The event, organised by the Faculty, involved teams from Queen Elizabeth School, Dallam School, Kirkbie Kendal School, and The Lakes School selecting a science and technology related topic and attending a research day on the 28th April at the University, before presenting in May.
During the research day, participants had the opportunity to work first-hand with world-class researchers and PhD students, in state-of-the-art facilities, to gain in-depth knowledge of their topics, and begin work on their presentation and professional poster.
Students then continued working on their research projects at school, which complemented their studies, before being invited back on the 8th May to present at the conference. Presenting to a live audience and taking questions, the day provided them with invaluable experience in a conference environment.
The research topics selected were:
- The chemistry behind the visualisation of fingerprints (Chemistry)
- Exploring gold nanoparticles (Chemistry)
- Our ability to bind objects, actions, and scenes in our visual long-term memory (Psychology)
- Investigating photosynthesis to improve crop yield and agriculture (LEC)
Kate Hutchinson, Faculty Student Recruitment and Outreach Events Assistant, who helped organise the two days, commented: “The event is about supporting local schools, giving their students the chance to experience university life, and gain insight into what research and academia is really all about. The day was fun and informative for everyone involved; a huge success!”
During the event, students also attended a talk by Dr David Ellis from Psychology about how he got into research and the type of research he is currently working on, and a talk on student life by Claire Murray from UKSRO.