miniPCR in Bermuda

DMU students work with local communities on the island

A group of science students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), United Kingdom, have taken part of a recent visit to Bermuda to work on promoting science with the community during a #DMUglobal trip to the island. 18 Biomedical Science, Medical Science and Forensic Science students spent a week in Bermuda in November, accompanied by two lecturers, including trip lead Dr. Carika Weldon, who is originally from Bermuda. miniPCR equipment and labs were part of the toolkit brought to the island to educate younger students on the possibilities in STEM fields.

DMU student Gregory Ambrose was one of 15 Biomedical Science students in Bermuda and he identified both the academic and cultural aspects of the trip as highlights. He explained: “A major part of the trip to Bermuda was to educate children of the island more about Biomedical Science and how it’s so important to health care. We did this through presentations and this really allowed me to improve in my speaking and presentation skills. Oh and we had some practical fun too!

“We had the pleasure of sharing laboratory experiments like gel electrophoresis and PCR with students. Lots of schools took part and they all had great fun running their own experiments and getting their own results!”

“A major part of the trip to Bermuda was to educate children of the island more about Biomedical Science and how it’s so important to health care.”

Biomedical Science lecturer Dr Weldon, who led the visit to her home island, is pleased to have been able to give something back to her native island.

She explained: “I’m from Bermuda and all of my education was funded by Bermuda so I thought it would be good to use a #DMUglobal trip to give back to the community by doing science workshops in schools. I wanted to work with the Ministry of Education to promote science amongst the youth of Bermuda, especially girls.”

—

Read the press release. 

Learn more about Bermuda Principles Foundation Fund.