NYSF STEM Speed Dating: Session C, January 25, 2016

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NYSF STEM Speed Dating: Session C, January 25, 2016

By The National Youth Science Forum

Date and time

Monday, January 25, 2016 · 9:30am - 12pm AEDT

Location

Melville Hall, The Australian National University

12 Ellery Crescent Acton, ACT 2601 Australia

Description

Are you involved in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) field? Did you study a STEM degree and then used those skills to go on and work in a different field? We would love you to share your experiences with young people who are passionate about STEM!

Every January, The National Youth Science Forum brings 400 Year 12 students to Canberra for a 12-day immersive science experience. Students visit research labs and industry sites, hear from inspiring scientists, and participate in skill development workshops.

A key part of the January sessions is exposing students to the range of career paths available to those interested in STEM. In 2016, we would like to extend the opportunities for students to connect with "real life" professionals and researchers in an informal "speed dating" format.

As a participant, you would sit down with small groups of student (no more than 8) to talk about your job, your research, and how you got to where you are today. The focus will be on informal discussions where students feel comfortable asking questions. Students will rotate, so you'll have 10-12 conversations lasting 5-7 minutes (the exact split will depend on the number of participants). There will be several breaks across the session where you can catch your breath, have some morning tea - and possibly continue conversations with any particularly interested students.

Questions

Do I need to prepare anything beforehand?

No, there's no need to write a speech or similar; this is an informal event with a Q&A format, where students will be encouraged to ask you about your work and career choices. If you'd like to jot down some ideas, here are some examples of possible questions the students might ask:

  • What did you do after Year 12? Why did you choose that degree/university/job?
  • If I wanted to do what you do, what should I do after Year 12?
  • What's the best part of your job? What's exciting about your research?

If you have any examples of your work or research please do bring them along - when we've run events like this in the past we've found that having something to "show and tell" can help break the ice and get students even more engaged.

Why are there two events? Do I have to attend both?

There are two NYSF January sessions - January 4 to January 16, and January 18 to January 30 - with 200 students attending each session.

This registration form is for the Monday January 125 session; visit https://nysfspeeddatinga.eventbrite.com.au for the event on Monday January 21. If you're able to, we would love to have you on both January 11 and January 25, but that's not a requirement at all. We greatly appreciate the time people give up to support NYSF events every year.

Where is the event?

The session will be in Melville Hall on the ANU Campus - Building #12, at 12 Ellery Crescent. See http://www.anu.edu.au/maps#search=melville+hall&show=11284.

Where should I park on campus?

January is usually a fairly quiet time on the ANU campus, so hopefully parking shouldn't be too difficult. A map of visitor parking is available to download from https://services.anu.edu.au/files/guidance/visitor_parking_-march_2015.pdf [PDF file]. See https://services.anu.edu.au/campus-environment/transport-parking/casual-and-visitor-parking for further information on visitor parking at ANU.

Unfortunately the NYSF is not able to reimburse participants for parking or transport costs.

Can I update my registration information?

You can easily update the information you provide when you register through the Eventbrite system; see http://help.eventbrite.com.au/customer/en_au/portal/articles/430100 for instructions.

Can I invite my colleagues to participate as well?

Yes! If you have colleagues or friends who you think would be great to speak to these students please do send them the link to the registration pages - both for this event and for the second session on Monday January 25. All that we ask is that all participants are currently working in the STEM field or studied STEM in the past, and are enthusiastic about sharing their experiences with young people.

We are particularly keen to get early career researchers and recent graduates involved in the sessions.

To help with organising we do ask that everyone who attends does register beforehand online; if people we're not expecting come along on the day we might not be able to fit them in

Any other questions?

This session is being organised by Madeline Cooper, the STEM Education Manager at the NYSF. You can contact her at any time on madeline.cooper@nysf.edu.au, or (02) 6125 2782.

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