Young Chemical Ambassadors

Using funding from the RSC’s outreach fund, we successfully trained a diverse team of 9 mentors in communication and outreach skills. All mentors were PhD researchers in Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. The team of chemical engineers showed the multidisciplinary and international nature of chemical engineering, with many of our mentors being from a chemistry or physics background and/or being from another country including Iran, India, and Chile.

The mentors worked with the project manager, bringing their own ideas to design novel public engagement activities, themed around sustainability.

Pupils from 7 schools in the most deprived communities attended two online masterclass days, hosted by the project manager and involving the mentors. At the masterclasses, the pupils virtually took part in hands-on activities, experiments, a presentation skills workshop, interactive quizzes and a presentation on sustainability in the chemical sciences. "Activity packs" containing the materials for the hands-on experiments were sent out to the schools.

The teams then took part in a "sustainability challenge", which they undertook over the course of 4 after-school sessions with their mentors. This was a chemistry project based around using chemistry to build a sustainable future. The mentors’ role was to guide and enthuse the ambassadors, teaching research, presentation, and communication skills. The project covered a range of topics, including water remediation, crystallisation, polymers and plastics, product design, molecular interactions, spectroscopy, and surfactants.

Following this years’ successful programme, we are delighted to announce the Young Chemical Ambassador programme will be delivered again next year (January–June 2022). This legacy enables us to develop long-term relationships with schools and to expand the programme to new audiences.