June 16, 2014 4.17 pm This story is over 117 months old

Lincoln students chosen for green academy documentary

The Norstec Academy: A new two-week academy for students will be documented by University of Lincoln students and ambassadors from Lincoln Siemens.
(L-R) University of Lincoln journalism student Dan Brown, Siemens Ambassador Audrey Bowie, Ambassador Georgia Carmichael, Chair of Siemens Communications and Outreach Group Rachel Odams and University of Lincoln journalism student Ben Staff. Photo: Steve Smailes

A new two-week academy for students, promoting the range of career opportunities in the offshore wind industry, will engage University of Lincoln students and an ambassador from Lincoln Siemens.

The Norstec Academy will select 20 students from universities and further education colleges to tour sites and companies across the country, as well as provide insight from industry professionals.

UK students will be chosen based on competition responses to the question: “What inspires you most about the offshore renewables industry?”

Norstec was set up in 2012 by PM David Cameron in order to promote the benefits of offshore wind in the UK and Northern Europe.

The organisation has over 150 signatories, including Siemens and a wide range of commercial, NGO and academic partners.

As part of the industry carousel, the pilot academy scheme has enlisted the skills of University of Lincoln journalism students Ben Staff (third year student) and recent graduate Dan Brown.

The pair will document student voices and experiences with a City University London student throughout the tour with film, blog posts and social media, and gaining their own unique insights.

Dan Brown said: “This opportunity really stood out to be not because it’s something I knew a lot about but because I was curious to learn about the engineering.

“This experience will be so valuable and totally different from anything I have been doing at university it’s really and there is a lot of responsibility involved with major companies like Siemens.

“Most people like me don’t know much about the industry so it’s important that there is a space in the media to inform people about sustainable energy.

“I’ll be filming the tours and producing a documentary”

Ben Staff said: “There has always been an interest for me because my dad worked in a power station for 30 years so I can apply my knowledge from his perspective and now compare through my writing.

“We are at the forefront of the energy crisis and I think the best way to get that message across is through publicity and journalism.”

Student Ambassador from Siemens Audrey Bowie, who completed a placement at Lincoln Siemens, added: “The most important thing for me is to give young people an awareness of the industry. It’s a really exciting career to get in to.

“I think people have various views on wind farms. For me a wind farm is much more attractive than say electricity pilons and there are a lot of myths about the efficiency of wind farms so education and information through the media is so important.”

Rachel Odams, Chair of the Nostec Communication Group, has been driving the skills initiative.

She said: “We are piloting this in the UK and we have had applications from other Northern European countries too.

“In every sense this is a viral campaign, not only with social media but we will also be using our networks and the media.

“The UK is the biggest market in the world for offshore wind, it is by far the windiest place in the whole of Europe.

You can follow the industry carousel tours with the hashtag #NorstecAcadmy, or on the Facebook page.