Year 12 and 13Conferences

Colchester andSouthend campuses2013 – 2014

The University of Essex is holding a series of conferencesaimed at students in years 12 and 13, which willdemonstrate the diversity of subject disciplines withinthe university. Many of the conferences will additionallyprovide students with an insight into university life, howto choose the right course and help them with variousrevision skills and techniques.

Events are free to attend unless otherwise stated.

Psychology4, 11 December 2013, 11:00am – 3:00pmColchester campus

Students will find out whatPsychology at University really is.There will be demonstrations ofresearch techniques, tasterlectures and current experimentsto take part in. Topics will include

Cognitive Neuroscience, Social Psychology,Perception and Memory, among others. We hopethat students will gain a firm understanding ofPsychology as the science of the mind andbehaviour. The day will cover the breadth of thislarge subject and is relevant to interested students currently studying Sciences or Humanities.

For further details please contact Steffan KennettE skennett@essex.ac.uk

Language Taster21 November 2013, 5:00pm – 7:00pmColchester campus

The Language Taster is a well-established event which isorganised by the RegionalAssociation for LanguageLearning in conjunction with theUniversity of Essex. This event

has become an annual feature of languagelearning for colleges and secondary schools inthe region of East Anglia. The event starts with atalk and interactive language sessions ofimportant, but not widely taught, languages.Participants can then choose two languagetaster sessions, to include one European andone non-European language.

For further details please contactUniversity of Essex: Gladis Garcia–Soza E gladis@essex.ac.uk

Association for Language Learning: Avril Black E avrainblack@hotmail.com

Every one of my students enormouslyenjoyed the conference. It raised their aspirationsand their self-belief and was also useful andthought-provoking. This was perfect for any A Level student.

Economics 24 March 2014, 10:00am – 2:00pmColchester campus

The Department of Economicshas a reputation among itsstudents and the manyacademics who visit fromacross the globe as being alively, enjoyable and stimulating

place to study, research and work. As well asbeing ranked third in the UK for our economicsresearch, we are well-connected withinternational organisations and financial centres.

Students will hear from our academic staff ontopics they are currently researching whichhave been hitting headlines and been awardedlarge research grants. Students will experiencelectures from academic staff and will be able tohear from our current undergraduates who cantell them what University life is really like from astudent perspective. A campus tour will also beavailable so they can have a look around andsee the facilities that a university campusoffers. We hope the students who attend willcome away with a better understanding ofsome of the exciting things going on inEconomics at Essex.

For further details please contactClaire CoxE clairec@essex.ac.uk

Business19 March 2014Southend Campus

This event will aim toestablish a creative platformfor the development andtesting of new ideas forbusiness enterprises.Coaching will be provided by

experienced academic staff with theassistance of postgraduates students on basicstart-up skills, financing issues, marketingcapabilities and human resource strategies. Atthe end of the event, participants will sharetheir business ideas with an invited panel ofindustry and academic experts.

Through typical university lectures and acampus tour with current students, we hopethe students who attend will come away with abetter understanding of some of the excitingopportunities in the Essex Business School.

For further details please contact Nicola WoodE nicolaw@essex.ac.uk

Biology25 March 2014, 9:30am – 3:00pmColchester campus

This event will motivatestudents to prepare for theirexams and help them toconsider options for theirfuture. An external comiceducational and motivational

speaker will launch the day and the rest of theday will be showcasing the diversity of Biology.There will be a range of taster universitylectures and a choice of practical activities onBiology and university life related to the post-16curriculum. Plus a former Principle Examiner forBiology for Edexcel will lead a session onrevision and exams skills and there there willalso be a chance to find out about careers usingdegrees in Biology and related subjects.

Due to the costs of resources there is a chargeof £5 per student for this conference. Howeverif you have students who would normally havethe cost of trips subsidised by theschool/college then this fee can be waived.

For further details please contact Olivia Pink, Biological Sciences Administrator E opadgett@essex.ac.uk

Dr. Nicky Slee, Biological Sciences SchoolOutreach Co-ordinator E nicola@essex.ac.uk

Exploring Humanities25 March 2014, 9:30am – 3:30pmColchester campus

Interested in History, EnglishLiterature or anotherHumanities subject?

