Science LIVE! Student Event - Liddington, Swindon

Suzie Imber is an Associate Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester. She specialises in studying space weather; understanding the impact of the solar wind on the magnetised planets, in particular the Earth and Mercury.

Suzie is a Co-Investigator on the X-ray spectrometer on board the joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft currently en route to Mercury, and due to arrive in 2025.   

She was also the winner of the recent BBC 2 series entitled ‘Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes?’ during which twelve candidates were put through astronaut training with NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield. She endured challenges such as taking her own blood, speaking Russian while in a centrifuge at 5g and carrying out emergency procedures on the NASA undersea astronaut training facility, Aquarius. Suzie will receive a letter of recommendation from Chris Hadfield to support her application to the European Space Agency astronaut training programme. 

Suzie was recently selected as one of 80 women from all over the world for a specialised leadership programme known as Homeward Bound.  It's a year-long, international programme designed to bring together a cohort of scientists and policy makers that will collaborate to seek solutions to climate change, engage with governments, and become the visible leaders of the future.   

She was also an England U21 lacrosse player, an elite rower, and is now a high altitude mountaineer. She has written computer code to automatically identify mountains in South America, and found hundreds of mountains that had never been identified before. She sets off to scale these incredibly remote, unclimbed mountains, exploring new regions of our planet and even discovering Incan ruins on the summits.

With a BSc in Chemistry, an MSc in Analytical Chemistry and a PhD in Materials Chemistry from University College London, Suze is Head of Public Engagement at Digital Science and a Trustee of the Royal Institution.

A passionate educator and scientist, you can find Suze sharing her love for science through live lectures, on TV (the Discovery Channel), radio, and in print. During the event, Suze will uncover the fascinating science behind superheroes.

Karl is an award winning Science Communicator, and Public Engagement consultant and trainer. He is currently the Public Engagement Manager at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Karl graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in Virology in 2002. He then worked in laboratories in Edinburgh and Belfast for the next 6 years on a range of subjects including HIV, Hepatitis C, the MMR vaccine and drugs to help people with lung diseases caused by smoking.

He has been actively involved in science communication and public engagement since 2000. His previous roles include Christmas Lectures Manager at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, where he produced Professor Saiful Islam’s 2016 lectures TV series; Senior Programme Coordinator at Cheltenham Science Festival; Informal Learning Officer at At-Bristol Science Centre, and Science & Interpretation Officer at Glasgow Science Centre. He has extensive experience writing and performing science shows for schools, festivals and science events around the world. He has designed public experiments and science exhibitions, and has consulted on a wide range of public engagement and science communication activities. He also lectures on public engagement, and has trained scientists and public engagement professionals to be better communicators in over 15 countries, on 4 continents.

In his spare time, Karl is an avid fan of cinema and has written and presented numerous shows looking at the science behind science fiction, as well as the “Science Friction” podcast.

• Conference led by industry experts

Experts from high profile organisations will provide relevant examples and exam case studies to ignite your students’ aspirations whilst perfectly complementing the computer science curriculum at KS4 and KS5. Students can also put their own questions to the experts during a Q&A session.

• Workshops & talks 

Small group sessions, led by our conference speakers & other experts in their field, will allow your students to discover and engage with a range of topics from social enterprise projects to impact of psychological resilience. 

• Team-based challenges

Selected to enable your students to demonstrate control, commitment, confidence and responses to challenge. Team challenge themes include; gaining confidence, beyond the comfort zone & working together.

• Outdoor adventure activities

Adventure activities to keep everyone engaged, motivated and inspired, from zip wire to the trapeze! 

• Our on-site Events Team will provide support throughout your stay, they’ll: 
  • Meet you on arrival & assist with centre check-in 
  • Be on-hand & provide assistance throughout the weekend  
  • Assist with check-out & departure