Recently in University Category

By Lara Mcnamee

Bayer says that applications for the scholarship programmes of the Bayer Science & Education Foundation can now be submitted. In the academic sector, students can apply for a Bayer, Carl Duisberg or Kurt Hansen scholarship if they are aiming to undertake a study project abroad.

The fields of study funded include biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, medicine, pharmacy, physics, statistics/biometrics and teacher training in scientific subjects.

Each year the Bayer foundation makes available a total of up to €150,000 for these scholarships. Sponsorship is open to students from Germany who are planning a period abroad and students from foreign countries who are looking to spend a period of study in Germany.

For the first time, the scholarships in the academic sector are being supplemented by Hermann Strenger scholarships to support young people looking to gain initial work experience as part of a non-academic training programme.

Applications are invited from trainees in commercial, industrial, scientific and medical occupations and young professionals in these fields who have completed their training within the past two years.

With this new programme, the Bayer Science & Education Foundation is looking to offer targeted funding to young people in the non-academic sector to allow them to gain professional experience abroad. The foundation will this year provide a further €50,000 for this programme.

The closing date for applications for all four scholarship programmes is 15 July 2010. The application documents are available online. An independent scientific committee will decide on the allocation of funding in mid-September 2010.

Considering a career in the chemical sector? Here are a few videos from IChemE that may provide an insight into life as a chemical engineer...

Here's the first in a series of videos showing what to expect if you study chemical engineering.

This lecture by professor Channing Robertson is part of an introductory course offered by Stanford University in the US, providing an overview of sector.

Other lectures in the series can be viewed on You Tube.

By John Baker

Good news at my local comprehensive school - science subjects are popular again. Indeed, over half the lower sixth are doing physics!

But at 16-17 years of age, many pupils do not know what to expect of a career if they follow up their school science with a university degree.

Which is why I and 30-plus other parents were invited in to school last week to meet pupils and describe our jobs and careers after studying science at university. Needless to say, I was talking about science writing and journalism, but there were engineers, physicists, energy specialists and software experts there. Many with high-powered PhDs and more.

In one-on-one or small group discussions, it was vey heartening to see how much good questioning there was from the pupils - and their concerned parents, many of whom tagged along. 

Unfortunately, as the school is in deepest Surrey in the UK, there were no parents from the chemical sector - but at least some from local pharma companies such as GSK and Pfizer. But I'm pleased to say there were some industry ambassadors from the Royal Society of Chemistry doing their stuff.

It's this sort of initiative by schools that will ensure more and more students take up science degrees and eventually careers. It may be five to six years off, but some of these interested pupils - and 60-70 or so turned up in the evening - will be ready for the chemical industry to recruit.

 

It's hard enough to find new recruits in the chemical sector, but a new study considers why so few women are tempted to pursue a career in science and engineering.

Published by AAUW - the American Association of University Women, the report considers the various challenges faced by women entering the industry, including stereotypes and gender bias. It also looks at initiatives that can help to attract women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM).

Download a copy of the report: Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

The latest issue of ICIS Chemical Business features another article focusing on our Education and Recruitment Campaign.

Despite Singapore's best efforts to tackle the chemical industry recruitment crisis, it is still proving a tough task to attract the right amount and quality of talent

John Richardson/Singapore

THE TASK of making sure Singapore has enough chemical engineers to support one of its key industries is as difficult in the island state as just about anywhere in the world. And there are also a few unique, local problems.

"As with elsewhere in the world, we have to contend with higher salaries in industries such as finance and information technology [IT]," says Lawrence Cheung, country manager of US-based Dow Chemical in Singapore and vice-chairman of the Singapore Chemical Industry Council [SCIC]. "Six out of 10 chemical engineering students who graduate in Singapore won't actually enter the chemical industry because of the attraction of these salaries.

"Of the remaining four, it's probably fair to say that two will be tempted overseas to other chemical industries by higher salaries."

Around 450 students graduate in chemicals engineering in Singapore each year, with a further 160 gaining degrees in environmental engineering.

Continue reading the article...

Just found this on the BBC website...

"Britain still doesn't seem to take a broad science education seriously when it deserves to be at the very heart of learning...

The Royal Society turns 350 this year and the celebrations have begun already. We British can be justifiably proud that this great institution has been a beacon for science since 1660.

It seems timely, then, to ask ourselves why Britain still does not seem to take a broad science education seriously."

Continue reading the BBC article...