KRISP at UKZN hosts Schools for National Science Week


As part of the National Science Week 2024, the team at KRISP hosted 50 students from Chesterville Secondary School and KwaMathanda High School in Durban.

AThrough the Ikamva Youth NGO program, these grade 10 and 11 learners came for a tour of the genomics laboratory and an introduction to the world of omics research. It was also an opportunity for the students to think about potential career paths available to them and admission requirements to the university.

Lloyd Mnyandu, Branch Intern and mentor at the Chesterville branch of Ikamva Youth, emphasised that outings like these were important to show the learners that there is more to studying and life than what they see in the townships. 'They get to view the world in a different light and get some much needed exposure to different professions,' he said.

Zusiphe Hlupheko, Grade 11 learner from Kwa-Mathanda High School, found the outing to be educational and motivating. 'The visit to the laboratory and seeing where and how scientists work was very interesting and inspiring,' she said.

The day was a resounding success, with the KRISP team members finding as much enjoyment engaging with the learners. 'We hope to grow the relationship with Ikamva Youth in the future,' said Dr. Jennifer Giandhari, KRISP Lab Head, 'and expose a few more groups to what we do here.'

Special thanks to the facilitators who accompanied the students and our partners UKZN and DIPLOMICS, for helping make the day possible. We look forward to creating more opportunities like this in the future!




This news piece was published in the gem, Oct/Nov 2024

Click on the image above to read the gem, genomics, epidemics & microbes or scan the qrcode.

News date: 2024-10-31

Links:

https://issuu.com/the.gem/docs/3rdedition_the_gem_newsletter_a4_v2?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ


KRISP has been created by the coordinated effort of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the South African Medical Research Countil (SAMRC).


Location: K-RITH Tower Building
Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN
719 Umbilo Road, Durban, South Africa.
Director: Prof. Tulio de Oliveira