The Gatsby Foundation is once again teaming up with BBC Bitesize for their BBC Bitesize Careers Tour, running from September 2025 to January 2026. This exciting initiative brings real-life career stories into secondary schools across the UK, inspiring young people to explore the huge variety of technical career pathways available.

And here’s the best part: UK RAS STEPS can financially support research technical professionals to take part – making it easier than ever for you to get involved.

What’s Involved?

Each event takes place in a local secondary school. You’ll:

• Join a Q&A panel alongside other professionals from your area.
• Share your career journey – from your education and training to what your day-to-day work looks like.
• Inspire students by showing how rewarding, innovative, and impactful a technical career can be.

A typical day runs from around 8:00 to 15:30, with several Q&A sessions hosted and supported by the BBC Bitesize team.

Who Can Take Part?

The tour is open to early-career technical staff and apprentices who:

• Hold or are working towards technical qualifications at Levels 3 to 5 (e.g. T-Levels, apprenticeships, Higher Technical Qualifications).
• Do not hold a degree or degree apprenticeship (Level 6).

If that sounds like you, this is a fantastic chance to represent technical careers in robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) and highlight why technicians really do make the difference.

Why Get Involved?

• Inspire the next generation of technicians.
• Showcase the variety of roles in RAS and beyond.
• Have your costs covered – with financial support from UK RAS STEPS to make participation possible.

This is your chance to give back, raise the profile of research technicians, and spark curiosity in future talent.

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✉️ Interested? Email Jamie.sloan@gatsby.org.uk today – and don’t forget to let the UK RAS STEPS team know if you’d like support to take part by emailing info@ukras-steps.org

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Tour route
Exact schools and locations are TBC, but the tour will be in the following areas, on the following dates:

Dates	Areas
Tue 23 – Fri 26 Sep	Bradford
Tue 30 Sep – Fri 3 Oct	Bedford Leeds (North)
Tue 7 – Fri 10 Oct	Norwich Dudley and Surrounding Stockport
Tue 14 – Fri 17 Oct	Rossendale/Darwen Cheltenham/Gloucester Worcester
Tue 21 – Fri 24 Oct	Portsmouth Hartlepool/Peterlee/Seaham Boston and Surrounding
Tue 4 – Fri 7 Nov	Weston-Super-Mare/Yeovil Shoreham/Worthing London (West)
Tue 11 – Fri 14 Nov	Wakefield/Castleford Blackburn/Accrington Halifax
Tue 18 – Fri 21 Nov	St Helens Wigan Blackpool
Tue 2 – Fri 5 Dec	North Kent London (South) Falmouth/Penzance
Tue 9 – Fri 12 Dec	Peterborough Birmingham (East) Nottingham
Tue 16 – Fri 19 Dec	Middlesbrough Oxfordshire Oldham
Tue 6 – Fri 9 Jan	Wales (TBC) Chichester
Tue 13 – Fri 16 Jan	Mansfield Wales (TBC)
Tue 20 – Fri 23 Jan	Carlisle