Hear from our Science Scholars

I remember, during my summer holidays, getting an email inviting me to join a programme called UoA Science Scholars. I found the name to be rather paramount and official, and was slightly overwhelmed by the opportunity. Though I was skeptical, my mother urged me to accept, and now looking back after three wonderful years, I’m glad I took her advice.

For the curious and aspiring science student, Science Scholars is a fantastic programme that opens up endless portals of possibility. Weekly seminars were held where we explored a spectrum of scientific fields and topics delivered by guest speakers of various scientific backgrounds. We also had the opportunity to learn and apply skills in academia such as writing reviews and articles, and citing and researching scientific journals. Then in our final year, we got a slice of postgrad experience when we took our interests into our own hands and conducted research in our chosen fields with the help of supervisors throughout the year.

This programme has helped me in incredible ways, allowing me to gain insight into many different aspects of science and what skills come with a career in this field. It was such a wonderful experience, with passionate like-minded people and a welcoming, inclusive environment. Thank you UoA SCISCHOL for a remarkable and influential three years!

Also, did I mention the pre-seminar tea and cookies?

Science Scholars is a very unique set of courses, in an awesome way. I was given so many opportunities to engage with science in a more holistic way. Instead of just trying to learn more about our majors I had time to sit down and discuss things like possible science career pathways and ethics, practice my scientific writing and presenting skills, and nerd out about science stuff with other people who also have that need.

The latter was one of the best parts. Having a classroom full of people who are also highly interested in their chosen fields provided me a space to not just get to know other fields better, but to get to know those people better. I became friends with people I would never have otherwise met, people who supported me but also challenged me to go further and produce work that I never thought I'd be able to produce. The Science Scholars programme also gave me networking opportunities with university staff members that I would never have been able to have otherwise.

The Science Scholars programme is an incredible opportunity and my favourite set of undergraduate courses. I highly recommend it to anyone truly passionate about their field of science. Just remember to turn up a bit early for the biscuits as well.