23rd May 2019
As we approach the end of this academic year the students are gearing themselves up for their final assessments and thinking about their next steps. Obviously the first years have another year with us to complete their foundation degrees but the second years are moving on to new places. Most of the group are progressing to Plymouth University to complete their final year of undergraduate study however one is progressing to the University of the West of England (UWE) for the final year. One student is considering a sandwich year in industry and is working with the work placement team in Plymouth to organise that exciting opportunity.
This week we teamed up with our Animal Science degree team to deliver our annual Research Showcase, where our students, industry representatives and former students who have progressed to Masters level study, all came along to present their research work and share in their accomplishments. It was a wonderful day and the research presented ranged from looking at the genetic background of Adriatic sea urchin populations to the impact of the digestive tract on the bioavailability of probiotics in kombucha tea. There were 10 speakers and a range of poster presentations all enjoyed by an audience of staff and students throughout the day.
The students have all just returned from the annual London trip. We spent three days in the capital visiting various scientific attractions. Highlights included a tour around the Linnean Society where our students enjoyed handling some of Carl Linnaeus’ actual collection, as well as letters and notes where we saw his theories of the ordering of life on Earth come to fruition. It was a unique glimpse into the life of one of natural science’s greatest scientists. We also enjoyed a visit to the awesome Crick Institute, the always wonderful Natural History Museum and the Royal Society of Biology to see The Kavli Lecture, given by Professor Ed Hawkins of Reading University discussing our changing climate.
Finally for this newsletter one of our students entered and won a place with BioGrad for a free week’s work experience training. This was a fantastic opportunity for her to put in to practice all of the skills she had learnt on our course so far and gain some work experience. She was the only first year undergraduate in the group of trainees and she found her skills to already be of an excellent standard and she returned with a glowing report from her supervisor trainer.
It has been another successful, fascinating and enjoyable year for FdSc Biosciences at UCSD and we look forward to seeing our students through their final assessments of this year and prepare for another exciting year in September.
