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

A tree with a carved wooden hand sculpture holding onto the branch in a park with a sidewalk, benches, and a building in the background.
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.

Our Team

Colette Affaya

Founder & Director

Colette founded Synergy STEM with a clear ambition: to create stronger connections between education, industry and opportunity.

Her career spans education, employer engagement, programme management, early careers, employability, STEM outreach and partnership development.

Having worked directly within education as well as industry, including within the Early Careers and Education environment at Airbus, Colette has first-hand experience of the challenges facing both education providers and employers when trying to develop meaningful talent pipelines.

She has developed and managed partnerships with schools, colleges, employers and wider stakeholders and has led programmes designed to improve career awareness, employer engagement, skills development and progression.

As Founder and Managing Director, Colette leads Synergy's strategic development, partnerships, commissioned programmes, business development and workforce initiatives.

Areas of expertise:
Education & Employer Partnerships | Programme & Project Management | Workforce Development | STEM Engagement | Early Careers | Employability | Stakeholder Engagement | Recruitment | Public-Sector Programmes

Otman Affaya

Otman brings specialist experience in STEM education, particularly across science and mathematics.

As a qualified teacher, he provides Synergy with valuable educational and technical expertise, helping ensure that our STEM programmes are academically credible, engaging and accessible.

Otman contributes to curriculum development, STEM programme design, teaching and learning, skills development and technical recruitment activity.

His perspective as an educator also helps ensure that employer-led activities are translated into experiences that are appropriate and meaningful for learners.

Areas of expertise:
Science | Mathematics | STEM Education | Teaching & Learning | Curriculum Development | Learner Engagement | STEM Careers

Director | STEM Education & Technical Lead

Paul supports the strategic development and governance of Synergy STEM CIC, contributing to our mission to create accessible opportunities that connect individuals and communities with education, skills, employability and future careers.

As a Director, Paul brings an important external perspective to the development of the CIC, helping to ensure that our programmes remain responsive to the needs of the communities we serve while delivering meaningful and measurable social impact.

Paul supports the organisation's commitment to building strong partnerships across education, industry and the wider community. His role includes contributing to the development of community-focused initiatives, identifying opportunities for collaboration and helping shape programmes that provide practical pathways into learning, skills development and employment.

Working alongside the wider Synergy STEM team, Paul helps ensure that the CIC maintains a clear focus on inclusion, opportunity and sustainable impact, particularly for individuals and communities who may experience barriers to education, employment or progression.

Areas of Focus:
Community Engagement | Strategic Development | Partnership Working | Social Impact | Inclusion | Skills & Employability | Education & Career Progression

Director – Synergy STEM CIC

Paul Oliver

Joanne Walker

Director – Synergy STEM CIC

Joanne supports the strategic development and governance of Synergy STEM CIC, helping ensure our community programmes remain focused on genuine social impact.

Her role supports the development of partnerships, community engagement and initiatives designed to increase access to education, skills, employability and progression opportunities.

Joanne brings an important community-focused perspective to the organisation and helps ensure that the voices and needs of the people and communities we support remain central to programme development.

Areas of focus:
Community Engagement | Partnership Development | Social Impact | Inclusion | Employability | Skills & Progression

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