Judged by a panel of sponsorship, partnership and CSR experts, the joint initiative won gold for Most Innovative Collaboration, Best Alignment of Brand Values in a CSR Programme and Most Innovative Sponsorship Activation.

Identifying a shared objective to inform, inspire and engage more people into STEM careers, particularly with young students, Samsung and The Science Museum set out to develop and implement a touring interactive educational outreach programme based on British astronaut Tim Peake’s journey from the International Space Station. This activity forms part of Samsung long term commitment to improving education and

Bringing together science, technology and real-life astronauts, the partnership’s ‘National Tour of Tim Peake’s Spacecraft’ travelled across the UK for 18 months to engage with communities across the country, allowing them to explore the opportunities available in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. The tour gave over 1.3 million people the chance to see the iconic spacecraft up close.

To accompany the tour was Samsung’s unique ‘Space Descent with Tim Peake VR experience Tour Bus’. It went on the road, visiting city centres and schools across the UK to give Britons the opportunity to travel to space and back virtually. Designed and replicated to look like the ISS, more than 31,000 people across 107 days at over 129 locations underwent a unique space training programme and had the opportunity to experience the Science Museum Group’s Space Descent VR, inspiring a new generation of space explorers.

Francis Chun, President at Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland says, “Our mission from the very beginning was to engage and inspire a new generation, and we are thrilled to see this partnership has done just that.

With 2019 marking Samsung’s 50^th anniversary, the recognition for our ongoing commitment to education is particularly special this year.

The popularity and engagement with the STEM Education Outreach Programme itself has been a testament to how technology can transform the ways in which we learn, and one which we hope will continue to inspire the future scientists, engineers and technologists of tomorrow.”

Now in its 9^th year, the annual awards programme recognises the best CSR initiatives, partnerships and communications. Other fellow award winners this year include NatWest, Coca Cola, BT and Heineken, to name a few. Samsung were also highly commended for the Best Engagement of an Internal Audience in a CSR Programme award, for its partnership with Internet Matters around child online safety.

For more information about Samsung’s STEM education outreach programme, please visit https://www.samsung.com/uk/spacedescent/

Samsung and the Science Museum Group are presenting partners of the National Tour of the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule, which safely returned the European Space Agency’s first British astronaut – Tim Peake – back to earth after six incredible months aboard the International Space Station. As Samsung UK’s flagship CSR programme, the aim of this partnership is to inspire millions of people across the UK by bringing to life the wonder of space travel, sparking a curiosity in life-long learning. To date, the tour has visited Bradford, Shildon, York and Manchester, attracting almost 200,000 visitors, and over the coming months can be experienced at the following locations:

Edinburgh – National Museum of Scotland
17th May – 4th August 2018

Peterborough – Peterborough Cathedral
11th August – 5th November 2018

Cardiff – National Museum Cardiff
November 2018 – January 2019*

Belfast – Ulster Museum
February 2019 – May 2019*

*Exact dates TBC

For more info on the Soyuz National Tour, visit http://samsung.com/uk/spacedescent/