» UK-Japan Young Scientists

UK-Japan Young Scientists

UK-Japan Young Scientists aims to promote:

• School-Scientist Partnerships between Britain and Japan which open up to young people the experience of science as the creative, questioning enterprise it truly is, where students use school knowledge to address real life issues.
• Opportunities for British and Japanese young people to work together and experience Science as Cultural Bridge, coming to understand each others' ways of thinking and working, and to form lasting friendship.
• Opportunities for British and Japanese young people to present and discuss the outcomes of their work across the nations.
• Opportunities for teachers, scientists and other professionals in Britain and Japan to learn from each other and share and disseminate good practice in motivating young people through science and its applications.

Why is this so important?

Britain and Japan face a common challenge.

• In both countries, far too many young people are uninspired by their encounter with science in school and both countries share serious concerns that too few talented young people are attracted to science-related careers, particularly in the physical sciences and engineering.
• Whether as scientists or as citizens, the science education they receive is not yet preparing them to be the science-literate questioning young people the 21st century demands.

UK-Japan Young Scientists addresses these issues.

Moving Forward - Our UK-Japan Young Scientist Track

• 2006 UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshop, hosted at the University of Surrey, July/early August (postponed from 2005 on account of concerns in Japan re London bombs)... student projects include nanotechnology, global warming, monitoring by satellite, clock gene research.
• 2004 Kyoto UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshop with students, teachers and scientists from both countries hosted at the Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto... a film diary of the Workshop produced by the Japan Science and Technology Agency was broadcast on the Japanese TV Science Channel as two 30 min programmes Jan 2005, and also circulated by MEXT (Ministry) as a DVD to all Japanese Super Science High Schools.
• 2003-2004 UK-Japan Young Scientist Pilot Programme with Imperial College and University of Surrey, funded by the Embassy of Japan (summary available).
• 2001 Bristol UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshop (Japan 2001 Festival). The first ever...

This programme builds on the UK-Japan Science, Creativity and the Young Mind Workshops we ran with Japanese colleagues in Bristol in 1994 and 1996 and in Tokyo in 1998, enabling teachers and scientists in both countries to share grass-roots experience and good practice in enlivening school science.