Am I a Scientist of the Future?
Am I a Scientist of the Future?
Have you ever wondered whether you are one of the Scientists of the future? If you’re looking at our website and starting to explore the possibility of changing school or college then you’re already starting to think about what’s best for your future. You are probably familiar with science, having already studied Biology, Chemistry and Physics and when you start in yr10 with us you won’t find the curriculum all that different but the 7 state of the art laboratories, the South Devon UTC environment and approach to learning do make it a very different experience. The aim being that you meet your potential and find a passion for subjects that shape the world we live in. Then at KS5 you can opt to take your scientific studies to the next level and with the small class sizes and employer links you can really explore science in the way genuine scientists do. The skills and knowledge you will develop also don’t narrow you to a future in scientific industries, as if you find yourself drawn to something new then they can be transferred and applied to many different industries and careers.
Skills and Aptitude
You are likely to enjoy science if you were intrigued by the world around you when you were younger, did you hunt bugs and insects, were you constantly asking questions, did you investigate how things worked? Are you always curious, hungry for more information, do you like experimenting and seeing what happens? Are you still fascinated by the world, or specific aspects that you wish to understand and improve?
What is Science?
A scientist is someone who systematically gathers and uses research and evidence, making a hypothesis and testing it, to gain and share understanding and knowledge.
Science at South Devon UTC has no limits, everything in your life, on this planet, other planets, to the far reaches of the universe and beyond. Our aim is to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of scientific theories, but also their ability to apply that knowledge, analyse and evaluate information, in practical and everyday scenarios. It gives students great life skills. The courses offered provides a high standard of scientific content combined with novel and interesting ways of approaching science. It is both theory based and practical but can be tailored to the individual, dependent upon their skills and aptitude, enabling you to focus on the aspects you enjoy and excel at.
Science is a vast industry with lots of different disciplines and scope for you to work within a field that you are passionate about, be that helping people as a Doctor, or advancing plant and crop production as a Horticulturist, developing computer technology as a Computer Scientist, exploring the stars as an Astronomer or history as an Archaeologist.
Scientific Career Categories
Science can be used in many industries and applied in lots of different ways but these are some of the categories you can explore:
• Medicine
• Natural Medicine
• Health and Social Care
• Psychology
• Forensics
• Pharmacology
• Chemistry
• Horticulture
• Environment
• Geography
• Geology
• Archaeology
Follow this link here to find out more information on the categories listed and career possibilities, including alternative careers that could utilise your scientific knowledge: COMING SOON
There are countless scientific degree courses available in the UK at the moment and plentiful apprenticeship and job opportunities.
Transferable Skills
If you decide not to pursue a career in science then what you will have learnt at South Devon UTC will still give you a great start to your future. You will study a range of other core curriculum courses in KS4 to support your learning, such as English and Maths and your choice from a variety of optional courses (please review our curriculum information pages for more details) but by studying Science in KS4 and into KS5 you will develop critical skills that you can transfer to other industries:
• Research
• Investigation techniques
• Evaluation techniques
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Statistics
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Team work (please don’t worry if this causes anxiety for you, we can work around this and support you to find a comfortable way of working to complete projects)
• Time management
• Project management
• Applied maths knowledge
• Report writing
• Presentation skills (this doesn’t necessarily mean standing up in front of your peers to deliver a presentation, again we can support you if this triggers anxiety)
• Understanding of health and safety and conducting risk assessments
Further Research
We recommend you visit these websites if you wish to find out more about science: