Project Qualification About the Project Qualification
Find out about some of the different organisations and foundations you can use as a starting point for ideas for a Project title.
Your Project title can relate to an area of personal interest, or a topic that you wish to study in the future.
The organisations and foundations listed here have worked with us to support the Extended Project and/or to create further resources to support your teaching.
Teams from Rugby School and the University of York have developed a range of resources to support and stimulate work for the Project qualification. In each case, the teams have included teachers and examiners involved in the Project qualifications, working with university academics and other experts in their fields.
Each resource, which comprises materials for teachers and for students, presents materials for a taught course in which students prepare for Project work, and provides support and advice for the Project work itself.
Find out more and download free samples of Rugby School's and University of York's resources
Run by the British Science Association, CREST is Britain’s largest national award scheme for project work in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). You can find a range of suggestions for Project titles and starting points for discussions in specific areas such as fashion, the environment, space and sport on the CREST Awards website .
Take a look through these ideas for an area that interests you
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works with education and business to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
The circular economy is a coherent framework providing an alternative to our current linear 'take – make – dispose' model.
This is an industrial system that:
- is restorative by intention
- aims to rely on renewable energy
- minimises, tracks and aims to phase out toxic chemicals
- relies on a whole systems approach and eradicates waste by design.
This is in contrast to the linear way that the economy is run today, where:
- increasing pressure on finite resources and energy expose the system’s brittleness
- most energy is sourced from non-renewable fossil fuels
- waste is created and useful materials are lost
- negative environmental impacts degrade natural capital.
Reinventing progress: Exploring the circular economy through the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
With the EPQ resource development team from the University of York and Rugby School, the Foundation will publish EPQ resources based on the circular economy and development. These are available on the York University website.
The content includes:
- A comprehensive student guide covering thinking about the future, scarce resources, differences between linear and circular economies, design, philosophy and economics
- Exemplar case studies for EPQ dissertations, performances, artefacts and investigations – all related to circular economy thinking.
See the resources on the University of York website
If your EPQ project is looking towards the future, visit www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. There are videos, articles and images that can help you explore this approach, with resources on design, systems thinking, businesses, money, the economy and restorative systems as well as reflective thought articles.
- Start with the four-minute video Rethinking Progress.
- Delve deeper into the circular economy and what it means for business.
- You can explore more and see what the experts say.
- Take a look at the free EPQ student and teacher resources. These contain material relating to the theme of development, with guidance and ideas for all types of Extended Project outcome.
Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) is a membership organisation and a charity. Since the 1960s, MEI has worked to support mathematics teaching and learning. Any income generated through MEI’s work is used to support mathematics education.
MEI emphasises understanding and enjoyment of mathematics and also highlights the importance of mathematics in industry and commerce.
It pioneers the development of innovative teaching and learning resources, including extensive online materials to support all major examination syllabuses.
MEI is developing resources to support teachers and students and encourage the use of mathematics and statistics in extended projects. These resources include some starting points for students to stimulate their thinking.
Science and Plants for Schools is an educational programme from the University of Cambridge, supporting students, teachers and technicians. It provides a collection of free online resources to inspire Extended Projects on a wide variety of subjects, with topics including finding new medicines, identifying antibiotics, investigating why food is wasted, and the role of enzymes.
Resources include ideas, background information and technical details and protocols for lab-based research – just what you need to get you started.
If you’ve got specific questions about a Project related to plant science, you can contact the SAPS helpline and the Ask the Expert team will do their best to help you. As well as materials aimed specifically at Extended Projects, the website includes science articles and a range of careers case studies showing where a biology degree might take you.