From Monday, 12 to Friday, 23 November, NUI Galway scientists Dr Tim Downing and Dr Enda O’Connell will take part in a novel new online science engagement event. The two researchers will be part of I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here!, which will see them chatting with students from 36 schools across the island of Ireland.

Dr Tim Downing is a lecturer with the School of Mathematics at NUI Galway. His research involves discovering mutations linked to drug resistance in flesh-eating parasites. He is looking forward to the new online challenge: “This lets scientists and students chat, discuss and learn more about exciting new research, what the big questions are in science now, and how science is perceived in schools.”

Dr Enda O’Connell is a senior technical officer with the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science at NUI Galway. His work involves using a robot to help find cures for different types of cancers. He said: “I’m really looking forward to chatting with the students, answering their questions about science in general and my work in NUI Galway, and getting a new perspective on what it means to be a scientist.”

Students take part in quickfire Facebook-style online live chats, ask the scientists all the questions they want and then vote for their favourite scientist to win a prize of €500, to communicate their work with the public. This is the first time the event has come to Ireland, and it’s proved very popular with teachers.

The public can watch live chats and read the students’ questions online at http://imascientist.ie and follow @imascientist on Twitter.

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