HIGGINS, Julia

Senior Research Investigator, Imperial College

Former Vice President and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society

Date

Role

2009-

Council Member, Imperial College London

2009-

Chair, Trustee Board of Imperial College London Students' Union

2007-

Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator, Chemical Engineering Department, Imperial College London

2006-2007

Principal of the Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London

2003-2007

Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

2002-2006

Director of the Graduate School in Engineering and Physical Sciences of Imperial College – a part time post

2001-2006

Foreign Secretary and Vice-president of the Royal Society

1989-2007

Professor of Polymer Science, Chemical Engineering Department, Imperial College London.

1993-1997

Dean, City and Guilds College.

1985-1989

Reader in Polymer Science, Chemical Engineering Department, Imperial College London.

1976-1985

Lecturer, Chemical Engineering Department, Imperial College London.

1973-1976

Physicist, Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France.

1972-1973

Research Fellow, Institut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg, France.

1968-1972

SRC Research Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of Manchester, UK.

1966-1968

Physics Teacher, Mexborough Grammar School, Yorkshire, UK.

1964-1968

D.Phil in Physical Chemistry, University of Oxford, UK.

1961-1964

BA Physics, Somerville College, Oxford, UK.

 

 

ABSTRACT

11:30-13:00 5 NOVEMBER
PLENARY SESSION II. "SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT: COMMUNicating WITH SOCIETY"

Communicating science to young people

Communicating science to young people is extremely important if we are to inspire them to pursue science, mathematics, technology and computing subjects. Greater numbers of STEM skilled graduates are vital, in the UK it is estimated that we will need a further one million STEM skilled graduates by 2020, to keep pace with current demand.

As well as inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in these subjects, a good knowledge of and interest in science among the general population are vital to enable people to make informed, evidence based decisions about the world around them; as well as to fully participate in an increasingly technological world.

In this presentation I will describe the education outreach work conducted by the Royal Society, and how this supports our Vision for science and mathematics education, published in 2014. Through this work, the Society aims to ensure that the population is inspired by science and that science is promoted as a key element in the cultural and economic life of the nation. Through various engagement programmes, Royal Society education outreach work is targeted towards inspiring young people and supporting their teachers.