IoP opens its doors to local students
09 October 2009
The Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) hosted its annual Engaging Young People in Science & Mental Health taster event on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th September 2009. 50 students from local schools visited the IoP as part of a public engagement project working with our local community to inspire the next generation of mental health professionals.
Pupils attended a two-day event which included talks, discussions and workshops hosted by IoP/SLaM experts in the fields of psychiatry, psychology and mental health nursing. Some of the areas highlighted by IoP academics were forensic psychiatry, genetics, eating disorders and psychology.
The event aimed to challenge young people’s perceptions about mental illness as well as encouraging pupils to consider higher education in the areas of psychiatry and psychology.
As part of the activities students visited the Institute’s mock scanning suite to learn about MRI technology and were also given the opportunity to discuss issues with people who have had first hand experiences of living with a mental health problem.
A student from St Martin-in-the-Fields High School said 'Thank you very much for inviting us to the day. I felt very privileged to be a part of this course. I took a lot of things in and got a better understanding of some things I learnt in biology.'
A psychology A’ Level teacher accompanying students to the event added: 'This two day workshop engaged the students with subjects that they were interested in and could relate to. The subject matter was varied and at times included A' level Psychology specific content which was especially helpful for the students. We are very much looking forward to attending next year.'
One of the days included a workshop with King’s College student ambassadors giving a guidance session on going to university which gave pupils an insight into what life as a student is really like. One of the attendees commented: 'The event really helped me to make decisions for my career plans.'
The IoP Engaging Young People in Science & Mental Health event is supported by the South East London branch of Aimhigher via the King’s College Widening Participation department. Aimhigher is a nationally coordinated programme which aims to widen access to higher education by raising the aspirations and developing the abilities of people from under-represented groups.