03 February 2025

Through its ‘Buy One, Give One’ initiative, UK Connect has funded STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education programs for 15,000 children and young people across the UK, ensuring the next generation can access the skills that industries desperately need.

This initiative is delivered through The Farr Foundation, a UK Connect-founded charity dedicated to equipping schools with essential STEM resources. The foundation funds hands-on science workshops and grants for specialist equipment, sparking excitement among young learners about STEM careers.

UK Connect’s investment in STEM education is designed to tackle the critical skills gap affecting the construction, manufacturing, and public services industries. Many businesses face an uncertain future without an incoming workforce trained in these fields.

“We believe in connecting more than just networks—we’re connecting the next generation to opportunity,” said PJ Farr, Founder and CEO of UK Connect and Trustee of The Farr Foundation. “When I look at these young people, I see my own journey. Many kids don’t get the chance to explore STEM, but with the right exposure, they can build skills that will lead to successful, rewarding careers.”

By investing in these programs, UK Connect and The Farr Foundation are shaping the workforce of tomorrow — ensuring more young people have the opportunity to discover and pursue STEM careers.

“There is a long way to go yet. These facilities represent huge electricity demands, adding pressure to electricity grids and increasing the challenge of energy transitions, especially in smaller countries. Although it is impossible to calculate precisely, the entire ICT sector is estimated to account for about 1.4 per cent of CO2 emissions globally. Infrastructure and operations leaders have a responsibility here and need to consider the unnecessary waste associated with data storage and commit to generating power from more renewable sources,” said Aoife Foley, IEEE senior member and professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast. “Modern enterprises continuously generate and accumulate vast amounts of data. This includes routine activities across enterprise systems, machines, sensors, and demand-side digitalisation. All of this data comes in multiple forms – whether redundant or critical. However, the majority is unstructured and inert content, commonly referred to as ‘dark data’ which is becoming more prevalent. The result is a large volume of digital data that needs to be stored, most of which will not even be accessed later. Those managing data centres and server rooms must strive for a high standard of energy efficiency, demonstrated through aggressive power use effectiveness (PUE) targets. Achieving sustainability means addressing environmental considerations during solution design as well as during the build. Solutions must meet pre-defined and agreed environmental sustainability criteria. This includes filtering dark data, removing unnecessary information from storage and relying upon ‘greener’ energy sources.”