New students, including myself, have different perceptions of what University can offer to them upon arrival. Many students have to take part in their own research in their last year, so by becoming a part of the research here at BU can be a massive advantage for them,  giving these students first-hand experience and research ideas going into their last year.

As a BU student, the opportunity to get involved with and hear about BU’s research is right beneath our feet and should not be overlooked due to its extreme possibilities, so I asked myself this question…………Why as a student would we find research interesting to hear about?

Café Scientifique really opened my eyes as to how research can be presented to an audience in a fun, humorous and highly enthusiastic way, rather than following a presentation slide in the formalities of a lecture hall. To all students, lectures are extremely important and help determine your grade, however the potential of hearing about research can give students the opportunity to broaden their horizons and be a part of something they can value.

As a University, we want students to be able to go away from their engagement with research and be keen to discuss their experience with their friends. A highly enthusiastic research event can ensure a long lasting impression on a student, which is why my fantastic experience with Café Scientifique has not gone unnoticed to my friends!

As fun and engaging research can be, students can also find it of interest to be a part of the research here at BU, as it can open up a vast range of new possibilities for them and can lead to a wide range of career development opportunities. For a student, University is a life changing experience and is where they can gain responsibilities of moving away from home and making new friends, a lot of students also see it as a place to continuously boost your CV and make your career path become a lot clearer. By hearing about and being a part of research gives students the opportunity to do just that, which is why they find it interesting to hear about BU’s research.

My job here at BU is working as the Student Engagement Coordinator, It will be my aim to organise and come up with ideas to run some fun and interesting events to engage students with the research here at BU. Whether these events will give students a long lasting impression or whether they find it solely to improve their knowledge and boost their CV, I will use my experience as a student to find the best possible ways of engaging BU students with our research!

If you have any questions or would like to discuss some ideas then please do not hesitate to contact me, Sam Squelch on ssquelch@bournemouth.ac.uk.