The girls were full of energy and excited to learn about the different roles in science and also participate in the hands-on activities. One of the best things about the day was also bringing the department together to showcase the different types of interesting people that we have working at NDORMS.
- Roxanna Abhari
On Wednesday 13th June, NDORMS hosted the first CLiMB event aimed at encouraging young women to consider science and medical based careers by highlighting the huge range of available options open to them in departments like NDORMS.
CLiMB (Careers and Life in Medicine and Biomedical sciences) is aimed at girls aged 12-13 years, who enjoy science but do not believe they have the capabilities to work within science. Many of the current university outreach programmes are targeted at older children who have already been pointed towards careers as clinicians or academic scientists. The strength of CLiMB is that the girls were exposed to the full diversity of roles and people who work within clinical and biomedical research. The inaugural day, generated very strong interest and we hope to run it again soon.
During the day, organised by Roxanna Abhari, twenty participants from Oxford Spires Academy had a chance to speak to a wide range of staff and students from the department (and beyond) as well as taking part in engaging interactive activities.
Above: Activies included (from left to right) People Like Me, Surgical Trials and Suturing
It was exciting to stitch a banana and learning what tools surgeons use and how they perform surgery.
Student, Oxford Spires Academy
The day started with the WISE 'People Like Me' activity which gets participants to think about how they, and other people, see themselves and in turn which careers use their chosen characteristics. Students also took part in practical activities encouraging them to explore how surgical trials work and how to stitch up a wound.
Above - Careers Panel (left to right) Sarah Keenan, Emma Lawrance, Katie Chegwin, Emma Morris
I was so impressed by the organisation that had gone into the day for our Year 8s, and the excitement as they left was a really good clue to how much they enjoyed it!
- Teacher, Oxford Spires Academy
After lunch they heard from Afsie Sabokbar, Director of Graduate studies and then quizzed a panel of four different women from the department about their life and careers before heading back to school.
A big thanks to all the people who made it happen:
Roxana Abhari; Abre Bertrand; Katie Chegwin; Cushla Cooper; Nikita Dheer; Natalie Ford; Hamez Gacaferi; Maria Granell Moreno; Joanna Heyman; Sarah Keenan; Emma Lawrance; Stephen Mellon; Jolet Mimpen, Emma Morris, Tiya Muluzi; Felix Peterken; Ines Reichert; Katy Riggs; Afsie Sabokbar; Jo Silva; Sarah Snelling; Isabell Von Loga; Hannah Wilson