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Outreach: Impact on Skills and Future Careers of Postgraduate Practitioners Working with the Bristol ChemLabS Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
,
Nick Barron,
Jessica Bonham,
Marisol Correa Ascencio,
Andrew Chapman,
Ben Cheesman,
Matthew England,
Jane Fletcher,
Stephanie Flynn,
Phyllis Fiadzomor,
James Fothergill,
Claudio Greco ,
Ash Griffith,
Kate Hanford,
Preeti Kaur,
M. Anwar H. Khan ,
Rebecca Ingle,
Gordon Inglis,
Adele Laurain,
Emma Liddle,
Marcus I. Medley,
Ikenna Ndukwe ,
Alison Rivett ,
Rebecca Sage,
Zoe Schnepp,
Linda Sellou,
Katherine E. Shaw,
Steve Street,
Godiraone Tatolo ,
Rachel Wellington,
Dudley E. Shallcross
Journal of Chemical Education, Volume: 100, Issue: 11, Pages: 4270 - 4278
Swansea University Authors:
Shirin Alexander , Claudio Greco
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© 2023 The Authors. This publication is licensed under a CC-BY 4.0. license.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00261
Abstract
Postgraduate engagement in delivering outreach activities is more commonplace than it once was. However, the impact on postgraduate students (typically studying for a Ph.D. degree) of participating in the delivery of these outreach activities has rarely, if ever, been recorded. The Bristol ChemLabS...
| Published in: | Journal of Chemical Education |
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| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| Published: |
American Chemical Society (ACS)
2023
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66225 |
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| Abstract: |
Postgraduate engagement in delivering outreach activities is more commonplace than it once was. However, the impact on postgraduate students (typically studying for a Ph.D. degree) of participating in the delivery of these outreach activities has rarely, if ever, been recorded. The Bristol ChemLabS Outreach program has been running for ca. 17 years, and in that time, many postgraduate students have been involved (approximately 500), with around 250 typically for up to 3 years. We sought to investigate the impact of outreach engagement on postgraduate alumni who were involved in the program for over 3 years (32) and how the experiences and training of the outreach program had impacted on their careers postgraduation. Thirty of the 32 postgraduates engaged and ∼70% reported that their outreach experience had influenced their decision making on future careers. Many respondents reported that the skills and experiences gained through outreach participation had contributed to success in applying for and interviewing at their future employers. All respondents reported that outreach had helped them to develop key skills that were valued in the workplace, specifically, communication, teamwork, organizational skills, time planning, event planning, and event management. Rather than a pleasant distraction or an opportunity to supplement income, all participants noted that they felt there were many additional benefits and that this was time well spent. Outreach should not be viewed as a distraction to science research but rather an important enhancement to it provided that the program is well constructed and seeks to develop those delivering the outreach activities. |
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| Keywords: |
Higher Education Institutes and Outreach Funders; Public Understanding of Science/Outreach; Thematic Content Analysis with a Deductive Approach |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
We thank Bristol ChemLabS under whose auspices various aspects of this work was carried out. Additional funders of the work described include the Royal Society of Chemistry, STEM Learning, Triple Science Network, the Primary Science Teaching Trust, and the University of Bristol Widening Participation Unit. |
| Issue: |
11 |
| Start Page: |
4270 |
| End Page: |
4278 |