Charlotte Wilson has been named Not just Lab Coats Ambassador of the Year 2024 at a ceremony in London.

The award celebrates the brilliant work being done across the industry to inspire young people in their studies and future career aspirations.

Charlotte, who is a Laboratory Technician at Victrex, impressed the judges with how she had worked hard to influence a range of stakeholders and decision-makers, including young people, schools, partner education organisations and her own colleagues.

The judges also felt she had achieved a great deal in only her first year of outreach, and had already developed some really strong ideas for her activity next year and beyond.

Charlotte has spent a lot of time this year giving guidance and advice to young people through a number of careers fairs, mock interview sessions and other activity – all of which has reached more than 500 young people around the country.

She has also developed a range of videos and other digital content, which has broadened her outreach, as well as engaging with Year 8 students by opening the range of roles available in STEM and drawing on her own experience.

Charlotte also led an experiment day for younger children at a local primary school as part of British Science Week, helping them gain hands-on experience of science and enhancing their understanding of how science can be applied to the world around them.

Not Just Lab Coats gives people interested in a careers in science, manufacturing and technology one place to explore their options, including job profiles, real examples of working in the sector and guidance at every step of their journey. Charlotte said:

“I’m so grateful to have been awarded SIP Ambassador of the Year 2024 and to have been given the chance to work with some amazing people from the chemical sectors with the same passion for STEM outreach.

“Being an ambassador this past year has been so rewarding as I’ve seen the impact of redesigning STEM outreach and I’m excited for what we can achieve in 2025.”

Chair of the Science Industry Partnership, Dr Malcolm Skingle, said:

“My congratulations to Charlotte on winning this award. All three nominees are brilliant advocates for our industry but as judges we were particularly impressed by Charlotte’s commitment and passion, as well as the innovative and creative ways she engages a wide range of people about careers in science.”

For more information on Not Just Lab Coats, visit notjustlabcoats.co.uk