Wow I can’t believe I won! This has been such a fantastic opportunity and I was thankful to even be selected to be involved. Massive thanks to the “I’m a Scientist” team: the moderators and organisers have been very open, reliable and helpful at every stage of the process.
This experience has been extremely worthwhile. I feel I have learnt so much, especially when trying to communicate sometimes quite complex problems in understandable language. I have also learnt a lot about what engages kids – maybe not things like computer processing large amounts of data, but more the idea of what the results mean in real life and how they might affect us here and now.
Some of the live chats, though mad at times, have been very fun and it’s great to see how well the young people have engaged. I have answered so many questions from “do you like unicorns?” to “if climate change was largely attributed to natural processes in the past, how do we know that human activity is the biggest contributor to climate change today?” I have also loved being able to answer some questions in a bit more depth when they’ve been asked outside the live chats. The other scientists in the zone have been great – we’ve been bouncing off each other and not only did I learn lots from them but I also feel like I’ve made some new friends.
My last thank you is to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult where I work. I really appreciate being able to take time out of my working day to engage in STEM activities and have felt very supported throughout this entire event. They do pioneering work not only in offshore renewables but also in the communities where they are based.
Overall I’m a Scientist is something I would highly recommend to scientists and schools alike. I have loved getting to know the school kids and teachers, and I particularly hope I have helped inspire the next generation of scientists!
Steph
Scientists! If you’d like the chance to win funding for your own public engagement work, apply for the next I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here: iasuk.ddev.site/scientist-apply
Congratulations again and thanks Steph- I don’t think I could have put it better myself! I hope that the students got as much out of IAS as I did.
I look forward to seeing the future of I’m a Scientist, and I hope I am the first of many people involved with IAS as students and then as scientists.!