On Wednesday 15th March 2017 the IAS hosted 11 sixth-form students from WMG Academy at Warwick for an afternoon of learning about careers in research.

After lunch we started with an activity trying to match 30 ‘untranslatable’ words to the language they come from and their meaning. Several of our international fellows and Language scholars were able to help by providing expert knowledge of the similarities and differences of how some languages are structured.

We then heard from two of our Medical Science researchers. They told us about some of the recent advances they have made in understanding the way cells work and some of the challenges they face. They also walked us through a typical day in the lab.

We finished the afternoon by hearing from one of our Science Fellows about how he, and other astronomers, use the different properties of light to discover more about our universe. This sparked intense debate about the likelihood of life on other planets, how to escape the universe and what could happen if Earth was sucked into a black hole.

The event was very much enjoyed by all involved. Many thanks to the students and Mr Vipond from WMG Academy for coming to join us and learn more about what academic researchers do. Particular thanks to the IAS fellows who donated their time to this event – Greg, Gemma, Guillaume, John, Laura, Victor, Yuexi, Maria, Elisabeth, Waiyee and Graham.