At the outset FLEET set itself ambitious goals around outreach, laying out a requirement that each member, from Director to PhD student, would do 20 hours of outreach each year.

By putting in over 7600 hours of outreach-focused work at over 800 outreach events, members reached a staggering 74,000 students, teachers and members of the public in face-to-face events.

In the process, FLEET:

• Improved public awareness of FLEET research areas
• Made quantum science more accessible
• Raised awareness of FLEET’s key challenge: the unsustainable energy consumption of electronics.

FLEET was able to improve scientific literacy and understanding of FLEET science amongst primary and secondary students, and improve the capability of teachers to teach FLEET-relevant physics (see the case study).

Putting forward a diverse and personal face to science for students encouraged students to consider participation in science and physics in senior high school and through to university, in particular for students from marginalised groups in STEM.

In the process, Centre members developed their own communication and engagement skills, and learned the impact of their research outside academia.

FLEET developed methods to evaluate the impact of outreach activities and shared these with other Centres (see the case study).