The University of Southampton

Professor John Holloway on the value of Meet the Scientist sessions

A new phase of the LifeLab story has begun with our first students taking part in the EACH-B research project.

Hampshire students were the first to download a new smart phone app that has been developed as part of EACH-B,  the latest research phase of the LifeLab intervention.

The health education project is based on young people discovering for themselves how their lifestyle choices can affect them and EACH-B is building on that with the use of the app, along with young people being supported by teachers in school.

A popular part of the LifeLab experience continues to be the Meet the Scientist sessions where researchers from across the UHS and University of Southampton communities showcase their work.

Along with inspiring the students, the opportunity is hugely rewarding for our volunteers who get the chance to present their work to a new audience.

Professor John Holloway said of his experience: “The opportunity to take part in Meet the Scientist sessions has been incredibly valuable for me. There is nothing like having to explain your work to a group of enthusiastic teenagers for making you think about how to engage an audience.

“I would encourage all faculty researchers to participate in this scheme. It is a great way to illustrate your commitment to public engagement that research funders expect.”

Talking about the impact the sessions had on him, John said: “It reminds me about the sense of enthusiasm I had and what attracted me to do science in the first place.”

Other volunteers have spoken of how the sessions have made them look at their research in a new light and how they were the first stepping stone to a more confident approach to public engagement.

If you would like to volunteer email lifelab@soton.ac.uk. Find out more about the impact the sessions have had on volunteers here.