Borrow a researcher/Låna en forskare
This month will be the European researcher night again. As part of the researcher night, Sweden has a program called “Låna en Forskare”. With this initiative schools and companies can register to “borrow” a researcher. On the other side researchers can register to visit and talk to pupils or companies. Previously this event was only in the week before the European researcher’s night. But as it attracted so much interest, the organizers expanded it to once per semester.
Both Dario and Kerstin registered for the event and waited excited for any bookings. Dario was booked by the Dragonscholan in Umeå and could visit the class in person.
Interview:
Which class did you visit?
I visited a class in their 2nd year of high school at Dragonskolan in Umeå
Which topic did you prepare to present?
I presented how we are able to visualize viruses, why it is challenging and what we can learn from it. I have tried to incorporate an overview of the immune response to viruses as that is what the class was studying in their biology class.
How did you prepare your visit?
For the visit, I have prepared a presentation to introduce the topic and give some illustrations of the main concepts. I brought a couple of props from the lab the student could engage with. I also tried to think of some possible questions, but of course the student came up with unexpected ones.
Was it hard to get the pupils interested?
Of course, the level of interest differed quite a lot between students. They were shy in the beginning but, in the end, they started asking questions quite rapidly and I had no problems filling up the allocated hour.
What kind of questions did they ask you?
I expected more questions regarding the life of a scientist, but instead they mainly asked about viruses, how they engage the cell and infect it. I have also been asked what my background was and why I decided to pursue research in general and why specifically in virology.
Would you register again?
Yes! It was a great experience. It is nice to see high school students interested in scientific research. It is also a good exercise to try to explain the research in simple terms and understand what can be attractive to the general public. I have already signed up for the fall session.
Kerstin was booked for an online session by the Bona Folkhögskola – a school were people get a second chance to finish their education after having been working already. The session went extremely well. First, Kerstin gave a brought overview of her academic background. Then she talked a bit about viruses and bacteria, their similarities and differences. This was a suggestion by the teacher as the class currently discussed if both, virus and bacteria, are living organisms. Kerstin also gave them some examples on how to study viruses. But the most part of the session was for open discussion and the students were eager to ask quite a lot and sometimes tough questions. Kerstin says it was a quite rewarding experience and that it was nice to see their curiosity and enthusiasm. It also helps to step back from everyday lab work and to see the bigger picture again.
The next round of låna en forskare will be 25th-28th September. You can register here, either as a researcher yourself or as a school or company.
