Vax-Hub engaged with over 300 students at Langdon Park School

This activity is part of an ongoing pilot outreach programme that was co-developed with a biology-specialised science teacher at Langdon Park School to maximise engagement in activities aimed at increasing adolescents’ awareness of vaccine design, development, and large-scale manufacture. 

Following these masterclasses, 25 students volunteered to participate in an exciting extracurricular project designed to challenge them in thinking about vaccine development and production, with a focus on the rapid development of the Covid-19 vaccine. This represents a unique opportunity for students to gain a greater understanding of vaccines and the role of biochemical engineering in their manufacture, as well as to help them develop research, teamwork, and communication skills. 

• Research a specific (given) vaccine technology and discuss its advantages and disadvantages over alternative technologies 
• Research and brainstorm ideas on how to achieve a specific (given) vaccine manufacturing goal – what are the main challenges? 
• Compare the COVID-19 accelerated vaccine development timeline with the traditional timeline and discuss what potential factors may have had a major impact in speeding up the development of COVID-19 vaccines

Each group will present their work at UCL at the start of the new year to students and academics, who will assess presentations and select a winner.

Vax-Hub is looking forward to the outcome of this pilot programme and extending it to more schools with the hope of inspiring the next generation of bio-scientists! 

Vax-Hub Outreach Team: Ludovica Vaiarelli, Stephen Morris and Salome De Sa Magalhaes

Contact:

For more information on how to engage with the Vax-Hub outreach programme please contact:

• Ludovica Vaiarelli
  Vax-Hub Outreach Coordinator
  ludovica.vaiarelli.18@ucl.ac.uk