Week 4: School week

Hi Everyone!

The start of induction week began with us writing what we
were looking forward to and what challenges we expected 

In the past week, I haven't really done anything important. The school began with an induction week and on Wednesday we went to the Maths Gallery in the Science Museum, to discuss the design of the exhibit and how to communicate maths to the public. The designer of the Museum came in to talk to us later about how she designed the exhibit to mimic the airwaves that a moving plane would make, using a mathematical model. Later on, we had people from all sorts of organizations come to speak to us about some internship and job opportunities. Because I have classes only two days a week, I know I'm going to get pretty bored without something else to do besides school, so I signed up for almost all the options.
Thursday was the last day of induction week, in which we had a case study on how to communicate evolutionary theory to different groups of people. For example, some students had to pitch an idea of evolutionary theory targeted towards people on a cruise liner. It was a fun and challenging exercise, and through it, I got to know my classmates better. We also discussed interviewing techniques and what makes for good journalism. The day ended with a big party, which included booze and crisps (potato chips for my American audience). After some lively discussion, everyone moved down a couple levels to the h-bar, which the school bar designated for specifically post-graduate students and staff combined. I stayed for a couple drinks, then headed home, as I was hungry for dinner.

Friday was a slow day for me, as I didn't have an induction week or anything scheduled. I decided to wander around the campus, as well as run some errands. I enjoyed just relaxing and preparing myself for my upcoming classes. Saturday and Sunday were much of the same thing, though Sunday I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum with my friend and classmate Sunita.

She hadn't been to the museum before, and it was nice to receive her thoughts on induction week. We wandered around the Victoria & Albert museum for a couple hours, specifically admiring much of the sculpture displayed in the Medieval Renaissance exhibits. After our time gawking, we decided to grab some coffee. Over coffee, we chatted more about the upcoming year. I told her that I was thinking of staying in London for another year or two, depending on what job I received by the end of the course. The program is so flexible it really does allow you to figure out where you want to live after it. Sunita mentioned traveling during the Easter holiday when we get a month off of school. I thought that would be a wonderful idea, and we talked about going together, as it's always nicer if there's someone to travel with.

All the editors of the I, Science Magazine 

Monday was the official first day of classes and not induction week. We began with Dr. Stephen Webster's class on Science and its Social Contexts. It's a philosophical discussion-based class, and Stephen got us started by discussing the rules of science, specifically looking at Sir Francis Bacon. By the time his lecture ended, I already had three new book recommendations and pages of notes. It was a  rousing and lively discussion and I'm looking forward to next week as we continue it. After a lunch break, we returned to the classroom to discuss our core practical with Professor Gareth Mitchell, who hosts several radio shows on BBC channel 4. He told us that for our core practical we would be filming ourselves interviewing each other in different locations and using both radio and TV equipment.  At the end of the next four weeks, we would then showcase our sound-bites and TV clips for the class. Gareth said that most science communicators get little media training before going into a job, and this was a nice way to play around with different media. I was nervous and excited to learn that I would be on film in the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!
After our core practical the class officially ended. We then decided to have a short meeting to discuss the Science Communication magazine, I, Science, which most of us are editors. As the magazine positions change every year, all of us were new to our tasks, and we discussed as a group some of our goals for the coming publications. As I am the web editor of the magazine, I will be in charge of all the online formating. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on our magazine. It is an award-winning publication, so definitely worth your time.
Today, I've just been lying low until classes start this afternoon. I have Dr. Felicity Mellor's class to begin which is titled the Media representation of Science. Sounds intriguing! Afterward, all of us are attending a weekly seminar. The subject and speaker changes every week, so I have no idea what is going on this week, but I'm excited!
Until next time! Stay brainy!
Cheers,
Kenna