Finalists in Science and Innovation at Imperial College

Grace M, Rada K and Rachel K attended the final round of the Science and Innovation Competition run by the Department of Natural Sciences at Imperial College this month.

They were one of 3 teams chosen as finalists in the 16- 19 year old category, with one of the other teams in their category coming over from Bangkok!! They narrowly missed (on a split decision by the judges) in winning, but all the same did themselves and us proud with an excellent presentation of their project and responses to some tough questions from the judges (Dr Jackie Bell – Senior Teaching fellow in the Department of Computing; Dr Crystal Vincent – Researcher in the Department of Life Sciences and Dr Jess Wade – Researcher in the Department of Materials).

Here is the video that they submitted to get through the first round and below you can read their feedback on the experience.

Dr Clare Roper, Director of Science, Technology and Engineering 

"Participating in the competition run by the natural sciences department at Imperial College London on coming up with a solution to one of the UN's 19 goals was an experience of a lifetime. My team and I, were given the opportunity to present our ideas on the hidden cost of gaseous anaesthetics to a group of Imperial faculty members and other teams from all over the world.

"It was incredible to see so many young people from different parts of the world coming together to share their ideas and discuss solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems, it was fascinating to see they way we all had taken such different directions with our solutions. We had the chance to talk to different teams and learn about their thought processes and what brought them to this competition.

"Furthermore, we were lucky enough to get to talk with the judges after our presentation and learn about how they got into their fields of research. It was especially interesting for me since some of the faculty present had specialized in physics. I was able to get advice on how to pursue my field of interest and learn about some of the opportunities available to me.

"It was an amazing thing to be a part of, and I'm truly grateful that we were able to go. This competition not only allowed us to think critically and creatively but also gave us a platform to share our ideas and collaborate with other young people from around the world. It was an incredible experience that will stay with me for a long time. It allowed me to push my limits, learn from other young people, and grow as an individual. It has shown me that with hard work and dedication, I can make a difference in the world and achieve great things."

Rada K, Y12

"We presented on the effects of gaseous anaesthetics on the environment and how we can counteract these by switching to intravenous anaesthetics. We then described our plans for how we would implement these in regions globally that have limited infrastructure or access to electricity. It was a really enjoyable evening, and we received valuable feedback from the panel of judges. 

"We also got to listen to other team’s creative ideas, such as plans to fish microplastics out of the oceans using robots, ideas on alternatives to pesticides and one group spoke about cricket farming as a replacement to meat in a healthy diet (their research included breeding crickets in their own homes)!

"This competition helped us to develop our public-speaking skills and quick-thinking in order to respond to the judge’s questions. Overall, it was an amazing experience, as we got the chance to listen to other team’s creative ideas, present in a lecture theatre and have interesting conversations with some of the university lecturers."

Grace M, Y12