Science World Blog

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TEACHERS

BC PALS

This program is made possible through the British Columbia Program for the Awareness and Learning of Science (BC PALS). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education for BC PALS.

Careers in Science

Opening the Door

Opening the Door is a unique networking event for students in Grades 10–12 who are interested in pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. This is a valuable opportunity for students to meet with professional scientists, engineers, technologists and technicians who work in a variety of fields.

The student participants are given the unique opportunity to:

Engage in a panel discussion with professionals and gain an insightful look into possible careers in science
Develop potential career contacts
Learn and practice networking skills through meeting and talking with mentors, fellow students and teachers
Contribute four hours of credit toward the work exploration component of the Career and Personal Planning (CAPP) program under the BC school system if their district chooses to give this credit.

Upcoming Events

Opening the Doors in William Lake

Columneetza Secondary School invites grade 11 and 12 students from Williams Lake and Peter Skene Ogden Secondary schools to join them in meeting mentors who will open the doors to careers and education in science and technology. Students from these three schools can register by contacting the teacher indicated on our invitation. Registration closes on March 5, so register soon!

Past Events

Opening the Door in the Fraser Valley

Fraser Valley students had a chance to explore career options at the University of the Fraser Valley on February 24. UFV worked together with Science world to open its doors to 77 students from Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Hope, Langley, Maple Ridge, Agassiz, Aldergrove, Harrison Hot Springs and the UFV, giving them the opportunity to meet and network with 16 mentors in a variety of science and technology fields. Mentors at this event represented a cross-section of environmental, technological, medical, research, educational, and management careers. This truly inspirational group included: a researcher for a Large Hadron Collider project, a student activist who attended the COP 15 UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen, an engineer who has worked for Boeing and NASA, and National Geographic’s 2007 Adventurer of the Year.

Thank you to all of the students and mentors for your enthusiastic participation, and thank you to the University of the Fraser Valley for opening your doors to Science World’s Opening the Door!

View pictures from the event:

Opening the Door in Chilliwack

On February 18, G.W. Graham Middle-Secondary School hosted 18 mentors and 144 students for a science and technology networking session in their school’s theatre. The students (from GW Graham, Sardis, and Chilliwack Secondary Schools) had the opportunity to rub shoulders with professionals in engineering, communication technology, software development, public health, respiratory therapy, academia, toxicology, environmental science, computer information systems, applied science technology and influenza research.

Thank you to all of the students, teachers and mentors for making this a successful event! View pictures from the event:

Opening the Door in Fort Nelson

Fort Nelson Secondary School hosted 11 mentors from science and technology fields for an Opening the Door event on November 24. 100 grade 11 and 12 students from Fort Nelson Secondary heard from mentors from engineering, ecology, environmental consulting, energy services, forestry, immunochemistry and the oil and gas industry.

Thank you to Fort Nelson Secondary for opening the door to our event! View pictures from the event:

Kelowna's Opening the Door

Opening the Door was held in Kelowna on Monday, November 2. 120 grade 10 – 12 students from Okanagan Mission, Kelowna, Rutland and Mount Boucherie Secondary Schools met and networked with 11 mentors in science and technology fields. The mentors—representing jobs in health sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, biochemistry and academic research—answered students’ questions about their jobs, education and career paths.

Thank you to all of the students, teachers and mentors who participated in this successful event! View pictures from the event:gallery}otd-kelowna:140:100:1{/gallery}

The 2009 Gairdner Symposium and Opening the Door:
Health Sciences Edition

The 2009 Gairdner Symposium and Opening the Door: Health Sciences Edition gave Grades 11 and 12 students a unique insight into careers in the health sciences. There were 157 students and 16 teachers from 24 schools representing 11 school districts at the event.

Participants enjoyed presentations from two Gairdner Awardees: Nobel Laureate Dr. Barry Marshall of the University of Western Australia and Professor Lucy Shapiro of the Stanford University School of Medicine. The speakers gave inspirational lectures outlining their career path and award-winning research.

The afternoon Opening the Door event featured 17 mentors in a networking event. The mentors were from various health science careers, including research, instruction, dietetics, speech-language pathology, magazine editing, consulting, care management and protein engineering. They came from institutions such as the University of British Columbia, BC Cancer Research Centre, hospitals and care-centres and companies like Metaphase Health Research, Healthcastle.com and Zymeworks, Inc.

View pictures from the October 26, 2009 Health Science Dissected event:

Students from Seaquam, Sir Winston Churchill, Charles Best, St. Thomas Aquinas and Fraser Heights Secondary Schools won a draw and felt what it's like to hold a Nobel Prize! They had a photo taken with Dr. Barry Marshall, Professor Lucy Shapiro, and our honoured guests Dr. Michael Hayden, Dr. Brett Finlay, and Mr. Haig Farris. Thanks to Dr. Marshall for bringing along his medal.