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Supporting education

GSK supports education in the UK and US and has a particular emphasis on developing scientific literacy and encouraging the next generation of scientists.

Science education in the UK
GSK is supporting the INSPIRE (Innovative Scheme for Post-doctoral researchers In Research and Education) scheme, developed in partnership with Imperial College London and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, with a £1 million ($1.8 million) donation over four years. INSPIRE aims to raise achievement by placing post-doctoral researchers in specialist science schools to train as teachers and support science teaching.

In the fifth year of GSK sponsorship, a grant of £110,000 ($200,000) to the Association for Science Education supported Science Across the World, an international education programme that enables school children in more than 115 countries to discuss science issues over the internet.

With a £50,000 grant from GSK, 2,600 UK science teachers were able to participate in ‘Active Assessment’ training in 2005. This helps teachers improve their pupils’ ‘thinking skills’ and empowers them to take more responsibility for their own learning.

GSK has also committed £1 million ($1.8 million) over four years to help build the new Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London, to enable better display of the museum’s important collection.

Education in the US
During 2005, we increased our support for initiatives to improve overall education standards in the US. GSK is a founding partner of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education Network. The network will develop partnerships between the business community and education providers to improve educational standards and bridge skills gaps.

We also continued to support a range of science education initiatives:

• Science in the Summer is a free, library-based education programme in Philadelphia, giving children the chance to participate in hands-on experiments and science based courses. In 2005 GSK donated $300,000 to Science in the Summer, which enabled almost 6000 children to participate. Almost 75,000 children have participated in the programme since it was launched nearly 20 years ago.
• We support Sally Ride Science Festivals which aim to increase girls’ interest in science, maths and technology. The festivals feature workshops led by local veterinarians, astronomers, microbiologists and engineers. Workshops are also run for parents and teachers on how they can support girls’ interests in science and technology careers.
• A three-year grant of $300,000 (£165,000) ) from GSK is helping the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to increase the number of science teachers in the North Carolina and Philadelphia areas

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