INSPIRE Programme

INSPIRE stands for Investing in New Scientists to Promote Inclusive Research and Education.

Since 2022, researchers at UCL have welcomed sixth form students from London to visit their labs and participate in lectures and hands-on workshops over the course of several days in July.

Led by Dr Paula Alexandre and Dr Conor McCann, this initiative is aimed at encouraging students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to study science in higher education. The programme is advertised to local schools which have a high number of students who receive free school meals, would be first in their family to attend university and/or belong to an under-represented group.

“I enjoyed meeting professionals and learning about their journeys into science and research-related jobs.”

Through the programme, students who plan to study a STEM subject at University receive mentoring and bespoke career advice sessions. The students are also exposed to cutting-edge health research through a 3-day blended learning experience which includes University-style lectures in STEM and time in the lab.

“I enjoyed the lab and how we got to see what people were working on and research about.”

Student feedback on the programme has been excellent and the researchers plan to run the programme again in 2025.