Birmingham host Girls in STEM outreach workshop

, by lifETIME Team

By Emma Lardner (She/Her) (lifETIME CDT Administrator for Birmingham and Operations Manager of the Healthcare Technologies Institute, University of Birmingham)

On Tuesday 4th October, lifETIME CDT Students from the University of Birmingham and Aston University hosted a Girls in STEM workshop for thirty-six year 9 girls.

The day began with a career talk from Dr Anita Ghag, Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine at the University of Birmingham who talked about her career journey and her research.

The students then split up into five small groups for the ‘Meet the Researcher’ session. We had four tables of PhD students, Research Fellows and Academics and one VR demonstration table (VR supplied by FourPlus). The students spent ten minutes at each station and had the chance to talk to real-life Scientists about their career journey, hobbies and plans for the future. The students were extremely engaged in the session and it was great to see so many students be so positive about science careers.

Photo of VRPhoto of table with CDT students and school children

After a short lunch break, students then visited the Healthcare Technologies Institute laboratories for an afternoon of practical sessions. The students split into four groups and spent fifteen minutes taking part in each of the following activities:

  • 3D printing
  • Producing hydrogels
  • Viewing cells on a microscope
  • Stoma bag adhesives

 

The outreach event was a huge success, with school children more engaged in science and more interested in the possibility of a career in science. We hope to host similar workshops in the future.