ARTICLES
The Future Project (continued)
morphs as research interests develop with time and opportunities
arise. This ranges from university researchers working with
students on research projects to students visiting the university
to use specialised scientific instrumentation.
Figure 4. Senior Interns working with researcher Scott Mitchell
from Quantal Bioscience.
For some students the experience of The Future Project helps
them to decide whether the study of science at the tertiary level
and/or a career in science is for them. Certainly, past Senior
Interns have communicated that they chose to study science
subjects at the tertiary level because of the program and some
have even gone on to work for the researchers. With the number
of students studying science in Australia on the decline, the
importance of encouraging the next generation of scientists is all
the more critical.
Figure 3. Senior Intern preparing samples.
There is also a Year 10 preliminary program for students at The
King’s School where students can apply to join the Junior Intern
or Junior Communicator programs. This program is integrated
into their normal science class rotations.
The Senior Interns for 2018 have now completed their research
projects. This authentic research has included: “An Investigation
into Hydrogen Production via the Dark Fermentation of Probiotic
Wastewater”, “Regular Blood Testing Can Predict Future Risk of
Chronic Disease and Lifespan”, “The Effect of Electrode Distance
on Protein Separation in Tangential Flow Electrophoresis“
and “Prevalence and Distribution of IntI1 Genes Conferring
Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacteria from Horse-Gut Microflora”.
Figure 5. Senior Intern working with researcher Dr Ante Jerkovic
from Aegros Biopharma.
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 4