Cool Chemistry at Cardiff
Less and less students are studying Chemistry at secondary school and therefore the numbers studying the subject at university is on the decline, according to recent surveys by the UK government.
Less and less students are studying Chemistry at secondary school and therefore the numbers studying the subject at university is on the decline, according to recent surveys by the UK government.
A scheme run by Cardiff University and Techniquest hopes to change all that.
Conventionally perceived as a tough option to study, Chemistry has recently been identified by both the government and the education funding councils as being strategically important for the future UK economy. A chemistry graduate has a 73% chance of securing a job after graduation and chemists contribute more to the country's economy that any other graduate.
A series of events run by Cardiff University's School of Chemistry and Techniquest entitled 'Uncovering Chemistry Secrets' has been running for three years and the numbers of students attending the event has risen to over 400, doubling in popularity each year since inception.
During the event staff will be on hand to teach the theory, explain the relevance of the subject and encourage the students by offering advice on careers in chemistry as students will have the opportunity to extract natural substances from various fruits and other plants and then test them whilst their samples will be analysed using 'state-of-the-art' technologies.