Coco-pops, beanbags and motivational posters: my first impressions on entering the Outbox Incubator house last Friday. The collective brainpower concentrated in that one house was almost palpable, getting its breakfast fuelling.
I was invited to give a two-hour seminar on communication skills – writing in particular – and by the time I left the Outbox inmates already had a number of blogs and other written assignments in gestation, now since published. I thought I’d better practice what I preach and end my summer blog desert! So here’s a short blog post about my work at Outbox that day.
Outbox Incubator is the brainchild of the Stemettes, an organization devoted to enhancing opportunities for girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). For 6 weeks they have taken over a huge house in South London where groups of girls have lived, worked and played, some for a week or two, others for the whole summer. I was there on their final day. ‘StemExecutives’ have visited to give talks and workshops on a whole variety of subjects related to STEM, especially careers and start-ups.
From those I met, the Outbox has been a massive success: the girls have learned loads, made lifelong friends in a safe and secure environment. Amazingly, over those few short summer weeks, over 29 new STEM start-ups have been spawned! I hope that those in business, education and STEM are taking note. (George Osborne, Nicky Morgan – oh, and Lucy Powell.)
My session was called Write or Wrong. OK, a bit cheesy, but we all love a bit of alliteration and corny puns! I wanted to encourage the students to reflect on communication in all its forms, think about STEM writing especially and consider the importance of publishing.
We started by playing a STEM version of Pictionary – a good ice-breaker, but I also wanted to show the students how powerful – and also how limited – is our ability to communicate without words. We looked at the multifarious forms of public and private written communication that a STEM professional might engage in. Which forms did they need to develop their skills in?
We discussed questioning, punctuation, editing and the importance of a good ‘first impression’. I presented the students with a selection of science-related blogs to criticize; would they click through or switch off? I then tasked them with writing their own blog posts in just TEN MINUTES, working in small groups. No mean feat – especially for the grammar pedants! – but these girls are up for anything, and they don’t waste a moment of their time. Have a look at two of them here and here, which were published later that same day.
I introduced them briefly to Young Scientists Journal and they quizzed me intelligently about it. How could they get their own science projects published, how might they and their friends join the editing and production teams? Many were keen to attend the conference in October. With students of this calibre involved, initiatives like Young Scientists can be assured of an exciting future.
By the end of my session, the cramped room and dodgy display technology were forgotten; we had learned together and created something together. What a high-achieving and personable bunch of young people they were.
Well, I haven’t managed to write this in ten minutes; however, the 2 hours I spent with Outbox will stay with me for a very long time. And so will the mug they gave me. Thanks everyone – go forth and prosper!
@outboxincubator
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