Tenth edition Meet the Professor

2000 children enthusiastically welcomed 180 researchers from Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht again this year. Each class received one professor and a colleague, the 'fellow cyclist'. Together they told the class what exactly they were researching, and why. From UMC Utrecht, 58 researchers went on a tour. We went along with the class visit of professors Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen and Jeffrey Beekman.

Special edition

This year was already the tenth edition of Meet the Professor. Fun fact: the children who participated in the first edition in 2016 are now 21 years old. And so may be studying at Utrecht University by now! In the past ten years, researchers have told as many as 25,000 children about their profession. It was also the second edition where every professor brought a colleague along, because after all, science is not something you do alone. In addition to fellow researchers, colleagues who support research in other ways also participated. Astrid Janssens, professor of Patients and Public Participation, even accompanied a patient to a class.

The sunny day began with a festive opening in the academy building. During the opening, they talked about the impact of Meet the Professor. How do you break the stereotype that all researchers look like Albert Einstein? By introducing children to many different scientists, the research showed. For example, in previous years, if a female professor had visited a class, when photos of different people were shown, the children were more likely to identify the woman as the professor.

Fluorescent hands

How does a virus spread? Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen, professor of Vaccination and Infection Control Epidemiology, and her fellow cyclist Clarize de Korne, discussed this with group 8 of the Queen Beatrix School. They came to give a “mini-lecture. But what is a lecture? And how do you become a professor? It was all discussed. Then it was time for a real experiment. Using a powder that only became visible under the UV lamp, the class investigated how a virus spreads. AND how do we prevent a virus from spreading? Students wearing and without gloves shook hands and passed pens to investigate. The experiment ended with the big question: which students were infected and which were not? The children could investigate that for themselves, by watching their hands light up under the UV lamp.

“Children ask very fun open-ended questions that as a scientist you kind of forget about because you are already much deeper into the material yourself. That is incredibly fun to notice,” says Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen.

Blowing through a straw

Group 8 of elementary school De Panda learned about research with so-called “organoids,” mini intestines on which cystic fibrosis drugs can be tested. Jeffrey Beekman, professor of Cellular Disease Modeling and Organoids, and his fellow cyclist, Danya Muilwijk (assistant professor), joined them. The entire class was given a straw and tried to exhale through it for 20 seconds. “So this is what people with cystic fibrosis feel all day long,” Danya explained. Super tiring, everyone thought (except for the cheaters). At the end of the lesson, the children completed an assignment, determining on microscopy slides whether the cystic fibrosis drug worked. With success! Throughout the lesson, the class was packed with questions and creative ideas. Finally, because they had tried so hard, everyone who wanted was allowed to wear the professor's beret.

Meet the Professor

Meet the Professor is an annual event in which professors from Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht bike to elementary school in the city of Utrecht. There they enter into conversation with grade 6, 7 and 8 students about their field of study, science and life at the university. The goal is to introduce children to science in an accessible way and to narrow the gap between university and society. This year, 180 researchers participated and got about 2,000 students excited about science. Meet the Professor is organized by the Center for Science and Culture of Utrecht University.

Read more about Meet the Professor at Utrecht University here.

Source: UMC Utrecht