Year 12 student Kate, reflects on her work experience placement with the GSI
“The last week that I’ve been lucky enough to spend doing work experience at the GSI has been incredible and given me such an insight into both research at the forefront of the climate crisis, careers in and around academia, and general university life. Everyone I spoke to was so welcoming, and keen to tell me about their work and to help me understand the basis of their research and their path to get to the GSI. I especially enjoyed the diversity of the week, from theoretical sociology to smart grid architecture to setting fire to gorse in the wildfire lab. The inter-disciplinary nature of the institute, and indeed the university culture as a whole seemed an incredibly powerful approach to such complex issues, and I spoke to mathematicians, physicists, geographers and social scientists all united by their research on climate. The positive tipping points research conducted at the GSI was fascinating to hear about, and gave me a fresh perspective on climate change. I’ve also gained valuable practical insight into applying to university, how to consider courses and modules and what a range of careers there are within this vital field, with many people explaining their hugely varying paths. One particularly interesting aspect was the work in science communications, getting research across to policy-makers and the general public. It was clear from the enthusiasm with which everyone discussed their work that they were really motivated and this was very inspiring. Thank you to everyone who met with me and welcomed me so kindly.”
Kate Keilthy