I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here - STFC
Lead Research Organisation:
Gallomanor (United Kingdom)
Department Name: Grants Administration
Abstract
We will run 10 zones of I'm a Scientist (IAS) featuring STFC related scientists.
IAS is an online, student-led STEM enrichment and engagement activity where school students connect with scientists. They are competitions between groups of scientists, called 'zones', where students ask the questions and decide who wins.
Taking part is exciting for students. They can challenge adults on their views, see the huge diversity of UK science and technology research, and connect on a personal level with scientists they would likely never meet in person.
It works on a deeper level too. Student-led live chat conversations and ASK questions ensure the engagement around science and technology is relevant to their own views and opinions. By relating to science on a personal level they see it as something 'for them'.
Knowing adults in scientific jobs is a key factor determining a student's Science Capital and their aspirations. Schools recognise this and organise ways for their students to meet scientists. However, many schools are underserved by these visits - our research shows schools just 30 minutes drive from a major research university receive half the number of visits as those 15 minutes away.
This STFC Legacy Award will get 60 scientists involved in STFC research areas meeting these young people online as part of the larger IAS project, with a focus on students under-served by other STEM engagement opportunities and at Widening Participation (WP) schools. Through direct engagement in 10 zones across two years, they will help thousands of UK school students, regardless of location and background, see that science and technology are for them.
Through the interaction, students:
see that the scientists are normal people doing jobs they could do themselves
see the relevance of STFC-related science and technology to their own lives
become enthused about the possibilities in the science and technology sector
The scientists:
develop communication skills
renew their enthusiasm for their work
are motivated to do more engagement
The IAS STFC zones will showcase the diversity of STFC science and technology. In comparison to an in-person visit from a single scientist, each zone gives students access to 6 people and the wide range of expertises and experiences that exist within topics relates to STFC science. A zone can showcase people behind headline research, such as CERN and space telescopes, alongside smaller projects which get less exposure.
The zones will also improve the reach of STFC scientists and engineers to more diverse audiences. Students too far from regular visits, primary students, quiet students, loud students... online engagement works for the people that traditional face-to-face STEM engagement struggles with.
And the benefits go both ways. By taking part, scientists discover that young people are interested in their work; they learn the phrases that work to explain what they do, and in the year after participants tend to do lots more public engagement than before. They talk with their colleagues about the benefits they've gained, growing both the IAS events and championing a culture of STEM engagement in their organisations.
IAS is an online, student-led STEM enrichment and engagement activity where school students connect with scientists. They are competitions between groups of scientists, called 'zones', where students ask the questions and decide who wins.
Taking part is exciting for students. They can challenge adults on their views, see the huge diversity of UK science and technology research, and connect on a personal level with scientists they would likely never meet in person.
It works on a deeper level too. Student-led live chat conversations and ASK questions ensure the engagement around science and technology is relevant to their own views and opinions. By relating to science on a personal level they see it as something 'for them'.
Knowing adults in scientific jobs is a key factor determining a student's Science Capital and their aspirations. Schools recognise this and organise ways for their students to meet scientists. However, many schools are underserved by these visits - our research shows schools just 30 minutes drive from a major research university receive half the number of visits as those 15 minutes away.
This STFC Legacy Award will get 60 scientists involved in STFC research areas meeting these young people online as part of the larger IAS project, with a focus on students under-served by other STEM engagement opportunities and at Widening Participation (WP) schools. Through direct engagement in 10 zones across two years, they will help thousands of UK school students, regardless of location and background, see that science and technology are for them.
Through the interaction, students:
see that the scientists are normal people doing jobs they could do themselves
see the relevance of STFC-related science and technology to their own lives
become enthused about the possibilities in the science and technology sector
The scientists:
develop communication skills
renew their enthusiasm for their work
are motivated to do more engagement
The IAS STFC zones will showcase the diversity of STFC science and technology. In comparison to an in-person visit from a single scientist, each zone gives students access to 6 people and the wide range of expertises and experiences that exist within topics relates to STFC science. A zone can showcase people behind headline research, such as CERN and space telescopes, alongside smaller projects which get less exposure.
The zones will also improve the reach of STFC scientists and engineers to more diverse audiences. Students too far from regular visits, primary students, quiet students, loud students... online engagement works for the people that traditional face-to-face STEM engagement struggles with.
