Prof. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh (C) and her colleagues (Photo: VNA) London (VNA) – NguyenThi Kim Thanh, a Vietnamese professor at University College London (UCL), who wonmany prestigious international awards for her scientific research, says she hopes to inspirestudents, especially the disadvantaged in London, to pursue their passionfor scientific study.
In 2019, Thanh was awarded the prestigious Royal Society Rosalind FranklinMedal by the Commonwealth Academy of Sciences for herresearch achievements in the field of nanomaterials for biomedicine.
She used the prize money to organise a science camp in April this year in Wiltshire region of the UK to inspire highschool 8th – 10th gradestudents to perform scientific research.
As many as 46 high school students in London,mostly girls with difficult circumstances or those from minority communities took part in the camp.
This event provided students with an opportunity to not only immerse themselvesin science but also develop their independence and confidence as they work withthose from different grades and diverse backgrounds.
Thanh's science camp offereda venue for students to implement practical and interesting scientificexperiments in the field of advanced nanotechnology under direct instructionsfrom Thanh and her colleagues. The work featured the use of nanotechnology to detectand treat diseases such as cancer.
Thanh expressed her pleasure in organizing the camp, affirming that she will continue to hold extracurricular activities at UCL for students.
The scientist said she will expand cooperation with high schools to increasethe number of students studying biology, chemistry and physics subjects withA-level (advanced) by 50% by 2025-2026.
The scientific camp comes as part of effortsto further promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education and inspire the next generation of scientists, Thanh said./.
