The FUTURES Zone ran from 16 November to 11 December 2020.
The Zone was funded by FUTURES2020, a public engagement collaboration between the University of Bath, Bath Spa University, University of Bristol, University of Exeter and University of Plymouth. FUTURES2020 is part of European Researchers’ Night (ERN), a Europe-wide event dedicated to explaining research through fun and interactive learning. ERN is funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.
The Zone was open to school students and researchers from the South West of England.
Researchers
- 13 researchers from the University of Bristol created profiles in the Zone.
- 8 researchers engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions.
- Researchers from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example:
- Eugenia Geddes Da Filicaia – PhD researcher in conservation between the University of Bristol and the National Gallery
- Fernando Alvira Iraizoz – Specialist Research Technician in animal physiology at the University of Bristol
- Eliza Hunt – Chemical Synthesis PhD student at the University of Bristol
Students
- 54 students from 3 schools from SW England logged into the Zone.
- 2 schools were target schools: 1 Widening Participation (WP) and 1 Underserved (U).
Live Chats & Questions
- 4 live Chats took place took place during the activity.
- 5 live Chats were booked but 1 was a ‘school no show’.
- On average, 4 scientists attended each live Chat session.
- 1 teacher typed questions in a live Chat on behalf of their students, so the number of
students engaged may be higher by up to 15. - 12 student questions were approved. Researchers responded with 10 answers.
