The University of Southampton

Going virtual with our Meet the Scientist sessions

scientists

A popular part of the LifeLab experience has always been the Meet the Scientist sessions where researchers from across the University Hospital Southampton and University of Southampton communities showcase their work.

Right now while we are not able to welcome students into our labs to meet these wonderful army of volunteers face to face, we are working on ways to allow them to continue to inspire the next generation online and digitally.

We want to be able to ensure they are still able to spark the enthusiasm and inquiring minds of our young people by telling their stories on video and online sessions.

Watch this space for more details on where you can see their inspiring work and learn about their career path and experiences. In the meantime if you are a researcher or scientist and would like to get involved in the sessions please email our team at lifelab@soton.ac.uk to find out more and a huge thank you for all those who have done so already.

Our existing volunteers always tell us of the huge rewards they get out of the sessions, and we are hoping to translate that into our online work.

Professor John Holloway who has delivered face to face sessions, said of his experience: “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.

Showcase countdown: Celebrating the legacy we are leaving every day

LifeLab has the pleasure of working with some incredible partners, who share our ambition to engage and inspire the next generation of scientists. With us on that journey is the Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium, with who we work very closely and with who we will be celebrating at this week’s Showcase event.

Here, Director of STEM Strategy at the centre Emily Thorpe-Smith, talks about our common goal to train up our current incredible volunteers to become role models that inspire our students into scientific discovery of their own.

She says: “It is always a pleasure working with LifeLab, firstly with the STEM Ambassador Programme and secondly with the CREST Awards.

We work directly with the team to train the STEM professionals to work with the young people who attend the hospital sessions.

It is always a highlight to talk to the volunteers and guide them to become the best role models. Many of these volunteer continue to support STEM engagement away from LifeLab as well.

The CREST Awards add the much deserved recognition for the projects the young people complete, and add another last legacy.”

A lot of volunteering love

There was an awful lot of volunteering love coming through from our team of Meet the Scientists this week as we celebrated the huge contribution they make to the success of LifeLab.

As part of the national Volunteers Week campaign, we invited our supporters to tell us why they gave up their time to talk to our students about their lives, work and inspirations.

We had an overwhelming response which reaffirmed our belief in what a crucial part the sessions play in not only inspiring a new generation of researchers but also by giving a huge amount back to our volunteers.

Programme manager Kathryn Woods-Townsend said: “We wanted to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to our scientists and researchers who give up their time to support us. What we saw was how valuable it was, not only to the students but our volunteers too.

“The theme of always learning and being inspired is clearly a two-way benefit for both scientists and our students who take part ans support us.”

Below are the quotes we received when we asked our volunteers why they took part in the Meet the Scientist sessions. Enjoy reading them, we certainly did!

Find more on our twitter feed @LifelabSoton

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“I volunteer at Lifelab because…… it’s a genuine two-way conversation, a chance to discuss the wide range of work we do, but more importantly to listen and understand people’s perceptions of that work.”

Martin Stevens

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“I volunteer at LifeLab because…… speaking to the purest young minds helps me clarify my thoughts around my research and the process throws up questions I hadn’t anticipated. Furthermore, it’s great fun too.

Kazeem Olalekan

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“I volunteer at LifeLab because I enjoy inspiring young people to become interested in science”

Meg Ashton Key

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“I volunteer at LifeLab because I enjoy being able to share my work with kids and hopefully be able to spark an interest in science.”

Jaramillo Oquendo

 

“I volunteer at LifeLab because…… when you are truly passionate about your work it is a pleasure to share it with others. When I was at school we did not have work experience or resourses like LifeLab. There is a whole word of opportunities in STEM just waiting to be discovered, you just need someone to show you the way.

James Thompson

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“I volunteer at LifeLab because……I want to make science accessible and fun! Science has a reputation for being too complicated and boring and it is important to take science out of the lab so school students know how amazing science is.”

Catarina Moura

 

 

“I volunteer at LifeLab because I enjoy explaining my research to young minds, maybe that experience may spark interest in them to pursue science.”

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Fatumah Atuhaire

Saluting our volunteer supporters

Programmes like LifeLab run on lots of things.

At the heart of it is our shared belief in how nutrition can improve health across the life course and help young people break the cycles of unhealthy behaviour.

Along with those who are leading this pioneering research and those who deliver the teaching to the thousands of schoolchildren it will benefit, we are lucky to have an army of volunteers who are willing to share their expertise and, more importantly, their time with our project.

So as the world marks International Volunteers Day this week, we at LifeLab wanted to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those who support us in making a difference to the future health of our children.

Thank you to those scientists who give their time to engage with our visiting students through our ‘Meet the Scientist’ sessions. The scientists and researchers, both from the University of Southampton and University Hospitals Southampton, share their own stories and inspiration for their work with our students in these sessions.

Many are not even talking to the students about nutrition and health, but just opening their eyes to the broader appeal of science and how it can change the world.
Teenagers sit and chat in informal, small groups and find out about the work that is being carried everyday and have the opportunity to ask whatever they like – from questions about what kind of people ‘do science’, to what scientists get up to in their jobs, to specific questions about their research.

The scientists who come to these sessions play a valuable role in inspiring the next generation to believe that they too could one day make a difference through science.

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Our volunteers also take part in the Winchester Science Centre STEM Ambassador Hub programme where the work they do in public engagement is recognised in raising the profile of science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.

Through our volunteers we also build on some wonderful partnerships with our wider research family including Cancer Research UK along with the Institute for Developmental Science and the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit based at the University of Southampton.

We also rely on volunteers to help organise and run open days and science events which helps promote and share the work we do here at LifeLab whilst at the same time engaging young people in the messages we hope will help them lead healthier lives.

Volunteers play a vital role on a daily basis in all walks of life. LifeLab is one of them and today we salute you.