And the benefits go both ways. By taking part, scientists discover that young people are interested in their work; they learn the phrases that work to explain what they do, and in the year after participants tend to do lots more public engagement than before. They talk with their colleagues about the benefits they've gained, growing both the IAS events and championing a culture of STEM engagement in their organisations.
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Helium Zone - March 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Helium Zone (helium22.imascientist.org.uk) ran from 7 March to 1 April and was funded by STFC. The Zone was a general science and engineering Zone featuring STEM professionals from a variety of careers with a focus on research supported by STFC facilities and funding. 35 scientists created a profile in the zone. 1,067 students from 30 schools across the UK logged into the Zone. 58 live chats took place, in which students and scientists wrote 11,481 lines of chat. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2022/helium-zone-report-march-2022/ |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Hydrogen Zone - September 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Hydrogen Zone ran from the 23rd August - 24th September. The Hydrogen Zone was a general zone, supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC). - 23 scientists created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Yueng Lenn, an Oceanographer and Lecturer at Bangor University; and Chris Hendridge, a Principal Investigator at University of Dundee. - 15 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 3 scientists attended each live chat session. - 28 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 112 answers. - 194 students from 7 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 100% of active students were from priority schools: 42% from widening participation schools, and 58% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2022/hydrogen-zone-report-2021/ |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Nuclear Zone - December 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Nuclear Zone ran from the 29th November - 17th December. The Nuclear Zone was supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the South West Nuclear Hub. - 41 scientists created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Luke Townsend, Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Sheffield; and Callum Evans, Nucleargraduates Programme Member and PLant Facing Technical at Sellafield Ltd. - 18 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 3 scientists attended each live chat session. - 63 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 419 answers. - 388 students from 12 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 74% of active students were from priority schools: 22% from widening participation schools, and 41% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2022/nuclear-zone-report-december-2021/ |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Orange Zone - May 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Orange Zone ran from the 4th - 28th May. The Orange Zone was a general zone, supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 29 scientists created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, s Emma Yhnell, a lecturer in neuroscience at Cardiff University; and Sujit Bhattacharya, a Principal Engineer at Evonetix Ltd. - 44 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 6 scientists attended each live chat session. - 225 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 287 answers. - 865 students from 19 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 58% of active students were from priority schools: 43% from widening participation schools, and 19% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2021/orange-zone-report/ |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Pink Zone - March 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Pink Zone ran from the 1st - 26th March. The Pink Zone was a general zone, supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC). - 27 scientists created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Lizzie Pendlington, Science Communication student at STFC; Geraint Evans, PhD student at the University of Southampton; and Karen Burstow, microscopy scientist at Reading Scientific Services Limited. - 66 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 5 scientists attended each live chat session. - 170 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 541 answers. - 864 students from 23 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 63% of active students were from priority schools: 26% from widening participation schools, and 50% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2021/pink-zone-report-march-2021/ |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Purple Zone - February 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Purple Zone ran from the 1st - 26th February. The Purple Zone was a general zone, supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC). - 24 scientists created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Viviene Dela Cruz, a development scientist at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory; Amal Lavender, who runs the Chemical and Biological sciences department at the National Physical Laboratory; and Philip Ratcliffe, an associate professor of Nuclear and Sub-nuclear Physics at Insubria University. - 71 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 4 scientists attended each live chat session. - 147 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 280 answers. - 878 students from 29 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 43% of active students were from priority schools: 27% from widening participation schools, and 19% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2021/purple-zone-report-february-2021/ |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - Yellow Zone October 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Yellow Zone ran from the 28th September - 23rd October. This Zone was the second of the I'm a Scientist: On Demand zones, which were created to allow schools to have flexibility in when, and how, they took part. The Yellow Zone was a general zone, supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC). - 32 scientists created profiles in the Zone. 27 engaged with students in live chats and Ask. - Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Emma McCabe, who designs new materials at the University of Kent; James Smallcombe, a nuclear physicist at the University of Liverpool; and Alison Young who explores how stars and planets form using computer simulations at the University of Leicester. - 65 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 3 researchers attended each live chat session. - 187 posted questions were approved and sent to the researchers who responded with 326 answers. - 875 students from 28 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. 11 of these schools had taken part in a previous I'm a Scientist activity. - 212 of active students were from widening participation schools, and 317 from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://about.imascientist.org.uk/2020/yellow-zone-report-october-2020/ |
