CIR releases COVID-19 immunology animations to aid quality science communication during the pandemic The slideshows are intended to be used as discussion prompts, guided by a teacher. They can be used in different ways and for different purposes, for example: Welcome to STEM Person of the Week – a STEM engagement activity that’s been shown to reduce children’s stereotypes of science and scientists by providing counter-stereotypical character attributes through a set of diverse STEM role models. As a disabled person, I was welcomed by the team, treated with respect and compassion, and was given the freedom to work in the best way for me - which meant I was productive and valued too. This is something that sounds so small, but has been a series of confrontations in the past and to just be accepted and trusted to work in the best way for me from day one was huge.

In fact, we recommend that you run STEM Person of the Week with your whole school or whole year groups; this way, children, young people and teachers can share what they’re learning beyond the classroom and into their social spaces and staff room. This resource aims to equip teachers with everything they need to effectively run this 5-week intervention in their school setting. The resource is simple to use and suitable for children and young people. Primary schools have used the resource for children aged 5 – 11, and secondary schools have used the resource with young people aged 11 – 14.Yes, I got to learn a lot about battery modelling, hone some of my MATLAB skills, and contribute to a product that aims to extend useful battery life, which was great. I've just finished a three month placement at Elysia - Battery Intelligence from WAE as part of my PhD, and I wanted to post something about my last three months that goes beyond the work I was actually doing. So yeah, I had a great few months, I learned a lot about battery modelling, but I also learned a lot about the type of work culture I want to be part of when I finish my PhD.

STEM Person of the Week is a set of five carefully chosen STEM role models that reflect diversity in the skills needed in the STEM workforce and the people who work in STEM. The intervention is 5 weeks long, and each week a new STEM worker is showcased to the children in classrooms and across the school. Each STEM person has 3 characteristics that they think are important for them to do their job. In each set of cards, the children are exposed to 15 characteristics (see table), to provide a counter-stereotypical vocabulary which better reflects the realities of working in STEM. The A Scientist Just Like Me resource was created by PSTT Fellows, Kulvinder Johal, Alison Trew and Ali Eley during 2021. CIR researchers launch ‘Intensive-Share’ – a patient and public involvement group for paediatric critical care research But really, I got to experience working in a team that genuinely acted as a team. A team that celebrated each other's victories and sat together in frustration when faced with challenges. I felt part of this team from the first day - being included in things like professional headshots and getting my fair share of merch too.I find that discussing sustainability still comes alongside discussing profits. It still feels like an afterthought to 'customer' or 'industry' demands. I hope I'm wrong. And if I'm not, I hope I can be part of changing that narrative. We know from our own research that, when asked to describe scientists, children use a limited and very stereotypical vocabulary. In our surveys, when asked to write 6 words to describe a scientist, over 40% of the total words used were some sort of stereotype: crazy hair, explosions, lab coats, genius, etc. The SPOTW resource is designed to counter this vocabulary through a more nuanced set of attributes that scientists themselves use to describe their characteristics. STEM Person of the Week (SPOTW) has been created by the NUSTEM Group at Northumbria University. We’re a group of STEM Outreach practitioners and researchers who are looking to increase diversity within STEM. We do this through evidence-informed practice, working with children and their key influencers (parents and teachers) from pre-school to post-16. SPOTW was created in partnership with one of our partner primary schools, who piloted the first iteration of the resource. Are you interested in sharing your research, practicing your presentation skills, or getting help on a particular research question? Express your interest in one or more of the below presentation methods: A Scientist Just Like Me is designed to raise awareness of diversity in science-related jobs and to provide illustrated examples of a wide range of science-based careers. It consists of a series of short slideshows, each one ‘telling the story’ of a particular scientist or person working in a science-related job.