Anglia Innovation Partnership (AIP) has successfully delivered a Park‑wide Careers Discovery pilot programme that will form the basis for an ongoing annual programme, to ensure that young people, particularly those who face barriers, disadvantage or underrepresentation, can see a genuine future for themselves at Norwich Research Park.
The pilot involved three schools – Ormiston Victory Academy, Reepham High School and Wymondham High Academy and has been designed to raise awareness of the wide range of jobs and careers on the campus, inspire our young people locally and help to nurture talent. AIP commissioned Ahead Partnership, school engagement partner, to help shape a park-wide education programme, focused on building skills, sharing realistic career insights and providing hands‑on experiences to students who would not otherwise get such access.
By connecting young people directly with employers, the programme aims to open up career pathways and showcase the wide range of roles across the park, ensuring they are visible and achievable.
The pilot programme launched with an inspirational assembly at each participating school, introducing students to Norwich Research Park and the opportunities it offers. These sessions included a talk from an individual working at one of the organisations on the park campus, who shared their personal career journeys and provided insights into their current roles.
This was followed by a Career Discover Day, held at Norwich Research Park, which gave students a day to explore the variety of roles and careers available. Each student had the opportunity to visit two organisations for a hands-on workshop, take part in a ‘design sprint’ that challenged and developed their creative problem-solving skills and introduced them to a variety of businesses in a fast-paced ‘speed networking’ session.
A Reepham High teacher, who attended the event, commented, “The activities really encouraged our students to aim higher, they were engaged throughout, and the skills targeted were relevant.”
Volunteers from businesses and institutes based on the campus included The Sainsbury Laboratory, Tropic, British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO), iBoxit, R G Carter, Big C, The Genuine Dining Company and Anglia Innovation Partnership who all participated in the day.
John Farley, CEO from iBoxit commented that “My highlight was seeing the children engage – they started off slowly and really got into it as the workshop progressed”
A survey conducted with the students found that when asked if they were interested in working at Norwich Research Park in the future the number who said ‘Yes’ rose from 12.1% before the event to 45.0% afterwards and when asked if they knew the skills, qualifications and pathways that can help them get a job on campus, those that said ‘Yes’ rose from 27.3% to 77.5%.
In addition, 91% said they had increased their knowledge of roles in the world of work, 84% understood how their skills, strengths and interests are relevant to the world of work, 78% increased their understanding of how to get into different careers, 89% increased their interest in the world of work and 73% felt inspired and motivated.
A total of 771 young people participated in the programme which followed the Gatsby Benchmark’s national framework for good careers guidance in schools and colleges, to ensure that the students had meaningful employer encounters and clear information to make informed decisions about their futures.
Roz Bird, Anglia Innovation Partnership’s CEO, said, “Inspiring the next generation and explaining the full range of jobs and careers available on a research park is a key objective for us at Anglia Innovation Partnership and across Norwich Research Park. Running this initial pilot Careers Discovery programme has confirmed to me just how valuable and motivational it can be to young people, especially to those who have not previously been exposed to what we do across the campus and the huge range of roles here. The feedback from students, teachers and our team of volunteers has been unanimously positive, so we are looking forward to taking the learnings from this year one pilot phase and fine-tuning it for next year’s programme.”
Download a copy of the full impact report here: Norwich Research Park – Impact Report 2026
To view the full gallery of images from the event, please visit our Event Gallery page.
