The class of 2023 Access to Science and Medicine students completed their final project presentations together in the Valency conference suite at Turo College. Students each had ten minutes to conduct their presentations, with topics ranging from Investigating feeding preferences of different garden bird species to the effect of the vividness of a person’s mental imaging ability on the amount of time spent reading for leisure.
After choosing a topic of interest students conduct a literature review to collect relevant background information and explore the findings of previous research and the methods which have been employed. Students design and implement their project and write a full written report before presenting their findings to their peers and a panel of judges. This years judges were Janet Cotton, Maria Pascoe, Phil Bowles, Dr Phil Billington and Dr Sarah Crowley.”
Phil Bowles, senior scientist at Impact Fluid Solutions said: “There were very good experimental investigations and presentations given and all the students showed enthusiasm for the work done. It was especially heartening to see them understand what went wrong and could be improved, which is an important part of doing science. At Impact Fluid Solutions, we value scientific investigation as a crucial component in developing our drilling fluid and cementing additives and it was pleasing to see a critical focus on this skill being taught on the course.”
The day concluded with Stephanie Angew being awarded gold with a unanimous vote for her study: ‘The pH of popular beverages and their erosive potential on calcium carbonate chips after being submerged for 1 week at room temperature’.
Access to Higher Education Co-ordinator Jolene Hogan said: “Whilst presenting their projects can be a daunting prospect, students end the day feeling exhilarated and proud to have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone. Well done to the students that took part, it is amazing to see how your knowledge, skills and confidence have grown over the academic year.”
Many of the students have already secured places at Universities for subjects including: Medicine, Physician Associate Studies, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Paramedic Science, Physiotherapy, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Biomedical Science, Marine Biology, Environmental Science and Criminology.
Find out more about Access to Higher Education courses.
