The Programme welcomes Grade 10 and 11 learners into the University where they work alongside researchers from various different Science Departments. The programme has grown from accepting 5 students in 2013 to accepting 30 learners in 2018 and 2019. The learners get to be a scientist for three weeks of their holidays during the course of the year. They are placed in the care of various research groups across campus to get exposure to different disciplines.
What skills and resources were you able to draw from the community for this project?
We attract and accept learners that are interested in learning and want to have a successful future in science.
The challenges
The challenge we aim to address is to broaden learner's ideas and perceptions around science and what it means to be a scientist.
Addressing the challenges
We give learners an unforgettable and real experience of being a scientist in a University setting and context. This experience allows learners to have productive holidays spent learning about possible options for their futures.
The achievements
We have had many learners come through the internship programme where some have even registered to do their Bachelor of Science Degrees at Rhodes University and have had a clearer idea from the programme into which field they went into.
Johannesburg, South Africa