Nicola won the Rubidium Zone in June 2012, here’s how she spent her winnings:

Following my I’m A Scientist win last year, £250 was donated to Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) projects; more specifically it was spent on the STEMgirls project, a Q&A answer service connecting 11-18yr olds interested in STEM careers with the women working in those jobs.

The money went towards providing the funds for an administrator to moderate and promote the site, enabling hundreds of career hunting teens to get the advice they needed about ‘real life’ day-to-day work in science. Getting advice from women working in my chosen scientific discipline was invaluable to me when I was trying to work out what I wanted to do for a career, so this project is quite close to my heart.

The other £250 prize money was given to fellow I’m A Scientist participant Tiffany, who had written an incredible poem-based book on evolution aimed at primary school children. She was a great contributor to I’m A Scientist, and was clearly very passionate about her book and the way it would help introduce complex scientific concepts to children in a fun and understandable way, so when I won the Rubidium zone contest, I felt it was only fair to split my prize money with her. The money was spent developing the book, Little Changes, which is now available online at www.rinkidinks.co.uk and in paperback from Amazon. Tiffany hopes to get the book distributed in primary schools this year.

It has been really great to see the good that has come from the I’m A Scientist prize money, and how it is working to support the next generation of scientists and engineers.