The Faculty of Humanities atthe University of Essex

includes departments which offer degrees inHistory, Art History, Philosophy, AmericanStudies, European Studies, Latin AmericanStudies, Creative Writing, Literature and Filmand Theatre Studies.

With such a broad range of courses we arerunning a conference for year 12 students.Students can focus on one subject, or try out arange of sessions designed to broaden theirminds to the full scale of what the Humanitiesare and why they are important, as well ashelping them with their current studies. Anystudent currently studying related subjects, orinterested in studying them at degree level, willfind the day to be both informative andinspiring.

For further details please contactJulie StoreyE jstorey@essex.ac.uk www.essex.ac.uk/hu/news/

exploring_ humanities.aspx

An extremelyinteresting day, whichI feel worked well forour students.

Sociology27 March 2014, 9:30 – 3:00pmColchester campus

This conference offersstudents an opportunity tosample university life for aday and improve their levelperformance as well asgaining a sense of what

studying Sociology at degree level involves.The conference will include talks from variousmembers of staff at the University of Essex aswell as outside examiners.

School staff members are invited to a lunchwith members of the department and A-levelexaminers and to take part in an opendiscussion about post-16 sociology teachingissues.

For further details please contact Sheila MarrinanE smarrin@essex.ac.uk

Sports and Exercise Science 25 March 2014, 9:30am – 3:00pmColchester campus

The aim of this event is tomotivate students in theircurrent studies and help themto decide their future. The daywill begin with an externalmotivational speaker, followed

by a range of taster University lecturesfeaturing the primary disciplines withinExercise Sciences, Physiology, Biomechanicsand Psychology. Plus there will be practicaldemonstrations in Sport and ExerciseSciences, as well as an option to find outabout University life here as an undergraduatestudent, and where students find themselvesupon completion of their degree.

Due to the costs of resources there is acharge of £5 per student for this conference.However if you have students who wouldnormally have the cost of trips subsidised bythe school/college then this fee can bewaived.

For further details please contact Olivia Pink, Biological Sciences Administrator E opadgett@essex.ac.uk

Dr Matt Taylor, Sports & Exercise ScienceOutreach Co-ordinator E mtaylor@essex.ac.uk

Maths Winsten Day3 July 2014, 10:00 – 4:00pmColchester campus

The Winsten Day is an annualfree enrichment event for year12 pupils, held in honour ofProfessor Christopher Winsten,an internationally respectedprobability theorist and former

member of the Department of MathematicalSciences who passed away in 2005.

Students and teachers attending will take part ina series of lectures and interactive sessionsdesigned to expose them to the wide variety ofoptions available to students who chose to studymathematics related subjects post 18. The daywill then conclude with the annual Winstenlecture. Previous Winsten lectures have beengiven by author, journalist and TV producerSimon Singh, Director of the MilleniumMathematics Project Prof. John Barrow andDirector of the Political and Social Research atYouGov Joe Twyman.

For further details please contact Chris SakerE cjsake@essex.ac.uk

Insight into University day20 June 2014, 10:00am – 3:00pmColchester campus

This event introduces year 12 students to key highereducation issues, and providean insight into studyingdifferent subjects at degreelevel. Students will leave the

event feeling much more prepared forattending HE fairs and university open days.

There will be speakers from University of Essexas well as other local universities offeringintroductory sessions on some of the mostpopular degree subject areas; includingBusiness, Computing, Psychology, English,Biology, Languages, Law, Teaching and SportsScience, plus many more. In addition there willbe seminars on choosing the right course,student finance, student life, and writing a goodpersonal statement. There will also be plenty ofopportunity for your students to ask individualquestions of university staff and students.

For further details please contactAnnika YoungE ayoungc@essex.ac.uk

How to book placesTeachers can book groups of students into all conferences at

www.essex.ac.uk/outreachFor more information please phone the Outreach office on 01206 873424.Spaces on events will be allocated on a first come first served basis

Please note: The conferences and booking form are designed for teachers to bring groups of students to the events. If individual students wish to attend they should contact the relevant conference organiser before booking.