6 Mar 2017
Loughborough Physics tutor taking part in national science competition for schools: ‘I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here!’
Dr Phil Sutton, Technical Tutor at Loughborough’s School of Physics, has been invited to take part in ‘I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here!’, an online outreach competition for scientists, where school students are the judges.
For two weeks, between 6 – 17 March, 40 scientists across different science disciplines put up a profile on the website, answer questions and have live online text-based chats with school students. The students then vote for their favourites, and the winning scientist gets £500 to spend on science communication.
The initiative aims to provide an exciting way for scientists to develop their communications skills, gain a fresh perspective on their work, find out what young people think about science, and raise awareness of science careers.
Dr Sutton is taking part in the Space Exploration Zone, along with four other scientists who work in that area. There are 16 schools taking part in the zone, based all over the UK.
Speaking about his involvement in the competition, Dr Sutton said: “I’m looking forward to talking to children with an interest in science. It is really good practice to learn how to communicate science to a younger audience – you also get asked questions you normally wouldn’t get asked by other scientists.”
Students are currently logging on to read about Phil and his work on his profile, before he begins to answer their questions on Monday 6 March.