1st Ever UK Natural Sciences Student Conference
Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, April 2017
The inaugural Natural Science Student Conference took place at the Living Systems Institute at the University of Exeter on the 5th and 6th April 2017. The event was a first opportunity for Natural Sciences Students from around the UK to get together and discuss their undergraduate experiences as well as showcase some of the exciting interdisciplinary research going on across the institutions.
The conference was kicked off in style with an excellent plenary lecture from Professor Dame Julia Slingo, formerly chief scientist at The Met Office, who spoke on ‘A Life in Climate Science: From Monsoons to Climate Change’. She was inspirational talking about her career and the need for a new generation of young, motivated interdisciplinary scientists to develop new technologies and look after our planet. In the evening the University of Exeter Natural Sciences Society hosted a dinner for attendees. Much fun was had by all and many of the students had their first experience of conference networking!
On day two Professor Nick Stone from the University of Exeter spoke about using Biophotonics to develop novel cancer diagnostic techniques, again focusing on the importance of interdisciplinary science. We then moved on to the student presentations, when undergraduates from all the attending universities presented the outputs of their original research projects. It was fascinating to see both the breadth of research going on but also the high quality of presentations from all students, many of whom had not attended a conference before. Other students had prepared posters on their research and these were of an equally high standard and the source of much academic discussion in the breaks. Prizes were presented for the best presentation and poster and everyone departed with a sense of optimism for the future of interdisciplinary scientific research, and pride in the quality of Natural Sciences students in the UK.
