A Level and Honours Programme student heads to Grenoble after winning the XMaS Scientist Experience competition

Her next adventure takes her to Grenoble in France after entering the XMaS Scientist Experience 2022 to secure an all expenses paid place on a residential event to visit the renowned European Synchrotron Research Facility.

Impressing academics with her essay response to the given title, 'Ada Yonath: her life and contributions to science', this is the latest

We caught up with recent Student of the Month winner, Konstantina to hear all about her recent residentials to both the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge:

Q. Tell us all about your recent residentials.

A. My residentials to both Oxford and Cambridge were quite lovely. I have been to Oxford University previously, so I was not surprised by what I saw, yet it remained a pleasant visit.

Cambridge University was was just exhilarating. The student dorms that we stayed in were beautiful, cosy and with the amazing view of Christ's College's gardens. All the talks were so different but they were all absolutely enlightening and inspiring. On Day 1, we got to have a traditional Cambridge Dinner and I had the opportunity to speak with many current alumni and I felt motivated to continue all of my hard work. I simply cannot describe with words how much of a once-in-a-lifetime experience this was, living 3 days as one of Cambridge's students.

Q. What was your most memorable part of your residentials?

A. By far, my favourite part was the visit to Trinity College, where we got to repeat Newton's experiment of measuring the speed of sound, and after that our visit at the College's historical library. I was in complete awe the whole time.

Q. Congratulations on winning the XMaS Scientist Experience competition. Tell us all about it.

A. I chose to enter the competition through Warwick University. I was tasked with writing an essay on the subject, 'Ada Yonath: her life and contributions to science' and to say why I would benefit from the visit to the European Synchrotron Research Facility and how this visit might affect my future career.

I am so excited to be visiting the ESRF and the trip to Grenoble will hopefully be a lovely experience that I can add to my CV. I found out about the programme through my physics class and I thought I'd go for it. I was already quite interested to get to explore Ada Yonath's life and I am always happy to participate in programmes that will offer me a better understanding of what I aim to make my lifestyle in approximately a decade from today.

Q. What are you looking forward to most?

A. It will be incredible to wander through the magnificent European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and live the full scientist experience with professionals in an actual scientific research project with other peers of mine. We will also get to explore the beautiful city of Grenoble and we will use cable cars on the final day to appreciate the view to the fullest extent. To be frank, visiting the beamline and working on the research project with other girls with similar interests to me is what I am looking the most forward to but, the general idea of the travel is still something exciting for me.

Interested in find out more about studying A Levels and the Honours Programme at NSCG? Visit nscg.ac.uk for more information.