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CCD High School Work Experience Program

From 27-31 August, CCD held its second Work Experience week of the year. Once again, CCD members from all five programs (Belief Formation, Language, Memory, Person Perception and Reading) volunteered their time to support these students. The program included presentations from researchers about their work, hands-on demonstrations of the latest technology used in neuroscience research, discussions with careers advisors about the different degrees available and post-degree career pathways. The students were also able to experience some aspects of the undergraduate course curriculum. They logged on to the online Delusions and Disorders course in the Department of Cognitive Science and learned about different aspects of the cognitive disorders, such as aphasia, synesthesia and schizophrenia.

The hands-on part of the week allowed students to see how cognitive science researchers use technology including ultrasound, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), eye-tracking and magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate the inner workings of the brain. Once again, the program included a ‘mini research project’ wherein small groups of students worked as a research team to design and execute a research project. At the end of the week, they presented a summary of their findings to Centre academics.

As it has been in previous years, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

"I definitely want to do a science degree now instead of business." — Year 10 Student

"It has influenced me to continue pathways into STEM." — Year 11 Student

"Thanks so much for the time and effort you put into supporting our girls when they joined you for work experience and for this generous reference. They had a wonderful learning experience and have benefited greatly from the insights they gained during this time." — Careers Advisor

Two of the students contacted CCD members to inquire about working with them for their Year 11 Science Extension projects. One specifically wanted to build upon the mini-research project that the students conducted during the Work Experience week.

Sadly, this was the final cohort of Work Experience students for the CCD. The program has been very successful, with over 120 students taking part since the program started in 2014.