Celebrating Young Researchers & Innovators at the 2022 Youth STEM Matters Research Conference
On Saturday 25th June, young people from around the world joined us for the third Youth STEM Matters Research Conference, celebrating the impact young researchers and innovators have had on tackling the world’s biggest challenges through STEM. Over 240 youth from 43 countries signed up to join us for a day of inspiring talks, interesting projects and amazing opportunities.
How attendees described the Research Conference using only 3 words! Larger words in the word cloud were mentioned more times.
The Research Conference provided a platform for youth globally to share their research, ideas and innovations and hear from STEM changemakers from around the world. Created by our global youth-led scientific journal, Youth STEM Matters, it was made possible thanks to the support of our amazing sponsors: REGENESIS, the School of Biological Sciences at University of Aberdeen, and University of the West of Scotland.
The event was kicked off by Research Conference Organiser Victor Olufemi with an energising opening speech that informed the 130+ young people who attended the live event of all the exciting talks that would be taking place throughout the day. This set the scene nicely for Youth STEM Matters Co-Founder & Life Sciences Managing Editor, Anne-Rosa Bilal, who gave attendees a glimpse into the past year of change and continued impact at Youth STEM Matters. The day continued with a variety of sessions, including Q&A, talks and panel discussions…
Spotlighting Young People’s Research, Ideas & Innovations
Throughout the day we heard from young people from around the world who completed their own STEM-based research projects and used the platform to share their ideas and innovations for a more sustainable future. Anita Makori spoke on the nexus between data and health, Mahashri Ranjith Kumar highlighted the impacts of the afterlife of solar panels and Estefania Olaiz shared research into geometrically visualised eigenspaces in pedagogy.
Mahashri and Estefania both shared their experience of the Research Conference:
“The Youth STEM Matters Research Conference was an incredible platform to showcase the potential of youngsters and their journey with STEM. I was honoured to take the stage at such a huge event and it was motivating to see many other youngsters from all over the world being involved in STEM. Youngsters indeed do have great potential!”
“My experience with the Youth STEM Matters Research Conference was truly gratifying. I’m thankful to have been given the opportunity to participate.”
Blessed Kutyauripo also did a Q&A session with Research Conference Organiser, Tatenda Murigo about the role and impact of youth in research and innovation – thanks to all the attendees who asked some amazing questions for Blessed to answer!
In addition to young people taking to the stage to share their STEM-based projects, a total of 20 youth based in 11 countries globally displayed their projects in a virtual exhibit stand, which could be visited at any time during the event by the attendees. Within them was a short video created by the Research Showcase Participants which explained their projects - these ranged from investigating which factors inhibit yeast growth to the acoustic impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the ocean.
“Greatly appreciated for letting us meet like-minded youth around the globe listening to each other’s voices, sharing research, ideas and innovations.”
“The STEM exhibition in the expo area produced by students from all over the world was my favourite [part of the] event.”
STEM Professionals Inspire Attendees
Whilst we heard from young people who completed their own STEM-based projects, we were also joined by STEM professionals who spoke on their areas of research and gave advice to young people and other STEM changemakers: Emma Yule spoke on the climate crisis and actions we can all take, Dr. Kristen Thoreson shared REGENESIS’ research into groundwater and how it can be cleaned up, and Prof. Michael Saliba informed us on renewable energies and solar cells.
“It was enlightening and intriguing listening to various experts in their field talk about their works; it has inspired me to achieve my own personal goals so I can reach that stage in life/ career in STEM.”
“This was a very informative conference, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend, especially since it’s free to any high schooler. I love how they informed us of the world-wide problems, let other young people speak to us, and answered any questions we had.”
“The conference was inspiring and a wonderful way of engaging youth around the world, focusing on a united goal of sustainability. The conference provided a platform for youth to share ideas and learn from one another, creating a better future together.”
Youth STEM Matters Shares Opportunities
Not only did we hear from young researchers and guest speakers, members of the Youth STEM Matters Team took to the stage to share how young people can also get involved with our global youth-led scientific journal. Samiksha Manoharan shared insights into how YOUth can write an article for Youth STEM Matters - our team can’t wait to work with you in sharing the issues you care about through the journal!
On being part of the Research Conference, Samiksha said:
“This year’s Youth STEM Matters Research Conference was packed with amazing, informative talks from a range of STEM enthusiasts, researchers and changemakers. It was super inspiring to hear people share what they are truly passionate about and how they would like to make a difference in the world through STEM. Personally, it was also an eye-opening experience for me to have been part of this awesome event as a speaker.”
