7 April 2025

What is your role within King’s Health Partners?

I am an Outreach Manager in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences, King’s College London. Together with the rest of the outreach team, we provide young people, their supporters, and our local communities with high-quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) engagement opportunities.

We run these projects both to showcase to the amazing STEM teaching and research that takes place here at the university, but also to help anyone to grow and develop an interest in STEM. One of the projects we run is STEM club for children at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

Each month with come along with a different hands-on science activity, giving children the chance to learn about science in a creative and relaxed environment, building on the school sessions they receive whilst at the hospital. This work is supported by the Play Services Team at the hospital, who help support the children to take part in these sessions.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

As a child, my passion for science was expanded by having the opportunity to take part in extra-curricular science and nature experiences, from pond-dipping in my local park to marvelling at the museums in London.

Unfortunately, not every child gets the opportunity to get hands-on with science in this way. I love having the opportunity to bring young people from all backgrounds here to King’s College London, let them get stuck into the inspiring science research that takes place, and open their eyes to what a career in STEM might be like. Seeing a child enjoying taking part in an activity I have helped organise is the best reward I can think of to get in a job!

What inspired you to get into this work?

At university I really enjoyed doing research, but also started to get involved with helping run outreach programmes for local schools. It was there that I realised that my passion lay not with ‘doing’ science, but with helping others to enjoy learning about science.

There are still many communities that are very underrepresented in the STEM workforce. A university like King’s College London is uniquely placed to tackle these issues, having not only the space and resources to host events and programmes, but also an incredible range of inspirational people to help us engage with young people.

Seeing the real difference an outreach programme can make in young peoples’ lives, and even see some of them eventually come to the university to study is an amazing feeling.

What are the benefits of working in partnership?

Across King’s Health Partners - and the university more broadly - there is an amazing range of people doing research across every corner of STEM. Whilst these might at first seem disparate and unconnected, the more we work with each other and share ideas, the more we see how these areas of research connect.

For me it is these points of confluence that are most interesting such as using robots to enable more precise surgery, or using AI to discover new drugs in record time. As a member of professional services staff, I view my role as laying the groundwork to plan and organise effective outreach projects, to enable our researchers to instead spend their time talking about their work with the public.

What would be your career top tips?

If you are interested in dipping your toes into outreach activities, just go for it! Ask around in your department and see if anyone is running a programme that you can get involved in. There are also lots of projects run by King’s Social Mobility and Widening Participation team, and they are always welcome to have new people contributing to their programmes.

You could also sign up to be a STEM Ambassador, and help with other projects outside of King’s College London. Basically, have look around, get stuck in – I’m sure you’ll find it to be a highly rewarding way to spend your time, and that it also helps you improve a range of skills you use in your regular job too.

To learn more about the STEM team at the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences, visit its website here.

KHP News visited a science club at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, run by the STEM team. Watch the video here: