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Successful Sutton Trust Workshop held for Over 50 Prospective University Students from ‘Non-traditional’ Backgrounds

12 July 2012

A successful workshop, convened by David Hayes (Personal Finance Research Centre) and ran by Liz Stephens (Hydrology), was held on July 11th.  The workshop was part of a full week of activities for students from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds who would otherwise be unlikely to apply to attend university.

The students, aged 16-17, were welcomed by David, before Liz began the workshop, titled ‘What is Model Uncertainty?’  After a short introductory lecture, the students were asked to work in small groups, to discuss “how to predict the flow of a river in one week’s time.”  Liz asked the students to consider what input data was necessary, the processes taking place, and the model parameters, before producing posters illustrating their ideas. 

At the end of the session, participants were asked to present their posters to the group, with a prize given to the group with the best outputs (judged by Liz!).  Numerous staff were available throughout the session to talk to the participants, and to answer any questions about the workshop or the department in general.

Staff involved in the organising and running of the workshop were David Collings, Sara Davies, Jenny Griggs, David Hayes, Charlotte Lloyd, Jeni Milsom, Jeff Neal, Gemma Simpson and Liz Stephens.

 

The Sutton Trust workshop