Planning is already well underway for the S@S Accelerate programe this summer! We currently have 235 young people signed up to our 11 challenges, from 67 different schools.
Some challenges only have a few spaces remaining, so if you wish to apply for any of our courses (particularly those taking place during S@S Accelerate 1) we advise you to submit your application as soon as possible!
Summer 2011 saw the third year of the S@S Accelerate programme for pupils at the end of S4, S5 and S6. The programme aims to provide young people, many from areas of traditionally low participation in Higher Education, with a targeted focus on their chosen area of potential academic study, giving them a head start on the road to their chosen career.
The main aims of the course are to:
- provide participants with advice and information about the various Higher Education courses and work opportunities that exist in their field of interest
- allow participants to take part in interactive group challenges that allow them to put into practice many areas of the theory that they learn about during the week
- give participants an opportunity to experience study within a University department and life on a University campus
278 pupils from 66 different schools and 16 local authorities in Scotland attended the S@S Accelerate 2011 programme. The programme featured 11 subject areas for pupils to choose from, split into two one-week courses:
S@S Accelerate 1 ran from 27th June to 1st July. Its focus was on Science and Engineering and it took place on the city centre John Anderson campus. The subject areas for this week were:
- Product Design (Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management)
- Mini Space Academy (Electronic & Electrical Engineering)
- Pharmacy
- Astrophysics
- Psychology
S@S Accelerate 2, from the 25th to 29th July, was held on the Jordanhill campus, and focused on Education, Sport, Law, Business and Social Sciences. The subject areas for this week were:
- Business & Enterprise
- Law
- Education
- Chemistry
- Languages
- Sport, Physical Activity and Health (SPAH)
Below are examples of the group activities that the young people took part in during their Challenge programmes:
- The Pharmacy students made real aspirin tablets
- The Psychology students chose research questions and designed their own research methodologies by which to investigate them.
- The Product Design students designed MP3 players and then produced working models of their products using the Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management department’s rapid prototyping equipment
- The EEE students built their own Mars Landing craft and drove a Mars Rover vehicle on the planet’s surface. They were also able to ask questions of real-life astronauts via a live satellite link to NASA.
- The Astrophysics groups ran a series of experiments to test the theory that the moon landings were a hoax
- The participants in the Law Challenge staged their own trial, complete with a real-life judge
- The Education groups taught 20 minute lessons to groups of primary children
- SPAH students analysed the potential impact of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and designed and taught sporting micro-lessons
- The Languages groups wrote, recorded and produced their own podcasts, entirely in another language
- The Chemistry students made their own Paracetamol tablets and tested their purity
- The Business & Enterprise groups drew up proposals for the re-branding and development of an Ayrshire town, after collating information from their own on-line market research and a visit to the site.
Click here to read our S@S Accelerate 2011 Report.