The School of Engineering and Materials Science was invited to contribute at prestigious event involving 40,000 young people from around the world; the 21st World Scouting Jamboree. The event was held for 12 days between the 27th of July and the 8th of August, in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the World Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom as 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Scouting on Brownsea Island.

Over 38,000 Scouts aged 14-17 from 158 countries camped for the event; while over 42,000 others attended for day visits. The UK contingent was the biggest contingent having over 4,500 scouts. There were also over 8600 members of the International Service Team who also came from all over the world. Other visitors include Prince William and the Duke of Kent.

The contribution from the school was an exhibition of the project “From Music to Sand painting” which was recently invited to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London. Crowds of young people were fascinated by the hands-on activities and demonstrations from our team. This event was substantially supported by the School of Engineering and Materials Science and presented by Xiaopeng Chi, Bob Chen, Yong Zhang, Lan Zhang, Xiaodong Hou and Shoufeng Yang.