| Description | I'm an Engineer - Candela Zone - June 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Candela Zone ran from the 7th June - 16th July. The Purple Zone was a general zone, supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Digital Engineering Technology & Innovation (DETI) programme at the University of the West of England. - 36 engineers created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Engineers from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Chloe James, a Integrated Logistics Support Engineer at BAE systems; Tommy Shinton, a Civil Engineer who designs flood defences for AECOM; and Ruth McKinlay, a Lead mechanical asset engineer for INEOS. - 42 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 6 engineers attended each live chat session. - 130 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 436 answers. - 580 students from 19 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 44% of active students were from priority schools: 34% from widening participation schools, and 19% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imanengineer.org.uk/2021/08/02/candela-report/ |
| Description | I'm an Engineer - Meter Zone - March 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Meter Zone ran from the 1st - 26th March. The Meter Zone was a general zone, supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Digital Engineering Technology & Innovation (DETI) programme at the University of the West of England. - 24 engineers created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Engineers from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Magdalena Grzybek, a Future Technologies Engineer at GKN Aerospace; Daniel Hardy, a Solar PV Design Engineer for Ameresco; and Anna Garcia-Teruel, a Research Associate in Offshore Renewable Energy at the University of Edinburgh. - 52 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 3 engineers attended each live chat session. - 102 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 283 answers. - 804 students from 24 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 80% of active students were from priority schools: 70% from widening participation schools, and 25% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imanengineer.org.uk/2021/04/27/metre-zone-report-march-2021/ |
| Description | I'm an Engineer - Space Zone - March 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Space Zone ran from the 1st - 19th March. The Space Zone featured featured engineers working across the UK space sector and was supported by the UK Space Agency and the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC). - 8 engineers created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. Namrah Habib - PhD student in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics at the University of Oxford; and Naziyah Mahmood - Earth Information Sales Engineer at Spire Global. - 25 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 2 engineers attended each live chat session. - 75 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 99 answers. - 459 students from 12 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 71% of active students were from priority schools: 47% from widening participation schools, and 27% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imanengineer.org.uk/2021/04/28/space-zone-report-march-2021/ |
| Description | I'm an Engineer - Space Zone - October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Space Zone ran from the 27th September - 22nd October. The Space Zone was supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the UK Space Agency. - 15 engineers created profiles in the Zone and engaged with students in live chats and follow-up questions. - Engineers from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example, Harriet Gamble, Space Systems Engineer at Airbus; Lucia Rodriguez, Senior Performance Engineer at Reaction Engines; and Natasha Pushkin, Propulsion Engineer at Airbus Defence and Space. - 26 live chats took place took place during the activity. On average, 5 engineers attended each live chat session. - 52 posted questions were approved and sent to the scientists who responded with 67 answers. - 386 students from 9 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone. - 74% of active students were from priority schools: 69% from widening participation schools, and 5% from underserved schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://about.imanengineer.org.uk/2022/01/24/space-zone-report-october-2021/ |
| Description | I'm an Engineer - Space Zone November 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Space Zone ran from 2 to 27 November 2020 as part of I'm an Engineer. The activity ran for longer than previous I'm an Engineer Zones (4 weeks instead of 2). It also featured more engineers (20 instead of 6). This was to offer greater flexibility to teachers in how, and when, they could take part. This was in response to the COVID-19 situation and greater restrictions and uncertainty in schools. The Space Zone was funded by the UK Space Agency, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). - 20 engineers created profiles in the Zone - 19 engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions. Engineers from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example: John Davies, an astronomer at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre; and Sam Frampton, a PhD student researching new spacecraft designs at the University of Leicester. - 486 students from 20 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone - 63% of active students were from target schools (WP and/or U). 45% were from widening participation (WP) schools; 26% were from underserved (U) schools. - 38 live Chats took place took place during the activity - On average, 4 engineers attended each live Chat session - 5 teachers typed questions in a live Chat on behalf of their students, so the number of students engaged may be higher by up to 125 - 82 student questions were approved - engineers responded with 182 answers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://about.imanengineer.org.uk/2021/01/18/space-zone-report/ |