career – The Orbital

Who Really Gets to Be a Scientist? An Interview with Angela Saini

12May

By Luz Sanchez-Real ZielniewiczNo Comments

Science & Technology

Who Really Gets to Be a Scientist? An Interview with Angela Saini

Does it now take three or four minutes to race up to the moon? Is that really important? Or should science be used for what we actually need in order to pursue human development, such as finding new ways to produce crops, combat climate change, and so on? Because how realistic is it really for someone, who had to work themselves up from the very bottom, to get funding for a flying race car? Unless your name is Elon Musk, the odds are terrible and incredibly unfair. And this shouldn’t be the case. Regardless of socio-economic background, or gender, or race. Everyone can be a scientist. So what is stopping us? Last Monday, I was sitting in my maths seminar when this guy suddenly told me that women are biologically less capable of logical thinking than men. I couldn’t believe what I was h...

The Value of Internships

Internships are a great way for university students to gain practical experience and skills to prepare them for graduation, and are key to building a network of contacts and industry knowledge in a field that perhaps their degree doesn’t offer them. That being said, are all these internships worth their salt? We’ve all seen the internship and graduate job descriptions brandished under the alluring title ‘opportunity’ that incorporate the key phrases “entry level”, “must have X number of years experience” and “unpaid”. It would seem the reward is heavily disproportionate to the skills the intern would be providing the company. It’s a Catch 22 scenario — you’re applying for something to give you the experience, but are being denied the opportunity because of your lack of experience. No...

#cheltlitfest – ten days of celebrity signings and sexy pizza men

This October, over 1.2 million people attended The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, which had its best year ever, including a stellar line-up, some wonderful new sponsors and an unbeatable team of event managers, production staff and almost 250 volunteers. The festival itself is constantly expanding its content, sponsorship and patrons. Returners to the festival were happy to see the site buzzing with its usual excitement and the new addition of a Green & Black’s chocolate tasting tent (the most popular stall in the history of existence). Ten reasons you should volunteer for #cheltlitfest: 1. They pay for all your travel, accommodation and food, plus you get a cracking T-shirt. Generous, or what? 2. You’ll have the most productive thirteen days of your lif...