Inspiring the next generation: budding young scientists go behind the scenes at the BRC

Eighteen winners of our BRC Youth Awards, part of the IoPPN Youth Awards, have completed two days of work experience with leading scientists and researchers at our Denmark Hill campus.

This year’s winners of our BRC Youth Awards, part of the IoPPN Youth Awards, have completed two days of work experience with leading clinicians, scientists and researchers at our Denmark Hill campus.

The awards are part of the IoPPN Youth Awards, which encourage young people (aged 15-18) from schools across London to stay in social science, science and maths education. The NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) runs three Awards within the scheme, each with a different focus:

  • The BRC Youth Award in Chemistry, Biology and Psychological Health
  • The HERON-BRC Youth Award in Sociology, Psychology and Health
  • The BRC Youth Award in Maths, Computer Science and Health

In addition to the two-day placement and involvement in the 2019 BRC Youth Takeover, winners are awarded a £50 book token.

The first placement day included:

  • Talks from staff members including a counselling psychologist, a psychiatrist and an expert in mental health and addiction on the role of podcasts as a way of reaching different groups
  • A session on research projects in the local community, including the Health of Young PeoplE (HYPE) project, the Evaluation of Youth Violence Intervention (EYVI) and the Health Inequalities Research Network (HERON).
  • A session on the RADAR-CNS (Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse in Central Nervous System Disorders) project.
  • A ‘work-out’ session on health and exercise
  • An interactive session with the South East London Photography (SELPh) project.

The second day included:

Youth Takeover plans

Both days also included workshops to decide on activities for the BRC Youth Takeover, which will happen on 29 November.

The takeover is part of an annual project led by the First News, in which organisations across the country open their doors to children and young people to take over adult roles and give their perspectives to those in charge.

Dr Cerisse Gunasinghe, Postdoctoral Research Associate and Counselling Psychologist, said: “We’re delighted to have worked with another intelligent, promising group of students and we’re looking forward to seeing them again as part of November’s BRC Youth Takeover.

“The UK has a well-known shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills, which potentially threatens future progress in health and social care. These awards aim to inspire the next generation of researchers and healthcare innovators, as well as help tackle the underrepresentation of black and minority ethnic groups in this field.

“It’s great to hear of previous winners who have gone on to study relevant subjects at university – and it was wonderful to hear from another just today who achieved outstanding GCSE results and is now starting A-Levels in biology, chemistry and psychology. We hope to see similar successes from 2019’s winners.”

The 2020 IoPPN Youth Awards will open for applications later in the year. Applicants need to be aged between 15 and 18, attend a school local to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (within five miles) and study a relevant subject at GCSE, A-level or equivalent.

The awards began in 2013 and the number of awards has been increasing ever since.


Tags: Public engagement -

By NIHR Maudsley BRC at 28 Aug 2019, 15:49 PM


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