Join Youth STEM Matters as a Team Member
Role Overview
The Team Members are our people power, and play a key role in achieving both the strategic (through team-wide projects) and operational (through specialism-specific tasks) goals of Youth STEM Matters.
We’re looking for enthusiastic people who will get involved - in the fullest sense - with the journal, and are committed to our mission.
All Team Members complete our Team Member Skills Development Programme when they join, and Team Members will generally have at least one specialism, which they receive specific training for.
Approximate Time Commitment: 3-4 hours per week
Key Skills & Qualities
The majority of our current team (>90%!) had never done anything like this before joining Youth STEM Matters, so don’t let lack of experience put you off applying - joining as a Team Member is a great place to start, and we’ll provide all the training and support you need to thrive as part of the team!
That said, there’s some key skills and qualities we’re looking for that make a great Youth STEM Matters Team Member…
✅ Committed to being an active member of our team, and enthusiastic about getting involved in all aspects of the Youth STEM Matters Team (find out what’s involved)
✅ Passionate about our mission of empowering youth to use STEM to tackle global challenges
✅ Collaborative approach towards team-based projects
✅ Proactive and keen to share your views and skills with others
✅ Eager to explore new STEM and sustainability-based topics
✅ Able to manage your time, to balance Youth STEM Matters with your other commitments
✅ A positive attitude towards receiving and implementing constructive feedback - we do a lot of ‘learning by doing’, so it’s okay (and normal!) to sometimes fail, and important you’re open to our team supporting each other to improve
✅ Enthusiastic about learning new skills, willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and committed to putting in the effort! The success of Youth STEM Matters is down to you - the Team - so if there’s one thing we’re looking for, it’s this!
Specialisms Available
Most of our Team Members have at least one specialism - you’ll receive specific training for your specialism, which gives you the chance to use your unique skillset to support our authors.
🔬 Research Reviewer
Research Reviewers critically evaluate and review STEM projects submitted to Youth STEM Matters, to provide our Original Research & Review Article authors with constructive feedback and guidance.
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Research Reviewers feedback on the quality, validity and structure of a STEM-based project, and will often encounter unfamiliar topics, so this specialism involves lots of research of new STEM topics (wherever possible, these are generally within your scientific interests). Check out some examples of STEM projects you could be reviewing: Original Research & Review Articles.
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Critical evaluation
‘Bigger picture’ thinking, to consider the scientific validity of a project
Clear written communication
Able to give constructive feedback
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You don’t need any experience of scientific research, or reviewing STEM projects. You do need knowledge of at least one area of STEM, which will allow you to review a STEM project written by someone at your educational stage.
📣 Science Communication Reviewer
Science Communication Reviewers critically evaluate and review STEM articles submitted to Youth STEM Matters, to provide our Science Communication authors with constructive feedback and guidance.
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Science Communication Reviewers feedback on the scientific accuracy, structure and communication of STEM articles. You’ll often encounter unfamiliar topics, so this specialism involves lots of research of new STEM topics and how STEM can be used to address global challenges, enabling you to build your critical thinking and communication skills. Check out some examples of STEM articles you could be reviewing.
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Passion for science communication
Critical evaluation
Attention to detail
Able to give constructive feedback
Genuine interest in STEM and Sustainable Development Goals based innovations/developments
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You don’t need any experience of reviewing STEM articles. Writing experience - whether for enjoyment, for coursework, as a Youth STEM Matters author or as part of a competition - is beneficial (but not essential) for this role.
📝 Copy-Editor
Copy-Editors assess the clarity, conciseness, and citation compliance of papers, making sure that articles are free from spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors, and are accessible to our audience.
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Copy-Editors evaluate and improve the overall quality of communication in articles and projects submitted to the journal. They apply their excellent attention to detail to a mixture of STEM projects and articles, covering a range of STEM topics. Check out some examples of STEM projects & articles you could be copy-editing.
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Excellent command of the English language
Attention to detail
Ability to take a critical approach to provide authors with constructive feedback
Clear written communications
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Any experience in writing, or reviewing written work is beneficial (but not essential) to this specialism. Our current team includes a mixture of members with no STEM background (English Language Copy-Editors) and members with a broad STEM background (Scientific Copy-Editors).
🎨 Artist
Artists creates artwork to accompany articles and projects published in Youth STEM Matters online and in print, and have a key role in the communication of STEM and global challenges in Youth STEM Matters.
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Artists use their creative flair to create original artwork that communicates global challenges and their STEM-based solutions, making our articles more accessible. You’ll explore a broad range of STEM topics, and be interested in learning more about how STEM can be used to tackle global challenges, so you can ensure your artwork is scientifically accurate. We welcome all mediums of art, but are especially keen to hear from digital artists!
Check out some examples of STEM projects & articles you could be creating artwork for.
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Art, in any medium, including digital
Able to balance working to a brief to ensure scientific accuracy, while taking a creative approach towards artwork
Able to familiarise yourself with new topics quickly
Full of creative ideas for communicating global challenges and their STEM solutions
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For this specialism, you should have previous experience creating Artwork - we don’t mind whether this has been for enjoyment, for a qualification, for another organisation or as part of a competition! The art you have done previously doesn’t necessarily have to be STEM based.
Additionally, some background in STEM subjects (to help ensure the scientific accuracy of artwork that is produced is desirable, but not essential. Note that this does not necessarily need to be your current or primary area of study.
Choosing Your Specialism
When you apply to join Youth STEM Matters as a Team Member, we’ll ask you about which specialism(s) you’re most interested in, but you don’t need to be 100% certain which one you’d like to do to apply! Once you’re part of the team, and have settled into your initial specialism, you can complete our training programmes for as many specialisms as you like, assuming that you’ve shown potential to be well-suited to these specialisms (e.g. through our Application Task, your work in the team, or what you’re doing outwith the journal).
Apply Now!
Apply by Thursday 11th January, 5pm GMT
Other Roles Available
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Team Member
A committed team of volunteers who support our authors, using their skills to give youth a platform
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Operational Lead
A range of Operational Leads run the day-to-day publication process within the journal
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Executive Team
A group of 7-10 Executive Team members develop & deliver the journal’s strategic direction