Being a Technician -

STEAM Technicians make it happen

Are you creative or do you enjoy problem solving? If so, join us as we showcase the exciting and important roles technicians play right across the University of Bristol. Explore with real-life Technicians the many different paths available which may lead into a technical career. What type of activities are Technicians carrying out, what does their working day look like, what does a technical career look like?

Through a variety of hands-on practical sessions such as histology, tissue culture, earthquake structural resilience testing, soil and water analysis or the tour of anatomy, you will see just how many different technical roles exist and learn which technician you are. Activities will vary but will cover all areas from Science and Engineering, Health and Life Sciences and the Arts (STEAM). For instance, what goes on in our specialist research and teaching facilities, what are 3D printers and laser cutters used for, how are ideas turned into real life items such as underwater cameras, how do owls and skulls fit in, what is it like to complete a technical apprenticeship, what does music and audio engineering involve? Watch what Technical Apprenticeships at the University of Bristol are like on YouTube.

Life in the Lab - Biological Sciences Technical

All too often people have the misconception that universities are just about students and lecturers.  But what about the hundreds of support staff who keep their Schools ticking along.  Based in the Biological Sciences teaching laboratories, you will experience the skills required, and the diversity involved in working in a busy laboratory environment alongside the lab technicians who work there.  Activities will vary from year to year but are likely to include microscope skills; media/reagent preparation; working aseptically; basic equipment servicing; field collection techniques; plant propagation; aquarium duties; assisting in outreach activities and electron microscope work.  

Biological Sciences - Animal Minds: Evolution and Behaviour:

We often think about animal diversity in terms of physical traits like size and colour. But the diversity of animal behaviour is just as striking and poses unique challenges to document, understand and explain. So how do scientists understand why animals behave the way they do? And how are these behaviours produced? We’ll take you on a tour of how biologists study evolution, then introduce how we can approach complex traits such as behaviour, with hands on practical sessions. This will include practical work ranging from analysing how neurons and brains function through to investigating the social networks of dolphins.

Biological Sciences - Green Planet and the Environment

The history of life on earth has been shaped in large part by the evolution of plants, and now the future of our climate depends on preserving diverse forest ecosystems. We’ll introduce you to the amazing diversity of plants, how they develop and work, and their importance in shaping our climate. We’ll also consider how human activity is affecting natural forest dynamics and how this will impact our efforts to prevent climate change. This will include practical work ranging from plant development through to ecosystem structure and understanding climate modelling.

Earth Sciences is the nexus of many STEM subjects, and we will use physics, chemistry, biology and maths skills to answer big societal or environmental questions. We will work in a chemistry lab, use geophysics equipment, look at volcanic hazards, talk about ocean acidification, explore evolution, and/or look at ore samples to think about natural resources. Activities include lectures, laboratory exercises and, usually, a local fieldtrip. Participants will also learn essential report writing and presentation skills and have the opportunity to meet current Earth Sciences students and staff.

Read more about work experience in Earth Sciences 

Watch what Earth Sciences work experience is really like on YouTube 

Engineering

• Do you want to make a difference in the world?  
• Are you interested in technology and how it will affect our future?  
• Are you thinking about studying A-level Mathematics after your GCSEs?  

To find out how you can apply your creative problem-solving skills to address some of the critical issues humanity faces, join us for a week of hands-on workshops and activities using mathematics, computing, and engineering skills.  

Throughout the week you will gain an insight into subjects taught in the faculty of Engineering alongside developing important employability skills like communication and teamwork; as well as hearing first-hand from our students, alumni and industry partners about life at university and the careers beyond.  

Read more about work experience in Engineering  

A taste of human geography research

You will be learning and understanding about the research process in Geography, learning the key skills required to create new knowledge, new skills in using geographical software, and how to do research in an area of interest to you. Are you interested in urban inequality? Migration? Poverty? We will help you develop a research question and use some new tools to answer them! This will be an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in geography either at university or as a career and will give you a real insight into what universities do. We hope it will be a rewarding experience that will strengthen interest in geographical sciences and help develop valuable skills for future studies and career paths. Moreover, you will also have opportunity to engage in a range of other activities at the university level, from working with the Exams Officer identifying plagiarism, to meeting with PhD students, listening to colleagues present their research and attending lectures and seminars.

Physics and Maths

Experience studying Physics and Mathematics at university and find out what it is like to work as a researcher. You will take part in computational activities, a tour of the lab, lab experiments, and lectures from a variety of topics. Learn about different research areas, such as quantum engineering technologies, particle physics, materials physics, nuclear physics, and astrophysics.  You will also take part in sessions about careers, study skills and science ethics. 

Nematode Research Project - 23rd - 27th June 2025 - 20 places

We are really excited to have young, talented, future scientists come to try their hand at some molecular and ecological techniques and help develop their scientific knowledge and experience.

This will be an exciting week where you can generate real scientific data on the diversity of nematodes in Bristol.  You will all get the chance to sample for nematodes, view them under a microscope, extract their DNA, amplify that DNA by PCR and then read the DNA sequence to find out which species it belongs to. You will get to do all the techniques involved yourselves so you will get genuine first hand research experience.

Life Sciences - 16th -20th June 2025 - 20 places

Join us for an exciting week where you will gain an insight into the different Life Science subject areas and understand what different skills and knowledge they require in each subject area.  You will be participating in interactive, hands-on practical’s in all subject areas such as biochemistry, biological sciences, psychology, cellular medicine, pharmacology, physiology and neuroscience.

You will visit some active world-renowned research lab where academics are working on many different research areas and undertake scientific sessions such as electron microscopy and the Human Patient Simulator. You will also spend two days working on a collaborative, small group research project and develop key employability skills such as data collection and analysis and problem solving.  

Geographical Sciences - 30th June - 4th July 2025 - 12 places

This week provides a valuable opportunity to gain hands-on experience of laboratory and fieldwork activities in geographical sciences, gaining insights into various techniques and methodologies used in the discipline. These experiences develop an understanding of the importance of precision and accuracy in scientific research and provides a practical understanding of how geographical data is collected and analysed in real-world setting. It is a rewarding experience that will strengthen interest in geographical sciences and help develop valuable skills for future studies and career paths.