The SSEP was initiated by Moriah College in collaboration with the Faculty of Science. It is a unique opportunity for school students to experience University campus by designing and conducting scientific research. These students are mentored by postgraduate research students. The experience provids these talented secondary school students with an opportunity to accelerate and extend their learning.

The pilot programme ran for the first time in Session 2, 2005. A review is available for download: SSEP report 2005

Prove or disprove a hypothesis
Year 9 and 10 students work, on campus and on-line, with UNSW postgraduate research students on an aspect of their research. The school students identify a research area of interest to them and then attempt to independently formulate a hypothesis and propose an experiment to test the hypothesis. They make reference to the literature, gather data and present the project outcomes, proving or disproving their hypothesis, to their class, mentors and parents.

Students are enrolled in WebCT where they are able to access literature and material provided by their mentors. They also take part in on-line discussions.

Portfolios of the participating UNSW postgraduate mentors, highlighting their research field and techniques used, can be accessed via Mentor Research Profiles.

For further information on this programme contact: Dr Noel Whitaker (Associate Dean of Education) email: edsquad@unsw.edu.au