Autumn 2008

From the Chair

New members

Sci Comm news

Eurochat

Feature: Handbags and
test tubes

Feature: Stories that matter to a changing
world

Event Report: Silly season stories

Event Report: Are press conferences old news?

Interview: Jane Gizbert, NICE

Stempra newsletter

Sci Comm news

The Wellcome Trust Book Prize:
At the Cheltenham Literature festival in October, the Wellcome Trust launched its book prize for medicine in literature. With £25,000 on offer for the best work of fiction or non-fiction with a medical theme, there’s never been a better time to write that novel you’ve been procrastinating over.  Jo Brand, formerly a psychiatric nurse is the Chair of the judging panel for the first year and you can find out more on the website www.wellcomebookprize.org

12 March 2009 - Annual Schools Science Conferences:
The Annual Schools Science Conferences, now in the 6th year, work across different healthcare science disciplines promoting the role of healthcare scientists. The principle aim is to enthuse and inspire school students to study science. The conferences grew out of concern about the numbers of students studying science and the impact that this will have on recruitment of scientists into the NHS and upon Britain’s intelligence based economy. This is a unique vehicle for stimulating students and letting them know about the exciting and rewarding career opportunities available, through informal interaction with professional scientists and allied health professionals talking about and showing what excites them about science and their chosen profession. The conferences put the study of science into practical context.

Initially, NW London Workforce Confederation funded this project with the aim of recruiting from the local community. For the past 4 years, we have been self financing from grants, donations and sponsorships. This has opened up the conference to schools across London and scientists from professions outside of the NHS. Each year, over 400, year 10-14, students attend along with their teachers (>50) and over 120 scientists and health professionals provide the programme. Every year the conference develops and improves by building upon previous successes and feedback from the students, teachers and presenters. In 2008, we developed our own website www.science4u.info to support the conference and to host our virtual laboratory. Teachers are reporting that students are citing the conference in university and job applications.

21st Century Challenges Lecture Series:
Geography is at the heart of a number of key challenges affecting places, societies, environments and livelihoods locally and globally in the 21st Century. These issues range from climate change to migration, from energy resources to environmental hazards, from food production to water resources, and from the future of the countryside to the impact of globalisation on developing countries.

Understanding such issues is important for informed involvement in modern society by individuals in their roles as consumers, parents, voters, and employees. There is an increasing appetite from the wider public to know about issues they see as relevant. This point is well made by the report published by Research Councils UK in March 2008 on Public Attitudes to Science. This independent survey of 2000 adults in the UK identifies an increasing demand for more public consultation on science and social science issues and a significant demand for more information from researchers.

The 21st Century Challenges series provides independent, unbiased, reliable, up to date information and guidance on issues relevant to peoples' lives and to society in the coming years.  It thereby aims to support and challenge people in making their own informed decisions and judgements, and in sharing their views with others. 

The series delivers 5 live Challenges discussions each year, held at both the Society headquarters in London and the Willis Building in the City of London, and interactive web-based resources. To maximize involvement and engagement, video and audio podcasts of all discussions are freely available on the series' website www.21stCenturyChallenges.org The website also contains short articles, fact guides and up to date news articles around the issues; plus dedicated teaching resources for schools.

The Society is grateful to private support and the Schroder Foundation for funding the series.  

Our next live event is:

Migration: Skills and the job market
11 November, 7:00pm, The Willis Building

Put your questions to a panel of migration experts, to explore some of the issues and misconceptions around migration and changing European workforce patterns in the 21st Century

Chair:
Jonty Bloom (BBC Radio 4)

Panel:
Sir Andrew Green (Chairman of Migration Watch UK)
Philippe Legraine (Author of ‘Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them)
Khalid Koser (Migration Expert, Brookings Institute)

Further details: http://www.21stcenturychallenges.org/challenges/migration/

If you have any news, dates or announcenements for the next issue of the Stempra newsletter, please contact Claire Bithell at Claire@stempra.org.uk. 

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