I'm a Researcher

I’m a Researcher is an online activity where school students connect with academic researchers. It’s a competition between the researchers, where students are the judges.

Students challenge the researchers over fast-paced online text-based live CHATs. They ASK the researchers anything they want, and VOTE for their favourite to win a prize of £500 to engage the public with their research

The latest activity, Machine Learning Zone, took place 11th-22nd November 2019 with nine schools taking part in live CHATs with University of Oxford researchers.

Read the Machine Learning Zone report→

Previous events

In September 2017, Curiosity Zone gave secondary school students in Oxfordshire the chance to connect with 22 researchers from a range of disciplines at University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and MRC Harwell.

This first I’m a Researcher event helped widen engagement with the Curiosity Carnival taking place for European Researchers Night. Following the online event, students could attend the Curiosity Carnival at the University of Oxford and meet the researchers in person.

Read the Curiosity Zone report→

I’m a Researcher is based on the long running and award-winning I’m a Scientist project, where school students put their questions to real scientists online. The only difference? I’m a Researcher features academic researchers from all backgrounds. Take a look at the video to get an idea of how the events work.