“I personally got to learn of the different authors that are doing amazing things in STEM. As well as realising that there are so many issues within STEM that I wasn’t aware of and the so many different topics I could one day write an article on. ”
After this, Founder of Youth STEM 2030, Mhairi McCann, and Youth STEM Matters Editor-in-Chief, Yara Obeidi, inspired the audience by sharing how YOUth can apply to be a part of the Youth STEM Matters Team as volunteers - with the Youth STEM Matters Team applications now open, our team can’t wait to review your applications and welcome new members to the team!
Following this, our Research Conference Organisers took to the stage in a Q&A session about their experiences of organising the conference and being a part of the Youth STEM Matters Team. The panel enjoyed answering a variety of questions from the audience in the interactive Q&A!
Lorraine Cheng, Alfie Davis and Isabelle Johnson then spoke on submitting a project to Youth STEM Matters - a great way for YOUth to share their ideas, research and innovations, whether it’s through an original research or review article!
“I was able to learn, unlearn and relearn during the Youth STEM Matters Research Conference. The programme was expository and enlightening.”
Attendees Embark on a Quest
Over the course of the day, Research Conference Attendees were sent on a quest to find a hidden phrase in Youth STEM Matters Articles, to be in with the chance of winning a copy of the first ever Youth STEM Matters Print Edition! Congratulations to Aleena Sarikaya who was chosen at random from all of the correct entries - we hope you love reading the print edition!
“This conference has inspired me that I would like to start research to contribute to the world with positive changes with STEM.”
Recognising Youth STEM Matters Authors & Volunteers
The Research Conference came to an end with our annual Youth STEM Matters Awards Ceremony! We celebrated all of our amazing authors and volunteers with our Author Awards and Volunteer Awards, hosted by Mhairi McCann and Yara Obeidi. We want to say a huge congratulations to the winners, those who were shortlisted and everyone who has been involved with Youth STEM Matters over the past year!
Attendee Feedback
In our post-event feedback survey, 100% of attendees who completed it want to become involved with Youth STEM Matters, whether that’s through writing an article, submitting a project, applying to join the Volunteer Team or reading articles published in Youth STEM Matters.
Attendees rated the 2022 Youth STEM Matters Research Conference on a scale of 1 (not at all) - 10 (yes, definitely!) with mean scores of…
9.4/10
when asked whether the Research Conference made them feel more inspired to use research and innovation to create change
9.0/10
when asked whether the Research Conference increased their awareness of using STEM to tackle sustainability issues
9.2/10
when asked how likely they were to recommend the Youth STEM Matters Research Conference to another young person
We can’t wait to see the continued impact the Research Conference has had on working towards a more sustainable future!
We also want to congratulate Theodore Amahle Ndlovu from South Africa and Saliha Khalid from Pakistan, the winners of our Attendee Feedback prize draw, who won a copy of the Youth STEM Matters Print Edition - we hope you enjoy it!
“It was truly an amazing experience—getting to see people from all over the globe sharing and showing their passion for STEM, and the impacts that they make and the awareness that they bring to these important matters.”
A Big Thank You!
In our closing remarks, we were able to express our gratitude to everyone who helped make the Research Conference, what one attendee described as, an inspiring and eye-opening event! We want to say thank you again to…
Our amazing sponsors: REGENESIS, the School of Biological Sciences at University of Aberdeen, and University of the West of Scotland – thank you for your support in enabling us to continue providing a platform for young people to share their research, ideas and innovations!
Our guest speakers, who gave inspiring and interesting talks – attendees learned so much from your sessions!
Our Research Showcase Participants, who shared their research, projects and ideas at the conference.
The Youth STEM Matters Team members who helped make the Research Conference a success – shoutout to Josh who organised the tech for the event, Maddy who covered the event on social media, members of the team who talked on all the opportunities for YOUth at Youth STEM Matters and everyone who helped organising and promoting the event!
You – our attendees, who have made the event possible. We hope you enjoyed it, and can’t wait to see lots of you getting involved in Youth STEM Matters!
The Research Conference Organisers who brought the conference to life – Victor Olufemi, Thu Nguyen, Tatenda Murigo, Iona Finney, Mhairi McCann and Lewis Cannon.
That brought us to the end of the third Research Conference! We hope it has empowered YOUth from around the world to make a difference through STEM!
