Gabriella English - Summer STEM Virtual Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

 After the success of last year's Virtual Research Placements we decided to run it again in 2021! 

All students have been asked to provide a weekly update on their experience - please see below to see what Gabriella has been up to so far! 

Week One:

"I was very happy to be allowed to work on this project and everyone from L&G was very welcoming and accommodating. Even when issues arose, like how L&G would share with us the recording of the meetings, they worked hard to give us access to them. Everyone on the board was also very active and attentive in answering questions and giving feedback and supported us massively in producing the work that was required." 

- Gabriella English

Jackson Taylor - Summer STEM Virtual Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

 After the success of last year's Virtual Research Placements we decided to run it again in 2021! 

All students have been asked to provide a weekly update on their experience - please see below to see what Jackson has been up to so far! 

Week One:

"I was very happy to be allowed to work on this project and everyone from L&G was very welcoming and accommodating. Even when issues arose, like how L&G would share with us the recording of the meetings, they worked hard to give us access to them. Everyone on the board was also very active and attentive in answering questions and giving feedback and supported us massively in producing the work that was required." 

- Jackson Taylor

 

Working with the Surrey Wildlife Trust was an amazing experience for me. This research project I carried out on the 'Barriers to Nature Engagement in Young People' was an eye-opener towards finding the solutions that can solve local problems and the lack of engagement we currently face in society. The staff members of the Surrey Wildlife Trust, continuously gave me guidance and advice to carry out all the research necessary to make this project successful. As a result, this project received a CREST Gold Award and it is thanks to SWT for giving me this opportunity and always helping  and communicating with me throughout!

Priya Patel - Summer STEM Virtual Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

 

   After the success of last year's Virtual Research Placements we decided to run it again in 2021! 

All students have been asked to provide a weekly update on their experience - please see below to see what Priya has been up to so far! 

Week One:

 'Working with the Surrey Wildlife Trust was an amazing experience for me. This research project I carried out on the 'Barriers to Nature Engagement in Young People' was an eye-opener towards finding the solutions that can solve local problems and the lack of engagement we currently face in society. The staff members of the Surrey Wildlife Trust, continuously gave me guidance and advice to carry out all the research necessary to make this project successful. As a result, this project received a CREST Gold Award and it is thanks to SWT for giving me this opportunity and always helping  and communicating with me throughout!"

                                                                                                                                - Priya Patel

Isabel King - Summer STEM Virtual Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

 

   After the success of last year's Virtual Research Placements we decided to run it again in 2021! 

All students have been asked to provide a weekly update on their experience - please see below to see what Isabel has been up to so far! 

Week One:

"On the 26^th of July, I began my two-week remote work placement with the Surrey Ion Beam Centre through SATRO. The aim of the project was to produce a video storyboard and poster based on the ion beam analysis techniques available at the Surrey Ion Beam Centre. The video storyboard would consist of a voice-over, images and then an explanation of how the images are to be animated. The storyboard could then be turned into a video by a professional company and used as publicity for the Surrey Ion Beam Centre. My target audience was other A-Level students studying STEM subjects.

 After the first week, I was required to do a mid-work presentation covering: why I had chosen my topic, my plan, review of the first week (was I on track?) and my next steps. At the end of the two weeks, I presented my poster and storyboard to fellow students and supervisors on the placement.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found I improved and gained skills in lots of new areas, including summarising difficult concepts simply and in my own words, and the ability to use keywords to search for relevant information and papers. I also gained skills in using Paint (a software that I had not previously used) and using PowerPoint’s drawing tools. Doing two presentations of my work also further improved my presentation skills and the clarity of my explanations.

I had a virtual meeting each morning with my mentor which was really helpful for any questions I had and to give me guidance, especially at the start of the project.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my remote work placement and would like to thank the Surrey Ion Beam Centre, Pierre Couture (my mentor) and SATRO for giving me the opportunity!"

- Isabel King

Nya-Therese Halliday - Summer STEM Virtual Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

In April SATRO took the unprecedented (and sad) decision to suspend the Research Programme for this year due to COVID-19. We asked all our providers for a 'day in the life of' summaries to give the students a flavour of the many types of roles that are available in the professional environments. 

Following SATRO's hard work to develop an online policy. In May, we reached out to our wonderful providers to propose a virtual solution and to get around any social distancing rules. The response was amazing. We asked for suitable titles that the students could research over the summer and devise a short essay and either a PP or a poster with their findings. 

All students have been asked to provide a weekly update on their experience - please see below to see what Nya-Therese has been up to so far! 

Week One

"I chose to research the question what is the truth and consequences behind the MMR vaccine and autism scandal? I decided to explore this title because when I was undergoing my research about Wakefield’s hypothesis regarding the MMR vaccine and its potential link with autism, numerous issues regarding Wakefield’s research appeared and the consequences of his proposed hypothesis to society. This for me made it a very interesting project to write about because I was able to incorporate several ideas into my dissertation and develop a greater breadth of knowledge about the truth behind Andrew Wakefield, undercovering his true intentions.

 

The methods of working I have found successful have been gathering all of my research, writing a first draft and then further researching specific areas that perhaps lacked in detail and cohesion or possible questions that had arisen. Using this information, I then went on to write a second draft and repeated this process until I was happy with the result. I struggling slightly on developing a clear and concise structure, that flowed logically. It took me a few drafts to perfect this and for me to be satisfied, but I am happy with the end result.

 

I have absolutely loved and I am incredibly lucky to have been given this opportunity to research thoroughly a topic I am passionate about and have curiosities in learning more about. I am excited to building on this and pursuing a deeper understanding about this subject." 

- Nya-Therese Halliday 

Anja Salta - Summer STEM Virtual Work Placement Student - Weekly Reports

 

In April SATRO took the unprecedented (and sad) decision to suspend the Research Programme for this year due to COVID-19. We asked all our providers for a 'day in the life of' summaries to give the students a flavour of the many types of roles that are available in the professional environments. 

Following SATRO's hard work to develop an online policy. In May, we reached out to our wonderful providers to propose a virtual solution and to get around any social distancing rules. The response was amazing. We asked for suitable titles that the students could research over the summer and devise a short essay and either a PP or a poster with their findings. 

All students have been asked to provide a weekly update on their experience - please see below to see what Anja has been up to so far! 

Week One

"I have always been curious about what will happen in the future and how our actions will shape what it looks like. It’s why I choose to do ‘How to sustainably provide food for 9 billion people’. When I saw this question I was immediately drawn to it as it made me really think about possible solutions. I had a couple of thoughts in my head about what can be done so I did the research to see if they were viable options and to see if there were better solutions.

It was easy to find information on this topic as it is seen as a pressing issue that needs to be addressed quickly in order to solve it. It took a little while to be able to pick and choose what I thought was the most important factors and then put them into categories, but I eventually got there. Now all I have left to do is finish writing my findings."

- Anja Salta