Benefits for your class

STEM becomes more relatable

By taking part in I’m an Engineer students can:

• Gain confidence through asking questions.
• See real-life examples and applications of STEM.
• Learn about the transferability of STEM and STEM qualifications.
• See engineers as normal people, not ‘elite geniuses’, with hobbies, interests, pets, and families.
  
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Read case studies from teachers who have taken part

Supporting students’ science capital

Science capital is a measure of a person’s personal relationship with science; how much they see the subject as ‘for them’. More about science capital.

I’m an Engineer supports the science capital teaching approach:

• Students become more aware of the diversity of, nature of, and routes into STEM jobs.
• We challenge the misconceptions that a job in STEM is all-consuming and based in a lab.
• More about how I’m an Engineer boosts students’ science capital

Students discover new careers

• Students connect with engineers from a diverse range of backgrounds, disciplines, and industries.
• They hear about new STEM careers and opportunities in higher education.
• I’m an Engineer supports seven of the eight Gatsby Careers Benchmarks

Every student is equal

• Text-based live Chats mean that all students have an equal chance of being answered:
  • “It helps [to see] students in a different light. Some who are normally very quiet in school became very active in the chat.” – Teacher, May 2020
• Students gain confidence through asking questions.
  More about the advantages of text-based interactions

Accessible to every school

• Schools within 15 minutes’ drive of a university are twice as likely to receive a visit from a university engineer than those 30 minutes or more away.
• I’m an Engineer is online, so you can access it from anywhere.
• Read more about how distance matters.
• More about our commitment to underserved and widening participation schools

Benefits for teachers

It’s backed by research:

• I’m an Engineer supports the Science Capital Teaching Approach.
• Taking part supports students’ Science Capital.
• It’s secure, safe and you’re in control: Only students who’ve been given access by their teacher can login to the Zone.
• No personal details are shared on the site, and student content is moderated. Read our safeguarding statement ❯
• You get to see which students have logged in and what questions they’ve asked.
• You can download transcripts of live chat sessions.

Everything’s designed for easy, online access:

• Signing up is quick and easy
• Students can log in at any time to read engineers’ profiles and send questions in ASK.
• Students create their own username using a link you create. This will take them around 10 minutes; send it to them the day before your chat, or earlier.
• You book chats for times that suit you and your students.

It’s free for state maintained schools:

• Thanks to our funders, most schools don’t have to pay.
• Non-state-maintained schools may be asked to pay a fee to take part.
  Find out more ❯

Teachers: Register to take part ❯

Find out more:

Teachers homepage ❯
Student safeguarding and privacy ❯
Questions? Contact support@imascientist.ie

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