The Abstract: June/July 2022
Welcome back to The Abstract - your monthly round up of all the behind-the-scenes news from Youth STEM Matters, our youth-led scientific journal.
With so much good news going around we decided to merge the June and July edition of The Abstract. In June we held our long-awaited Research Conference culminating in the annual Youth STEM Matters Awards; we also had our June Volunteer Voice Workshop. In July the first ever print edition of Youth STEM Matters was launched and has already made its way to young people worldwide, spreading the Youth STEM Matters message further!
Youth STEM Matters Print Edition - Available Now
In our last edition of The Abstract, we announced the Print Edition had arrived and we couldn’t be more excited for it! We have come a long way from conceptualisation to realisation and now we’re ready to ship out the first ever print edition of Youth STEM Matters to youth globally!
All of this would not have been possible without our sponsor, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, and all of the Volunteer Team members and authors who worked on it. Special shoutout to Adam Khan-Qureshi - Youth STEM Matters Co-Founder and inaugural Editor-in-Chief - who was the Editor-in-Chief for the print edition, as well as our great Print Edition Editorial Team; Aminta Permpoonwiwat, Anne-Rosa Bilal, Éimear Stephenson, Lily Tierney, Poppy Bradley, and William Mehew. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication!
A big thank you to everyone who has supported us to keep creating a platform for youth globally to share their research, ideas and innovations here at Youth STEM Matters by buying a copy! You can too by purchasing your copy below!
2022 Youth STEM Matters Research Conference
After months of planning, organising, checking, and double checking the day finally came for the much-anticipated 2022 Youth STEM Matters Research Conference; a day to ensure youth can have access to a platform that will showcase their research and talent.
As always, the Research Conference was an event filled with incredible speakers and the always enlightening Research Showcase. We began the conference with a recap of our impact and progress over the last year and some of our highlighted speakers included: Anita Makori, Emma Yule, Mahashri Ranjith Kumar, and Estefania Olaiz.
Here are some of our team’s memorable moments from the event:
“As a speaker introducing the process of submitting a project to Youth STEM Matters, I remember being slightly nervous “backstage”. Luckily, everything went smoothly as my fellow presenters and I took the virtual stage, answering questions and sharing our experiences as reviewers. I also had the chance of listening to Omar Kaziz, Shahed Debiat and Ali Ayoub’s inspiring segment where they shared about their NGO’s efforts to empower youth with opportunities to be sustainable and participate in the global climate movement.”
“Participating in the Research Conference was insightful and inspiring. Being amongst so many passionate and dedicated people in STEM was a fantastic experience and getting to share more about Youth STEM Matters with others was great.”
We closed the conference with our annual awards ceremony, which recognised both our authors and Volunteer Team’s achievements over the past year. Here’s what some of the winners had to say:
“It felt great to win the Growth Award, it marks my first year and a half with Youth STEM Matters and is a recognition of everything I’ve learnt as part of the team. It’s extra special as I was nominated by my peers and it’s great to be part of such a brilliant team.”
“Winning the award was unexpected! I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of lots of different teams in Youth STEM Matters which has been challenging but taught me a lot. Volunteering with such great people has shown me how inspirational young people are (and they’ve kept inspiring me!), so thank you!”
“I was completely surprised when I first saw my name on the nomination list for the Unsung Hero Award. During the Research Conference where the winners were finally announced, I was incredibly happy to hear my name being read out by Mhairi for the Unsung Hero Award. I am super thankful to the people at Youth STEM Matters for recognising my efforts and motivating me to do even better!”
“Winning the Speak Up award is a huge pride of mine - I have always been passionate about standing up for what I believe in, so to be recognised for the work I put into the article makes me so grateful. The award represents the opportunity for myself and other young people to present their hard work to a wide audience and to contribute to improving our world. I am incredibly honoured to have been selected!”
June Volunteer Voice Workshop
With applications to join the Youth STEM Matters Team opening in August, our team got together for a workshop on 5th June to redesign our ‘Join the Team’ website page, with the aim of further increasing the number of applications to the Youth STEM Matters Volunteer Team.
It was an hour-long meeting filled with a lively discussion on what applicants might want to know before applying, a critical evaluation of what was good and could be better about the existing page, and creativity as attendees designed their own ‘Join the Team’ pages.
In attendance were the Youth STEM Matters volunteers: Victor Olufemi, Iona Finney, Tatenda Mazambani, and Arushi Rastogi. Here’s what they had to say about their experience and how they feel about their ideas being implemented:
Since the workshop took place, we’ve been working hard to implement all of the ideas and changes behind the scenes, and you’ll be able to see these soon when we re-open applications to join the team in August.
“The June Volunteer Voice Workshop was a great opportunity to share feedback on how the ‘Join the Team’ page on the website could be improved to ensure it is informative and useful for people who want to apply!”
“The workshop was very productive, it was great to work together to ensure future volunteers experience an even smoother application process. Future volunteers will have a clearer scope of what we do at Youth STEM Matters and why they should join the journal.”
Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Anne-Rosa Bilal who is our June/July Volunteer of the Month!
Having been nominated by other members of the Volunteer Team, Anne-Rosa was recognised for her leadership and continuous engagement in the Slack workspace. Her leadership has been transparent and collaborative leading to a more united and connected Life Sciences team and through her continuous engagement, Anne-Rosa has kept the Volunteer Team informed of her experiences as a Global Teen Leader this has allowed team members to not only share in her experience but also provide feedback on different topic areas.
Well done Anne-Rosa - it's great to see your wonderful impact on the Life Sciences team and the Volunteer Team at large!
“It made my day to have been recognised as the volunteer of the month! It’s a joy to know that I’ve made a positive difference in how our volunteers enjoy their time in our community. To be thought of as someone who takes initiative and actively seeks to enliven our experience as volunteers by exchanging ideas and thoughts is something really special because it gives me purpose.”
