Synergy STEM CIC

Empowering Communities Through STEM

STEM Outreach • Education • Employability • Community Impact

Logo for Synergy STEM CIC featuring a stylized symbolic design resembling a bear and the text 'Synergy STEM CIC' with the tagline 'Empowering Communities Through STEM'

🌿 About Synergy STEM CIC

Empowering Communities Through STEM, Education & Opportunity

Synergy STEM CIC is a community-focused organisation dedicated to improving access to STEM education, employability skills, financial confidence, and meaningful career opportunities across North Wales, the North West of England, and beyond.

As the social impact arm of Synergy STEM Partners, our Community Interest Company (CIC) exists to create inclusive, innovative, and sustainable opportunities for learners, families, educators, and communities.

We believe that every individual — regardless of background, postcode, or circumstance — should have access to inspiring education, industry connections, and the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Our work combines STEM education, creative learning, employability, financial literacy, community engagement, and industry collaboration to help bridge the gap between education and the future workforce.

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Our Mission

Our mission is to inspire confidence, curiosity, creativity, and opportunity through practical, accessible, and community-driven STEM education initiatives.

We are committed to:

  • Increasing access to STEM learning opportunities

  • Supporting underserved and underrepresented communities

  • Improving financial confidence and life skills

  • Strengthening links between education and industry

  • Supporting schools, educators, parents, and learners

  • Encouraging innovation, sustainability, and future-ready skills

  • Helping individuals progress into employment, apprenticeships, enterprise, and further education

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Collage of diverse young people engaged in science, technology, teamwork, environmental conservation, and renewable energy activities, centered around a decorative knot symbol.

What We Do

Our activities include:

  • Group of children working on STEM projects with wind turbines, robots, and scientific equipment in a classroom setting.

    STEM Outreach & Enrichment

    We provide engaging STEM workshops, hands-on activities, enrichment days, and employer engagement programmes for schools, colleges, and community organisations.

    Our sessions are designed to inspire learners through real-world applications of science, technology, engineering, maths, and creative problem-solving.

    Areas include:

    • Engineering challenges

    • Robotics and coding

    • Financial literacy

    • Sustainability and green skills

    • Enterprise and innovation

    • Careers education

    • Creative STEM and STEAM learning

    • Problem-solving and teamwork activities

  • Desk with an open book, notebook and pen, potted plant, wooden bar chart with an upward arrow, piggy bank, and stacked coins.

    Financial Confidence & Life Skills

    We believe financial education is an essential life skill.

    Our programmes support young people, adults, families, and communities in developing greater confidence in:

    • Budgeting and money management

    • Saving and financial planning

    • Employability and workplace readiness

    • Enterprise and entrepreneurship

    • Digital financial awareness

    • Real-world decision-making skills

    These programmes are designed to improve confidence, wellbeing, independence, and long-term opportunities.

  • Collage of people working in a professional environment with digital network icons and a handshake at the center, symbolizing collaboration and technology integration.

    Employability & Workforce Development

    We work closely with employers, schools, training providers, and community organisations to support workforce readiness and future talent pipelines.

    Our CIC supports initiatives linked to:

    • Careers education

    • Apprenticeships

    • Skills development

    • Mentoring

    • Industry engagement

    • Early careers pathways

    • Community employability projects

    By connecting education and industry, we help learners better understand future career opportunities and develop the skills employers value most.

  • Collage of images showing community activities for environmental sustainability. Includes people planting trees, family and friends holding hands, children studying, renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels, hands holding soil with a sprouting plant, and volunteers working together, with a sunset and city skyline in the background.

    Community Impact

    As a Community Interest Company, our purpose goes beyond commercial activity.

    Any surplus generated through our work is reinvested into projects and initiatives that support:

    • Community learning

    • Educational access

    • Youth development

    • STEM engagement

    • Family learning

    • Inclusion and equality initiatives

    • Sustainable skills development

    We are passionate about building stronger communities through collaboration, education, and opportunity.

  • Multiple hands of diverse people holding interconnected wooden gears.

    Working in Partnership

    Collaboration is central to everything we do.

    We actively work with:

    • Schools and colleges

    • Local authorities

    • Community organisations

    • Employers and industry partners

    • STEM organisations

    • Careers and employability services

    • Educational networks

    • Universities and training providers

    Through partnership working, we aim to create meaningful, scalable, and sustainable impact across the communities we serve.

Meet the Leadership Team

A smiling woman seated inside a helicopter cockpit on a grass field, with a cloudy sky overhead, and two men in yellow vests standing nearby. The photo is labeled with the location "Affaya" and the date "12 July 2023 10:45."

Colette Affaya

Founder & Director

Colette Affaya is the founder of Synergy STEM CIC and Synergy STEM Partners, bringing extensive experience across education, STEM engagement, workforce development, business development, and community partnership working.

With a background that includes working with major organisations such as Airbus, Careers Wales, schools, colleges, and employers, Colette has led and supported numerous initiatives focused on STEM education, employability, outreach, and educational innovation.

Her work is driven by a passion for creating opportunities, empowering communities, and helping learners develop the confidence and skills needed for the future.

Colette is also an author, STEM Ambassador, enterprise advocate, and strong supporter of collaborative education-industry partnerships.

Looking up at tall trees in a dense forest with green leaves and sunlight shining through the canopy.

Paul Oliver brings valuable leadership, strategic insight, and community-focused support to Synergy STEM CIC as a Director.

Paul is passionate about supporting positive community impact, educational development, and creating opportunities that help individuals and communities thrive.

As part of the leadership team, Paul supports the organisation’s vision of delivering inclusive, accessible, and meaningful initiatives that strengthen education, employability, and social impact across the region.

His involvement further strengthens the CIC’s commitment to collaboration, sustainable growth, and long-term community engagement.

Director

Paul Oliver

Our Vision for the Future

Our long-term vision is to become a recognised leader in community-focused STEM education, employability, and social impact initiatives across the UK and internationally.

We aim to continue expanding our programmes, partnerships, and funding initiatives to support:

  • Schools and educators

  • Young people and families

  • Adult learners

  • Community organisations

  • Underrepresented groups

  • Future workforce development

  • Sustainable innovation and green skills

By combining education, creativity, technology, financial capability, and industry collaboration, we aim to inspire the next generation of thinkers, creators, innovators, and leaders.

Join Us

We welcome opportunities to collaborate with schools, businesses, funders, community organisations, and partners who share our passion for education, opportunity, and community impact.

Whether you are looking to support STEM engagement, deliver community programmes, develop workforce skills, or create meaningful educational partnerships, we would love to hear from you.

Contact us to explore partnership opportunities, funding initiatives, workshops, and collaborative projects.

Multiple people placing their hands together in a display of teamwork in a workspace with engineering and technology items such as a small wind turbine, a robot, blueprints, a notebook, and a laptop.

Let’s Work Together