What is Wipro?
Wipro Limited is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. Wipro is recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, practitioners’ approach to delivering innovation, and as an organization with a wide commitment to sustainability and business ethics. See What is Wipro? for more info.
Why is Wipro funding this work?
Wipro’s company values of respect, responsibility, integrity and trust mean that it is committed to contributing to the communities in which it works (see listing as one of the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. It has large educational funding programmes in India and the USA, including the Azim Premji Foundation and University.
The UK is Wipro’s third largest global market and so Wipro Limited is now supporting STEM education in the UK. Wipro Limited is now funding the Wipro STEM Teacher Fellowship and Teacher Mentor programmes in South Yorkshire, the only area of the country in which these programmes will run, and an MA in STEM Education at Kings College London (see press release).
Can I join the programme?
The teacher Fellow programme is designed for primary and secondary teachers, with a focus on specialisation in: mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, design & technology, engineering and/or computer science. Teachers from all schools in South Yorkshire and the surrounding region are eligible to participate. The programme is designed for teachers who are in the early stages of their career, who are taking on a new specialism or who want to develop their practice in relation to one of the focus areas.
Wipro Mentors are expert, experienced teachers or subject leaders. Mentors should be experienced teachers in one of the subject areas listed; they may or may not have experience in mentoring colleagues or teacher education students.
If you’re not sure whether you are eligible, please get in touch.
How much does the programme cost?
The Wipro Teacher Fellow and Mentor programme is fully funded by Wipro Limited. There is no charge to schools. The schools of all Teacher Fellows and Mentors also receive a bursary to support their participation.
When does the programme start?
The fourth cohort of Teacher Fellows and Mentors started in September 2023.
What will I gain from the programme?
As a Teacher Fellow you will improve your confidence, motivation and capability as an educator by developing your practice in an innovative, evidence-based, collaborative programme of professional learning. Through evidence-based collaborative workshops, individualised enquiry and long-term mentoring, you will:
- improve your subject and pedagogical knowledge
- develop, trial and evaluate innovative ways of teaching your subject
- deepen your understanding of teaching through curriculum development and research
- carry out an enquiry into your practice
As a Mentor you will develop your mentoring skills, through a three-day support programme with sessions on key areas including STEM teacher careers and early career teacher resilience, and then practice these skills by mentoring Teacher Fellows.
What will my school gain from the programme?
We hope that your school will gain a more confident, motivated and capable teacher, and/or an experienced, expert mentor. The ultimate aim of the programme is to increase young people’s enjoyment, attainment and progression in STEM subjects and so we hope that the students of all Teacher Fellows will feel more engaged in learning, achieve improved outcomes and have a greater understanding of careers in the STEM sectors.
How much funding will my school receive?
The schools of all Fellows and Mentors receive a bursary, paid in instalments throughout the programme. For Mentors, bursary payments will vary depending on the number of Fellows they work with. There are no restrictions on how this funding can be spent; BUT we expect it to support Fellows’ and Mentors’ participation.
How much time will I need to be out of school?
The total amount of time out of school for Fellows will vary depending on the focus of their enquiries into practice. As a rough guide, the expectation is that schools will support Fellows to be out of lessons for a total of around 18 days during the programme.
The training programme for Mentors lasts a total of around three days (a blend of face-to-face and online sessions, some of which take place outside school time). Mentors will meet with Fellows monthly for an hour or two, at a time and place suitable agreed between the Fellow and the Mentor.
How will we know whether the programme is working?
This programme draws on our understanding and experience of the development, delivery and evaluation of high quality professional learning in the STEM subjects. It is built on evidence of effective models of professional development:
- practical and practice-focussed
- collaborative and participatory
- reflective and active
- enquiry-driven and sustained
We have taken time to gather evidence of what works in building a sustainable community of Fellows and Mentors. By carrying out an ongoing formative evaluation of the programme we have, and continue to collect data from all those involved to inform ongoing and future developments of the programme.
The evaluation team are very experienced in this type of work and feed their findings back to the rest of the programme team so that we can make changes to increase the programme’s impact.
For more information or to express an interest in joining the programme, get in touch by email at:WiproTeacherFellow@shu.ac.uk, by phone on 0114 2256060 or via X/Twitter @teacherfellow.