The Life Sciences Challenge: delivering an all-Wales bilingual inter-school competition for over 10 years and throughout a global pandemic

Hatch, Sarah, Edwards, Karen, Watson, Angharad and Matthews, James 2024. The Life Sciences Challenge: delivering an all-Wales bilingual inter-school competition for over 10 years and throughout a global pandemic. Research for All 8 (1) 10.14324/rfa.08.1.10

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Abstract

The Life Sciences Challenge/Her Gwyddorau Bywyd is an all-Wales bilingual inter-school competition for Year 10 pupils, designed and delivered by students, staff scientists and engagement professionals within Cardiff University School of Medicine. The fun, interactive and challenging quiz was created to share an enthusiasm for understanding the natural world, and to inspire pupils to consider the extensive possibilities of future careers involving science. It is one of a suite of school engagement initiatives within the highly successful centrally coordinated Science in Health programme, established in 1994. Now in its 12th consecutive year, the Life Sciences Challenge/Her Gwyddorau Bywyd has evolved considerably, and it continues to attract participation from a growing number of schools across Wales. In this article, we: (1) explore the evolution of the Life Sciences Challenge/Her Gwyddorau Bywyd between 2013 and 2022, and how it swiftly adapted and responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring no interruption in delivery; (2) present data evidencing the impact of the Life Sciences Challenge/Her Gwyddorau Bywyd on our key stakeholders: participating Year 10 pupils, teachers and Cardiff University students; and (3) highlight lessons learnt, to improve the impact of a science/research outreach activity to relevant audiences, researchers, public engagement professionals and any organisation with a public engagement agenda aimed at schools.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Computer Science & Informatics Medicine
Publisher:	UCL Press
ISSN:	2399-8121
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 December 2024
Date of Acceptance:	24 September 2024
Last Modified:	10 Dec 2024 12:09
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/174509

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