Junior Genius: nurturing STEM talent

This spring, Generating Genius has hosted a range of successful events for our Year 11 students, designed to support them in the process of preparing for their GCSE exams. Our Maths and Science masterclasses were hosted by academic staff from the University of Exeter’s College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences and Medical School.

In the first session, students tackled challenging mathematical problems to explore the reality behind well-known film phenomena, such as time travel. In addition to this, they also had the opportunity to get a closer look at the connections between Maths and art through symmetry and try out some mathematical transformations.

The second session was an exciting practical focused on Biology, in which the students got the chance to extract their own DNA. Throughout the masterclass, they were also tested on their knowledge of cell biology and the structure and function of human genes. Many students felt that the session broadened their knowledge on the subject:

“I learnt and reinforced things we need to know for biology GCSE.”

The students also had the opportunity to look at more advanced subjects too, in a special session on neuroscience research, more specifically the functions of the brain. They tried out actual tests used to assess brain function in patients with dementia, while working out how to ensure the validity of their results. Using real medical case studies, students discussed the effects of lifestyle choices on the human brain, as well as how neuroscience research can lead to the development of better treatments for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

"It broadened my knowledge on the subjects we study. I feel the knowledge I have now will help me in understanding my A level subjects."

Thanks for your continued support of our projects, we have lots coming up over the summer and will update you next time!

Links:

• Read a blog post and see more pictures about this project here

In February, Generating Genius students took part in a number of challenging half-term workshops to develop their knowledge of science,  maths and STEM careers. It was a great week with record attendances and an over subscription for our univeristy visits. 

On Tuesday, at the stunning Salesforce Tower, students debated 'big data”, learned ‘how science works’ and met with employees across the business at Salesforce, who are one of our fantastic corporate supporters. It was great for students to get an insight into how STEM skills can be applied in the working world and see how important they are for certain roles. 

Later in the week year 11 students tackled maths' unsolved puzzles, as introduced by Dr Katie Steckles from Think Maths. This included the 'Four Colour Theorum', which made a seemingly straightforward colouring in exercise into something far more challenging!  Students also created logic gates to discover how computers 'think' and made 'domino computers' to test them out. We finished with 'fractals', which really caught students' imagination as Dr Katie explained how she was part of a team that made the 'MegaMenger' - possibly the biggest fractal in the world!

King’s College London hosted a hands-on Clinical Skills session, in which students learned basic medical skills from current undergraduates and were able to ask questions about life at university. We ended the week with a workshop and campus tour at the School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London in which students were challenged to derive Einstein's famous E=mc2 equation! 

Read more about all these events on our 'Top Stories: page here. 

Links:

• Find out more here