The Chemistry Clinic is a student led consultancy in the University of Strathclyde. Working with entrepreneurs with brand new ideas right through to supporting school students, they deal with a wide range of enquiries.
This placement opportunity during their Chemistry degree gives students the chance to implement the knowledge they have gathered so far during their three years of studying and fine-tune their practical laboratory skills. They also have the chance to grow on a personal basis in various forms of communication and organisation skills that are tested throughout the year. The team also partake in various school events and tasks both within the University of Strathclyde and around the country - as STEM Ambassadors - to further the development of the scientific world.
Wax Project
After a couple of weeks off the wax, Peter and Jonny were ready to start ‘blending’ there ideas together again. In our first week back, meetings were organised with the client for an overview in what progress we had made in the months before Christmas. This led into further discussions and guidance for us to progress towards the end of the project. Hopefully in the next few weeks our project will be ‘wrapped’ up ready to start another.
Lumi-Ring Project
Having met with their client at the beginning of January, Ben and Cirsty are happy with the development of their product so far. They now move onto the next stage of the project, by further adapting their phosphorescent material to meet the client’s brief. Having finalised the main composition of the material, they now have the chance to hone in on the intricate details outlined in the project aims and create a product that is as close to the client’s desired outcome as possible.
Wood Project
Peter and Cirsty have fine-tuned their plan of analysis for the wood samples. Having been given the go-ahead the team will start work at the beginning of February and hope to have updates on their progress in the coming weeks.
19th Annual West of Scotland Teachers Conference
The first week back saw Ben, Cirsty and Jonny putting their acid/base indicator experiments to the test. The University welcomed a host of teachers to the campus for the 19th Annual West of Scotland Teachers Conference. With lectures held throughout the day, the teachers were also invited to take part in practical work within the laboratory. They were able to test, first-hand, the potential Advanced Higher projects that the team had been working on for the past few months. It was a really beneficial session for all involved and we managed to get feedback on possible areas to improve and include the “Further Analysis” section of the projects.
Instagram Takeover
The Chemistry Clinic took to social media with an Instagram Takeover Week on @StrathScience. It was a great opportunity for us to communicate, to a wider audience, the opportunities that this placement provides students and the areas in which we are able to develop our skills. If you want to catch up on the posts, head over to the @StrathScience Instagram page.
Schools Outreach
This month, the team have been very busy with a rapid increase in bookings for Advanced Higher Project Analysis. The first of our visits welcomed 13 students from Gryffe High School. During this visit, we gave pupils an insight into the daily life as a university student and some knowledge behind the analytical techniques we carry out as chemists. It was an enjoyable experience for all and hopefully we have inspired the next generation of Strathclyde students.
Potential New Projects
The end of January saw the team meeting with a potential new client. This was our first experience of initial discussions to get the ball-rolling on realistic project outcomes and targets. With other innovative ideas in the pipeline, 2019 is looking to be a busy year for the team and we look forward to sharing our progress with you over the coming months.
