A force for good in the local community
Meet Cameron Nicoll, a young man whose boundless enthusiasm, positivity and determination to inspire the next generation of engineers have earned him the IET Volunteer Core Values Award for Excellence.
It was clear from a very early age that Cameron Nicoll was destined to become an engineer. “I have always been interested in how things worked,” he said. “I was obsessed with LEGO® as a child and have never really lost that passion for putting things together and making things work.
“Growing up in the north east of Scotland I was constantly aware of the oil industry and the opportunities it offered. Companies based in Aberdeen were good at going into schools and encouraging young people into STEM jobs within the oil industry, and I think that made me even more certain of my career choice.”
Cameron became an IET member while studying for an MSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, which he completed in 2020. He joined Sellafield Ltd the following September as a graduate electrical engineer.
During the two-year graduate training programme he completed placements in design, construction and commissioning, which enabled him to experience a range of projects at different stages in their development. Having discovered that his passion lies in design, that’s where he plans to focus his career.
Taking the lead on STEM
Within weeks of starting his professional career, Cameron joined the IET West Cumbria Local Network and offered his services as a STEM volunteer. “I wanted to volunteer so that I could replicate the type of STEM activities and input that I experienced as a young person and hopefully inspire more young people into STEM roles,” he said.
In the wake of the COVID pandemic, the network’s STEM activities with the local community had fallen to an all-time low, so the committee leads invited Cameron to take on the role of STEM Lead for the local area.
He said: “My aim as STEM Lead was to increase the IET’s presence in the local community by delivering exciting and engaging activities for young people. I developed relationships throughout the community, both with local schools and within Sellafield, to help organise and provide equipment for STEM sessions.”
Growing the network
Cameron’s first big project was the Cumbria Children in Care event.
He said: “For this, I helped the brilliant team at the Sellafield Centre for Excellence organise a range of activities for the children to get involved in as part of their monthly meet-up. To make this a success, I had to reach out to everyone in the local area to ask for volunteers. Doing that certainly grew my network!”
With so many more volunteers now available to call upon, Cameron was determined not to waste this valuable resource. He came up with a great solution: a partnership with Sellafield’s work-experience programme. The partnership was immediately successful and dozens of volunteers went on to help deliver fortnightly STEM sessions to work-experience students from March to August 2023.
Making an impact
Cameron puts a huge amount of thought into developing STEM sessions that are both engaging and educational for children and young people doing work experience at Sellafield.
He said: “Throughout the activities, I always try to give them freedom to do whatever they want to do and to let their imaginations lead. I try to encourage the fact that you can achieve anything you want: you just have to put the work into it.”
The biggest challenge Cameron faced on the work-experience programme was adapting the STEM activities to suit different age groups.
“For example, I had to change a session that was originally provided for 7- to 10-year-olds and adapt it to make it suitable, engaging and fun for young people aged 14 to 16, who were of course far more advanced in their education,” he said. “I looked to others for help in adapting the sessions so that the older age group could try to incorporate some of the challenges I face on my projects at work.
“At the end of a session, I always feel like I have made an impact in one way or another. As well as giving the children opportunities to work on soft skills like team building, the activities have inspired some to consider pursuing a career in engineering. Meanwhile some have realised that certain engineering disciplines aren’t to their liking, which I feel is equally important.”
Cameron recently reviewed the school and participant feedback from the work-experience sessions. He was delighted to see that the STEM sessions were considered by many children to be the most popular part of the work-experience week, and that parents and teachers noticed positive changes in them. “It’s good to know that our contribution was well received and made an impact,” he said. “It’s a big achievement for all the volunteers involved.”
Never afraid to try his hand at something new, in spring 2023 Cameron spearheaded a community project to renovate a school garden in partnership with Sellafield. He inspired many of his work colleagues to get involved in the project, which has given local students a green space that was previously unused.
The icing on the cake
Cameron is grateful to his employer for encouraging his volunteer pursuits: “Sellafield allows me to take time out to run STEM activities, provided that my work still gets done. I usually spend around 15 hours a month on volunteering activities and planning sessions.”
Volunteering has contributed greatly to Cameron’s own development: “Professionally, it has allowed me to expand my network and work on a number of chartership competencies that I wouldn't normally be able to practise. Personally, it has allowed me to work on my soft skills and help others with their personal development.”
News of the IET Core Values Award for Excellence came as a big surprise to Cameron, who said: “I’m really proud that my Local Network acknowledged my work with the local community by nominating me for the award. Winning it was the icing on the cake!”
When asked what advice he would give IET volunteers, to get the most satisfaction from their role, he replied: “Get involved wherever you can. And don’t be afraid to ask people to help you out. There are so many groups and companies that have helped with sessions and activities over the last 18 months and none of that would have been possible without us asking for their support.”