London International Youth Science Forum

In late July, Year 13 student, Theo Thomson was privileged to travel to the UK to attend the 61st London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF). This is the second consecutive year that a Saint Kentigern student has attended.

This is an extraordinary event that brings together five hundred young people passionate about science from 75 countries around the world to discuss modern-day problems and their solutions, better understand each other’s cultures through interaction, and learn more about both the various fields within science and present-day advancements. This was supported by a programme with principal lectures and demonstrations, specialist lectures, visits to research and scientific institutions, to hear about a wide range of current advances in Science.

For Theo, the site visits entailed visiting some of the leading scientific institutions across the UK, including the Kings College stem cell and regenerative medicine lab, Rolls Royce and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. And at the end of the trip, a smaller group, including Theo, travelled on to Paris and then to Geneva to visit the nuclear research centre, CERN where the Large Hadron Collider is located.

There were also lots of social and cultural activities organised to bring the nationalities together. There was an inter-accommodation Olympics, opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a show of traditional dancing and singing from our home countries. There was also a talent show where individuals played instruments, sang, danced or shared their talent. They also had the option to take advantage of their location to attend other visits such as the London Eye, Stonehenge & Salisbury, theatre shows, Oxford, Cambridge and Buckingham Palace.

It was a busy yet very rewarding schedule that helped me better understand the wider world of scientific principles and allowed for so many opportunities to meet different people from all over the world.