UTC leaders wowed by student and alumni achievement at Winter Conference

UTC and multi-academy trust leaders, chairs, and governors were wowed by the achievements of students and alumni at the 2025 UTC Winter Conference on 11 December.

The conference, organised by Baker Dearing, included a diverse range of sessions but started with a keynote from the SBA Unity Racing team from Scarborough UTC (pictured top). Unity came an incredible third place at the STEM Racing world finals earlier this year, beating 1.8 million other students. They were also the first-placed team from state-funded schools.

“It is quite an elite competition, so for us to stand there on the podium representing state-funded schools was fantastic and we couldn’t be prouder to be representing that sector of education,” one of the team members said.

The conference later in the day heard from Thomas Mason and Jack Clarke, two UTC alumni who met at university and have established an education technology company together.

Thomas and Jack presenting to the conference.

Tom, a Leigh UTC alumni, and Jack Clarke, formerly of UTC South Durham, discussed their company HYEN and its products, including the world’s first magnetic electronics learning kit.

The company’s ethos, informed by the resilience they learned at their UTCs, is fail fast, stand up quick. This allowed them to continue working on their products, which are now used by, among others, the Institute of Engineering and Technology, to help young people engage in technical learning in an accessible way.

Robotics, smart home, and health tech challenge projects for UTCs

The conference also included information on projects that Baker Dearing is running for UTCs.

As part of Baker Dearing’s partnership with FIRST Tech Challenge UK, UTCs are being encouraged to run a Festival of Robotics next summer. This ought to provide a huge recruitment boost, as it will bring in young people from across the UTC’s local area. Each UTC will also receive £3,000 worth of provision including a reusable robotics kit.

Global smart home technology association CEDIA and UTC Derby Pride Park have this year delivered an assistive living smart technology project for health and engineering students. Baker Dearing is now accepting applications from UTCs to take part in the next project with CEDIA, a global smart home technology association, next year.

This is in addition to the UTC Health Tech Challenge that Baker Dearing is running in partnership with the Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.

The conference attendees also received exclusive information on the new Ofsted inspection framework after visits resumed in November. Additionally, they had the opportunity to feed into Baker Dearing’s response to the government’s Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways consultation. Policy Exchange also gave a very interesting session on its recent independent report into the UTC programme.

Star students commended at House of Lords event

Following the conference, Baker Dearing held a reception in the House of Lords, hosted by our Life President Lord Baker. This was attended by UTC leaders, governors and valued stakeholder partners, including a clutch of Members of Parliament and House of Lords peers: Sureena Brackenridge MP, Sally Jameson MP, Lord Harrington, and Baroness Winterton. We were also very pleased to be joined by former Skills Minister, long-time supporter of the programme, and Chair of Baker Dearing International, Robert Halfon.

Sureena Brackenridge, MP for Wolverhampton North East, meeting students and staff from Thomas Telford UTC, which is in her constituency.
Sally Jameson, Doncaster Central MP, with Helen Redford-Hernandez and Garath Rawson, Co-CEOs of Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust which includes Doncaster UTC in Jameson’s constituency.
Robert Halfon (right) with Ashley Ward, Chair of BMAT STEM Academy in Halfon’s former constituency of Harlow.

The reception included the awarding of special commendations for students who have completed the Baker Award. This was the final cohort of the old-style Award before the transition to the Baker Award for Technical Education. The ceremony for the first cohort of recipients of the new Award will be held in January.

Thank you to everyone who attended the UTC Winter Conference and House of Lords reception, especially our valued MP, peer, and employer partners. We look forward to seeing you at our events in 2026.

UTC leaders wowed by student and alumni achievement at Winter Conference

UTC and multi-academy trust leaders, chairs, and governors were wowed by the achievements of students and alumni at the 2025 UTC Winter Conference on 11 December.

The conference, organised by Baker Dearing, included a diverse range of sessions but started with a keynote from the SBA Unity Racing team from Scarborough UTC (pictured top). Unity came an incredible third place at the STEM Racing world finals earlier this year, beating 1.8 million other students. They were also the first-placed team from state-funded schools.

“It is quite an elite competition, so for us to stand there on the podium representing state-funded schools was fantastic and we couldn’t be prouder to be representing that sector of education,” one of the team members said.

The conference later in the day heard from Thomas Mason and Jack Clarke, two UTC alumni who met at university and have established an education technology company together.

Thomas and Jack presenting to the conference.

Tom, a Leigh UTC alumni, and Jack Clarke, formerly of UTC South Durham, discussed their company HYEN and its products, including the world’s first magnetic electronics learning kit.

The company’s ethos, informed by the resilience they learned at their UTCs, is fail fast, stand up quick. This allowed them to continue working on their products, which are now used by, among others, the Institute of Engineering and Technology, to help young people engage in technical learning in an accessible way.

Robotics, smart home, and health tech challenge projects for UTCs

The conference also included information on projects that Baker Dearing is running for UTCs.

As part of Baker Dearing’s partnership with FIRST Tech Challenge UK, UTCs are being encouraged to run a Festival of Robotics next summer. This ought to provide a huge recruitment boost, as it will bring in young people from across the UTC’s local area. Each UTC will also receive £3,000 worth of provision including a reusable robotics kit.

Global smart home technology association CEDIA and UTC Derby Pride Park have this year delivered an assistive living smart technology project for health and engineering students. Baker Dearing is now accepting applications from UTCs to take part in the next project with CEDIA, a global smart home technology association, next year.

This is in addition to the UTC Health Tech Challenge that Baker Dearing is running in partnership with the Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.

The conference attendees also received exclusive information on the new Ofsted inspection framework after visits resumed in November. Additionally, they had the opportunity to feed into Baker Dearing’s response to the government’s Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways consultation. Policy Exchange also gave a very interesting session on its recent independent report into the UTC programme.

Star students commended at House of Lords event

Following the conference, Baker Dearing held a reception in the House of Lords, hosted by our Life President Lord Baker. This was attended by UTC leaders, governors and valued stakeholder partners, including a clutch of Members of Parliament and House of Lords peers: Sureena Brackenridge MP, Sally Jameson MP, Lord Harrington, and Baroness Winterton. We were also very pleased to be joined by former Skills Minister, long-time supporter of the programme, and Chair of Baker Dearing International, Robert Halfon.

Sureena Brackenridge, MP for Wolverhampton North East, meeting students and staff from Thomas Telford UTC, which is in her constituency.
Sally Jameson, Doncaster Central MP, with Helen Redford-Hernandez and Garath Rawson, Co-CEOs of Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust which includes Doncaster UTC in Jameson’s constituency.
Robert Halfon (right) with Ashley Ward, Chair of BMAT STEM Academy in Halfon’s former constituency of Harlow.

The reception included the awarding of special commendations for students who have completed the Baker Award. This was the final cohort of the old-style Award before the transition to the Baker Award for Technical Education. The ceremony for the first cohort of recipients of the new Award will be held in January.

Thank you to everyone who attended the UTC Winter Conference and House of Lords reception, especially our valued MP, peer, and employer partners. We look forward to seeing you at our events in 2026.

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