💬 Sixth Form STEM Chats

Students can explore university options in new Sixth Form STEM Chats.

They are informal sessions where students can drop in at any time to connect with scientists and explore future study.

These facilitated Chats allow students to engage in real-time conversation and debate. It’s for students looking to refine their university choices.

This term, for Year 12, the programme of Chats will focus on future study options.



Who’s involved?

  • Students: Sixth-formers from across the UK join from school or home.
  • Scientists: Subject experts join for themed discussions.
  • Teachers: Encourage students to attend and share login details. You’re welcome to join the Chat if you wish.
  • Moderators: Ensure the Chats run smoothly.

Find out how you can get involved:



📆 Schedule

Sixth Form STEM Chats will run every Thursday, from 12pm to 2pm. Some of the Chats will take place on I’m a Scientist. Others will take place on I’m an Engineer (IAE) or I’m a Mathematician (IAM).

Chat schedule:



🎓 Teachers – Share the student registration link

Students need an account to access the Chat. If they already have an account, they can use that. If they don’t, get registration link for them:

  1. Make sure you’re logged in with your teacher account
  2. Head to: imascientist.org.uk/create-class
  3. Look for the premade class called ‘Sixth Form STEM Chats’ 
  4. Give your students the ‘Invite new students’ link
  5. Share the ‘Invite new students’ link via the pre-made presentation slides

Download the pre-made presentation slides ❯

Or view and download as a PDF ❯



🙋 Students – join the Chat

You need an account to access the Chat. If you already have one, you can use that. If you don’t, ask your teacher to share an ‘Invite new students’ link with you.

Once you have an account:

  1. Log in at imascientist.org.uk
  2. At the top of the page, click the ‘Chat’ button


🔎 Scientists – join the Chat

These Chats take place on the same text-based platform you’re familiar with. As usual, you’ll see them on the live Chat page when they’re running.

Join in as your schedule allows – even if you’re just keeping the Chat window open in the background while you work.



⚛️ Physics (2 Oct)

11 students from 2 schools, plus a whole class from Liverpool College joined this week’s Chat. They asked how physics connects to other skills and subjects like programming and engineering, and how studies they’re interested in now link to fields in further education.

Some students wanted tips for studying at university, more specialised fields, stresses and challenges, and the jump in difficulty from their current courses.

VinishVR: @all Do you use programming in physics samg @VinishVR: Personally, I do. But I know lots of theoretical physicists who rarely program, and others who spend 90% of their time programming. emilywalls @VinishVR: In Astro we use a lot of data analysis techniques which is a lot easier to do with programming and I use python day in day out! sineadeley @VinishVR: Yes - in my area (particle physics) | get all my data and calcualtions by writing and running algorithms on computers which are a bit like super computers niamhtopping @VinishVR: Hi, I use Python in my work for both data analysis and plotting. Some of the equipment I use doesn't have analysis software with it, so I use code instead
NeoM: What's your best tips for levels and University sineadeley @NeoM: Make sure to take time to look after yourself, you'll perform your best if youve had vegetables and lots of sleep. And its a matharon not a sprint emilywalls @NeoM: dont put so much pressure on yourself, ive seen many people including myself burn out because of the pressure to get everything right ect - you are a human not a machine! samg @NeoM: For uni, definitely focus on a subject you genuinely enjoy & hopefully that can make learning feel more like fun than work :) niamhtopping @NeoM: For me A levels were the hardest part of education l've done. It's only a really short period of time to learn a lot of new stuff, so make sure that even though it's a hard few years, it's important to keep up and work hard. But also make sure you have breaks and rewards in between times!
dorans20: I have alot of students who love maths and physics, but who are really unsure of what field to go into.Do you have advice? sineadeley @dorans20: I think go with what you enjoy, that said there are some degrees that combine these (e.g. mathematical physics). Plus physics and maths cross over quite a lot dorans20 Whats the 'jump' in difficulty form Alevels to degree? sineadeley @dorans20: I found it not too difficult, for me it left off where a levels finished. I currently TA a 1st year maths class and that has some overlap in alevel maths so we ensure a solid base before building on it niamhtopping @dorans20: I think the hardest jump in education is from GCSE to A level. A level to physics degree wasn't too bad to be honest, as the Uni wants to make sure everyone is on a level playing field, so often a lot of topics that were maybe done at the "higher" end of A level were then covered again and in more detail in the first year of the degree

Answers came from 8 different scientists over the 2-hour Chat; Sam G, Emily W, Sinead E, Niamh T, Max CG, Matthew GE, Vicky F, and Sebastian J.



💡 Chemical Engineering (9 Oct)

Students from 3 different schools asked questions about studying Chemical Engineering at university. They wanted to know about things like work experience, competitions and events that could help show interest on university applications, what topics a Chemical Engineering degree might cover, and the challenges of studying it.

Students’ questions were answered by engineers Abigail, Audrey, Olivia, and Paul.



🫀 Biology (16 Oct)

Students joined from Bexhill College, Etone College, and East Leake Academy.

They connected with 5 different scientists:

Students were interested in biology-related subjects like optometry, medicine, psychiatry, zoology, anatomy, and physiology. They chatted about routes into studying those subjects, what to study where, work experience, and the roles their interests could open up to them.



💊 Pharmacology (23 Oct)

Students joined this week’s Chat from Bexhill College, The Judd School, and The Sheffield College. 6 scientists (Rebecca, Emma, Codie, Gemma, Sophie, and Rachael) took part to answer questions the students had about further study.

They discussed the links between subjects like pharmacology, medicine, and pharmacy, as well as work experience, and what doing research is really like on a day-to-day basis.