2019 Meet the Researcher Showcase Event

Today’s school pupils are tomorrow’s medical researchers – in just a few years secondary school pupils could be engaged in pioneering laboratory work.

That was the message we were keen to deliver at our 2019 Meet the Researcher Showcase events held at Dundee and Glasgow Science Centres in the spring. The events are designed to inspire more young people to pursue careers in this exciting field. 250 senior school pupils and teachers from across Scotland took part.

External speakers from leading Scottish universities explained the breadth of opportunities in the medical research field, whilst exhibitors from a range of Universities and Research Institutions used innovative and fun ways to convey their research.

The focal point of the two days was the opportunity for the pupils to meet 19 Medical Research Scotland-funded scientists working at the forefront of developing new treatments for a range of ailments.

These young scientists, many of them just a few years older than the pupils, explained their cutting edge research and how they hope their findings will improve the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Thirty six S5 pupils from a school in Dumfries attended the Glasgow Showcase were so impressed, they have already put the date in the diary for 2020.

“We carefully selected S5 pupils who are at the stage about to enter six year and will soon be at the point of deciding which university courses, college courses, vocational courses, or young apprenticeship opportunities they will pursue,” said the school’s Principal Teacher Science & Technology.

“So this was a good information gathering session for them to make more informed choices and they thoroughly enjoyed it, even more than I predicted.

“All of the presenters were very personable; they were very young and therefore were good role models for school pupils.

“We will very definitely come back next year and I would recommend it to others because it was a very well run and highly efficient event.”

It wasn’t just the school pupils who were given an insight into the diverse medical research field. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Medical Research Scotland’s Patron since 2008, spent the afternoon meeting scientists and exhibitors at the Glasgow Showcase.

Professor Philip Winn, Chairman, Medical Research Scotland said, “We are always proud to put our researchers on show and delighted that Her Royal Highness was able to join us today to see some of the incredible work they are undertaking.

“What schools are looking for is a better understanding of medical research and I believe the reason these events are so attractive to them is that we put our students from Medical Research Scotland on display to make the direct presentations.

“Our students are terrific scientists and it helps communicate science to have people that are actively engaged, that weren’t school students themselves that long ago, making the presentations.

“Right now in medical research there is so much to do and so much excitement. Today shows that within a few short years they can transform from being in secondary education to doing active real research in real labs across Scotland, which will be fantastic for them.”

Watch this space for information about the 2020 events or contact applications@medicalresearchscotland.org to be added to our mailing list for the event.

Intersted in the events? – watch the video to find out more

To view the posters presented by the Medical Research Scotland awardees , click on their photos below.