2023
We mentored 4 students in July 2023 for their two week placement with Nuffield. The students listened to all of our podcast episodes and between them chose the 6 episodes that interested and resonated with them the most.
The task was for the student to explore and research the topics and translate these episodes into lesson plans that were focussed on the featured STEM subject and/or career awareness within this subject.
The aim of this project is to create useful resources, with activities and materials, that are created for teachers, by students.
We can scale these lesson plans and offer them to schools to promote creativity in STEM and encourage different sensory learning. We are currently developing the lesson plans with teachers to refine them as a valuable resource for schools.
Students Gain
The Nuffield Research Placement programme provides hands-on research projects, where year 12 students can meaningfully contribute towards the work of a host organisation through independent research collaborations relating to an area of STEM
2024
2024 marked our fourth year of hosting a Nuffield Foundation summer research placement.
This year, we tasked the students with creating an engaging post for social media based on one of our ambassador’s blogs. The focus could be on the subject matter, industry, or raising awareness around the chosen career. The project also involved conducting their own research and interviewing a STEM Untapped ambassador, providing them with valuable insights into a STEM career while developing core skills.
One student, Bella, interviewed Megan Barnes-Wood and curated this post all about Medical Engineering. Here’s what Bella says:
“Currently, only a few University’s offer dedicated Medical Engineering courses but, most teach different aspects of it such as Exoskeletons in Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd or Fem-tech in University of Leeds. Most also offer placement years to help you deepen your interest in the field. A degree in Medical Engineering can lead to diverse careers: working in hospitals, advocating for policy changes, becoming an expert witness, or pursuing a PhD to develop new theories, as exemplified by Meg’s research into head injuries
in sports.“
Meg shares her advice ‘there’s not a single job on this planet that you couldn’t do.’
