On the 12th of June 44 of our STEM students took part in the first Emanuel STEM conference. This was an opportunity for them to pick a research paper, summarize it and present it to their peers in the style of a scientific conference. Our students gathered in the 6th form centre for a morning of presentations followed by a poster session over lunch. The quality of the presentations, posters and high level of knowledge and understanding showcased the best of our STEM students. Our judges, Mr Nav Johal OE (1984-92) a consultant paediatric surgeon & academic and Dr Art Mountain our mathematician in resident were very impressed by the standard and quality of the work that all the candidates put in. The ability of all of them to take a complex idea and communicate it their peers was more than we would expect from an A-level student. The message for the conference was to be OK with being uncomfortable in the academic ideas being presented. Everyone of them took this message on board, challenged themselves and the other candidates. Congratulations to all of the candidates who put themselves forward, but especially to our prize winners.
There were two spot prizes for each category (poster and presentation) and an winner for each too.
The spot prizes for the presentations were:
Sasha & Mia – Very deep knowledge of Small Modular Reactor’s and critically analyse the research. They were then able to use this to suggest a solution to an emerging problem for society in the future – energy output!
Lily – Exceptional presentation on a difficult topic and simplified it and communicated it very clearly. This was the synthesis of neuropsychology and a common health problem for expecting mothers. Looking at the effect of SSRI’s and the potential negative effects on developing foetuses. Again, she looked at the problem, analyzed the primary research and looked at potential ways around this problem.
Spot Prizes Poster –
Maggie & Hermoine – this was a very well presented poster with original research. Good use of images to simply and explain difficult concepts. This could have been a poster presented at an actual scientific conference.
Ryan & Joel – Excellent knowledge and showed very good use of application of a unique physics property of harmonics and sound waves. They clearly knew their subject very well.
The winners for each category were:
Winner Presentation – Romily – outstanding level of knowledge and detail. Was able to critically analyse her sources and was very clear in her presentation. Slides were clear, and it was obvious that she was deeply knowledgeable about the science behind the use of anaesthetics in large wild mammals. The synthesis of a blend of scientific, historic and veterinary disciplines were on show.
Winner Poster – Hannah – She picked a very detailed scientific article to present in her poster. She communicated it very clearly, excellent use of graphics and critically analysed the research, it uses and sources. About the best level of understanding of an actual research paper I have seen from an A-level student in an area of science that is emerging – the symbiotic nature of plants and importance of them in a functioning ecosystem. The analysis of the methods and conclusions was exceptional.
Congratulations to all who participated.
-Mr Strathearn-Burrows, Head of Science & Biology