The recent wave of Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) schemes have paved new ground for the enrichment of doctoral learning through extended transferable skills programmes. Through this scheme, I was introduced to the Royal Society of Biology, to work alongside their education policy team. As a BBSRC-funded PhD candidate, I am part of the Midlands Integrative … The post Interning with the education policy team at the RSB first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

How can you ensure all students in a teaching session have the opportunity to engage, be involved and interact? This is the question that I wanted to address when I set out to understand why students choose to sit in a given location within the lecture theatre. Learning Spaces Research My case study presented to … The post Engaging the Silent Majority first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

Who inspired you to find who you are or who you could be? “Dear Minister, I am a twelve-year-old Queer. I want to be a Queer artist like Michelangelo, Leonardo or Tchaikovsky.” As a child, Derek Jarman, the film-maker, artist and gay-rights activist, knew who his heroes were. He looked up to them because their … The post Lifting the curtain - in celebration of LGBTQ+ scientists' visibility first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

It was another packed room for this year’s Parliamentary Links Day, organised by the Royal Society of Biology on behalf of the science and engineering community. The day sees a number of keynotes and panel discussions between policymakers, politicians, researchers and sector leaders, with this year focusing specifically on “science and new frontiers.” Rt Hon … The post “Parliament is a stronger body because of the scientists present today.” first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

Nature has published a letter from a group of scientists and bioethicists calling for a moratorium on the clinical use of heritable genome editing. The concern motivating this letter is the potential for misuse of genome editing on human embryos for assisted reproduction. This use of genome editing could one day provide the best medical … The post The debate on regulation of heritable genome editing first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

A study of developing self-efficacy in undergraduate biologists at the University of Hull by the HE Bioscience Teacher of the Year, Dominic Henri. I strongly believe that the process of Higher Education should provide the opportunity for students to overcome a wide range of barriers, which can then be drawn upon to bolster self-belief in … The post ‘To believe is to be able’ first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

Over the last few years teachers and students in England have seen significant changes to A Levels and GCSEs in the sciences as reformed qualifications have been phased in. The cohort receiving GCSE awards on Thursday 23rd will be the first to have studied the new biology and combined science GCSEs, graded on a 9 … The post Is my grade 9 an A*? Making sense of science qualification reforms first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

Despite the hot weather there was “standing room only for science” according to Chi Onwurah MP at the 30th anniversary of Parliamentary Links Day, the 10th event in this series to be opened by Speaker of the House of Commons Rt Hon John Bercow MP. This year’s theme was Science and the Industrial Strategy and … The post What exactly is the Industrial Strategy? first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

When an email dropped into my inbox advertising the opportunity to undertake an RCUK policy internship, I was initially apprehensive about applying. I wasn’t sure what policy work would entail, I knew little about the RSB, I wasn’t sure if I’d like to live in London and I was unsure if I’d be able to … The post Interning with the RSB science policy team first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more

The first international day for LGBTQ+ scientists in STEM aims to be a celebration of diversity in science. Organised by Pride in STEM, House of STEM, InterEngineering and oSTEM, the day is the first of its kind to celebrate the LGBT+ community across all the sciences. The important goal of the organisers and supporters – … The post An LGBT+ champion: Professor Ben Barres, one of the first transgender neuroscientists first appeared on Royal Society of Biology blog ..read more