Year 12 students from Camborne Science and International Academy experienced a life-changing trip to Singapore recently - attending workshops and lectures by previous winners of the Nobel Prize.

“We were delighted to represent CSIA at this very prestigious event, along with 25 other schools from around the world,” said Naomi Dower, science teacher at CSIA. “For our students to learn from Nobel Laureates and other renowned world experts in their field of Science was an incredibly valuable experience. You can’t put it into words.”

Bethany and Emily Yarde-Dent attended the International Science Youth Forum at Hwa Chong Institution, along with two members of staff; Mrs Dower and principal, Ian Kenworthy. The forum’s key aims were to: inspire passion for science amongst youth and to establish cooperation and friendship amongst young science talents.

“Listening to Nobel Prize winners was just amazing,” said Bethany. “The stem cell technology workshop was particularly interesting because our research project referred to the re-generation of body parts so we found it very relevant.”

The week began with a treasure hunt around Singapore to promote cross cultural learning and to admire the country’s most iconic sites. “At the end of the first day, we had tried so many new foods in a Hawker market, explored the botanical gardens, visited museums, admired the impressive skyline and the Supertree Grove," said Emily. "We crammed so much in – it was breathtaking.”

Visits to a variety of technological industries at different sites in Singapore followed on day two, culminating with lectures at Nanyang University. Students also took part in various educational challenges including undertaking a research study and presenting their work to a panel of experts, before being questioned.

A lecture from Sir Tim Hunt, a Nobel Prize winner in 2001, was a particular highlight for the group.

He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Sir Paul Nurse and Dr Leland H Hartwell for their discoveries of the key regulations of the cell cycle. Sir Tim’s contribution was the discovery of cyclins, which are proteins involved in cell cycle regulation.

"At the end of the week, we had all grown intellectually, become more independent, increased in confidence and engaged with people from many countries," said Bethany. "We had also discovered more about the field of science, Singapore and the world in general. This trip was a life changing experience for us all- and made us reflect what we might be able to achieve if we think big.”