some 10,000 cable TV sockets and 16,500 telephones across 94 locations.

Likewise the railway network that is expected to carry 80 per cent of the 11 million spectators has been spruced up with new stations, tracks and power lines. "Our job will be to provide smooth, seamless journeys for spectators, while continuing to offer the service which keeps millions of people moving across Britain each day," said Dave Ward, Network Rail's Olympics delivery director.

Instrumental to getting the job done are employees with relevant expertise, from technicians to train planners, said Mr Ward. "Stem knowledge is used across the company. These skills are invaluable to us." They're also invaluable to the country as a whole, he added. "Getting Britain Stem-smart is essential for a bright future for us all."

It's with this bright future in mind that the organising committee and some London 2012 sponsors are focusing not only on the Olympics themselves, but on the different ways they can inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to pick up the baton and run with it towards future Games and other Stem-related challenges.

Cisco, for example, is starting in the classroom with a range of projects using the London Games as an example of Stem subjects in action.

That means free maths and science resources for state-funded secondary schools, pupil referral units and young offender institutions; or interschool challenges designed to develop Stem skills, such as designing a new website for Paralympian Morris. It's definitely a winning idea for her. "As I prepare for the London Games it will be great to get school students from across the country involved in my preparations, as well as educating them on disability and sport," she said. For students it's a chance to engage with subjects, feel connected to a nationally significant event, and answer one of the trickier maths questions: "What's this all for?" Vanessa Baxter of Birkbeck School and Community Arts College said: "Endlessly kids say, 'When am I ever going to use this maths in my life?' Well, this book shows you where and how."

Pupils are "intrigued" by the concepts in the Cisco programme’s Key Stage 4 maths resources, added Ms Baxter. "It makes them think how they’re useful in real life."

And that's really the point, said Phil Smith, chief executive of Cisco UK and Ireland. "This initiative will provide exciting and interesting curriculum-based activities that will help to engage students in core subject areas. For Cisco, this is just the start of our commitment to the Games."

"London 2012 is about creating a legacy for everyone involved in the Games," added Neil Crocket, MD 2012, Cisco UK and Ireland. "We are passionate about supporting education in the UK to help to ensure that tomorrow's workforce has the capabilities and skills to flourish." Because the 2012 legacy will also be a physical one - stadiums, digital infrastructure and giant civil engineering projects - what's left once the final medal is awarded will hopefully also act as an inspiration and provide a return on the investment for people in the capital and the UK as a whole. "Tomorrow's engineers are going to benefit when any big infrastructure projects come along," explained Bruce McLelland, head of sector - built environment, at the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He cited the Olympic Park's energy centre, with its focus on creating sustainable energy for the Games and beyond, as a good example. "They've come up with some very clever low-carbon solutions that are going to be there in a century. Future engineers will be able to look back at London and say, 'This is how you can do it'."

A further example is the underlying telecommunications network that will enable Cisco and its partners to keep the Games connected at speeds that would trouble Usain Bolt, and allow new homes and businesses to get online when the site is developed post-Olympics. It's all about forward planning, said Mr McLelland.

"People are going to start living in this area and there will be demand for internet communications. We're talking about a decade in the future, and tomorrow's engineers will benefit from the thinking we put in today."

First, the industry needs to attract those engineers to the profession. The UK's shortage of engineers and those with other Stem skills is well-documented, but Mr McLelland believes the country is in a position to nurture homegrown talent. "Projects like the Olympics are very visible. I would hope that a successful Games will inspire the next generation to look at engineering as a way of having a very rewarding career."

Ultimately, if the Olympic torch is to lead today's students into careers in Stem-related industries, its light will have to reach the classroom. To that end projects like the Cisco Maths and Science Series and STEMnet challenges are invaluable, and there's vital work to be done at higher levels.

At Imperial College London students are working on projects aimed at designing new technology and equipment for Paralympic sports, which naturally requires solid Stem skills, said Dr Dominic Southgate of the bioengineering department. "These types of skills are essential for understanding the needs of the user, for example, in the biomechanical analysis of sport, but are also needed for designing new devices and technology to help them perform better or reduce injury."

Innovative designs inspired by the Olympics can go on to have wider applications, creating the link between the theoretical science and real world usefulness. "For example, we have students working on projects to reduce the risk of pressure sores during wheelchair racing and adaptive rowing and these are a massive problem for many disabled people," said Dr Southgate. "If we can encourage more students into Stem subjects it should lead to benefits in the sports arena but also industry as a whole."

From sports biomechanics to communications, organisers and sponsors alike believe the London Olympics will act as the starting gun for many Stem skill careers - launching an ongoing quest for innovation and skills development, with the potential to keep getting faster, higher and stronger long after the Games are done.

READ MORE

Not the end. Not even the beginning of the end...

The 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games will last just over a month, but thanks to Cisco’s involvement, a legacy of business growth and educational excellence will last for years.

Read more...

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