Science Outreach in Korso

Over the last few years I have been involved with Meet a Researcher initiative organized my Young Academy Finland. The service organizes research visits to classrooms. A teacher can ask for a researcher from a specific subject, after which the coordinator of meet a researcher looks through the pool of interested researchers, and connects a suitable person with the teacher. The teacher then collects questions from their students, and the researcher prepares a 40 minute visit based on those questions. The best part is, the service is free for the teachers!

Today I went to visit a classroom in Ruusuvuoren Koulu with just under 10 immigrant students taking preparatory classes in Finnish. It was definitely an interesting glimpse into a world I had not thought too much of before. We talked about what it means to be a researcher, what I study, and what the kids knew about computers. Thanks to the class for having me. I hope I was able to teach the students at least a bit about being a researcher. If you are a researcher looking to train your outreach skills, or a teacher looking for connections to the research community, I highly recommend looking into meet a researcher. I have had a blast with it.