Synthomer announces a new partnership with the University of York’s Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) to develop educational materials aligned to the UK national curriculum for primary school teachers. The CIEC fosters partnerships between schools and industry to enhance science education and inspire the next generation of scientists.
The aim of this partnership is to help teachers introduce basic sustainability concepts and raise awareness of the STEM industry to primary-aged children in a practical and engaging way. The development of these materials will be funded by the Chemical Industries Association. They are set to be published in 2026 and will be available online for primary school teachers within the United Kingdom to access.
At the beginning of February, Synthomer and CIEC hosted an ideation workshop at Synthomer’s Harlow, UK site, to create interactive classroom activities and experiments based on Synthomer’s expertise in emulsion polymerisation. These included testing tensile strength of different glove materials, creating water-based emulsions with common ingredients found in classrooms, and measuring the effectiveness of various mixing tools to blend emulsions.
Moving forward, the CIEC will lead the development of the activity materials, and Synthomer will continue providing industry-leading expertise to ensure scientific accuracy and real-world application of the activities.
Chris Brown, Vice President of Environment, Social and Governance at Synthomer, comments:
“This initiative fosters early and inclusive exposure to sustainability and STEM—prompting young students to become curious about the role of sustainability and science in their everyday lives.
"As industry leaders, we aim to inspire young people to study scientific and technical subjects and consider careers in these areas.”
Joy Parvin, Director of the CIEC, comments:
“It is always exciting to collaborate with new companies to create engaging science activities which make credible links between industry processes and the primary science curriculum. This work makes a measurable difference to children's attitudes and aspirations.”
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About Synthomer plc
Synthomer plc is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets for customers who serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and listed there since 1971, we employ c.4,000 employees across our five innovation centres of excellence and 31 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia.
Our purpose is creating innovative and sustainable solutions for the benefit of customers and society. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products. At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, China, Germany, Malaysia and USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits.
Our 2030 decarbonisation targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as being in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, and since 2021 we have held the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy. Find us at www.synthomer.com or search for Synthomer on LinkedIn.