Nuffield Science Bursaries
The Nuffield Science Bursary scheme is a national scheme run by the Nuffield Foundation, which was originally set up to attract young people into science based careers. William Morris, who later became Lord Nuffield, originally set up the Nuffield Foundation in 1943, and gave the foundation wide objectives that have changed over time. The foundation today mainly supports self-contained projects, which advance education or social welfare.
There are 650 bursaries offered to students in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland who have just completed their first year of advanced post 16 education. The scheme allows students to take part in science based projects, 4 - 6 weeks in duration, which take place in universities, industry or research institutions during their summer break.
While on their placement, students carry out a specific research project, which is well defined and often runs along side research being carried out by PhD students and research staff.
The students work with the help of a supervisor, who has usually provided the work for the project, but they will carry out the majority of the practical work individually. This allows the young people to work at their pace, giving their placement a professional feel, an accurate look into the world of university and an insight into a career in research.
As part of their placements, the students are expected to submit a formal report, detailing their protocols, results and conclusions, and give a short informal presentation to a panel of judges. The presentations take place during a celebration day, where all the students take a day to display the work they have carried out during their placement period. The presentations themselves are relatively informal, as the students give a 5-minute talk about their work, while using visual aids such as posters detailing their findings. Unlike the report, the presentation is an optional part of the bursary scheme, but failure to present their findings will result in a silver CREST award rather than the gold level.
CREST awards are split into 3 categories, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Please see the CREST Award page for further details.
For further information please contact: Ian Morrison
Tel: 0161 295 2602 Fax: 0161 295 2655 Email: stemsalford@aol.com