The scientific Af-fairs of our student researchers

If you’ve been paying attention to student talk lately, there’s no doubt that you’ve heard the acronyms “SSEF”, “NSTS” and “ISEF” being thrown around your campus. For those who (somehow) have been left out of the loop, the former refer to the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair and the National STEM Talent Search, while the latter refers to the International Science and Engineering Fair hosted by Regeneron in the USA each year. Student researchers take on challenging projects discovering new data, refining models or even engineering new tools in various fields from computing to microbiology and even technology in the arts (want to make an AI choir? Now you can.)

True, winning a prize at these competitions is certainly a dazzling prospect. But what exactly goes on behind the scenes and during the fairs themselves, and what does it take to get to that moment onstage? If you’ve got burning questions, we’ve got answers – we’ve had student participants from SSEF share their experiences to shed some light on what looks like a mysterious and all-too-complicated process.

Meet Hestia from Raffles Institution, Alex from NUS High and Jo from Methodist Girls’ School* as they take you through their research journeys and offer a little guidance along the way.

*Real names have been redacted in this article.

Tell us how you got started in research – what drives your passion, and how did you find opportunities?

Alex and Jo were both driven by curiosity into pursuing their projects, though for Alex this doubled as a fulfilment of NUSH’s graduation criteria. Both of them mentioned a drive to explore the unknown, with Alex seeking to create results that she could take ownership of while Jo wanted to uncover more about the profound complexity behind biological systems.

As for Hestia, her interests never actually began in research but were nestled in a few different fields from computing to economics, with research being the best way to integrate and find out more about them.

While many student researchers entered their projects through Ministry of Education programmes such as the Science Mentorship Programme (SMP) or the Science Research Project (SRP), these three student researchers took different routes. Hestia found hers through the A*STAR scholarship Research Attachment Programme (RAP), while both Alex and Jo were referred to their mentors through teachers or school programmes. That being said, it is still possible to conduct meaningful and impactful scientific research without being selected or signing up for an official science research programme.

What drew you to this project in particular?

Claiming to be a “humble econs taker”, Hestia found her project about allocation of resources in Mass-Input/Mass-Output systems a fascinating and enjoyable experience. Despite economics and systems engineering seeming to be two entirely different fields on the surface, they intersected in her project in the form of concepts such as the Pareto curve, which describes the probability distribution of observable phenomena.

For Jo, her project about immunotherapy for cancer/testis antigens was something that appealed to her not just because of its technical depth, but also because of its real-world significance. Cancer is a terrible affliction that has devastated millions of lives, and she hopes to be able to contribute to the fight against it in whatever small way that she could.

Alex found a simple appeal in her project: Experimenting with seeds that had come back from space. Be honest, if it were you, you’d want to do that too. In addition, it was a project that she had a good grasp of in terms of conceptual understanding, giving her a surer starting point.

You, dear reader, may someday be involved in a research project yourself. Just remember, there’s no absolute right answer in scientific research. Science is driven by observation and experimentation driving the creation of theory and fact. Whatever reason may draw you to a project, be confident and own it!

What are the main challenges that you had to face in your project?

One reality of research is constant, and it’s that research is no easy feat. This is especially true for our student researchers, who have to conduct nearly university-level research while juggling their various school commitments like academics and social activities. We asked our interviewees what the biggest problems they faced and what they did to manage.

Jo and Hestia both talked about a similar hurdle in their project – the learning curve. What they found themselves with were completely foreign concepts and skills they had never had to touch before. Jo’s project needed her to get familiar with molecular biology techniques such as PCR and Gibson’s assemblies entirely from scratch. Meanwhile, Hestia had not coded before this project – one that was based entirely 

around coding models.

Apart from this, another challenge was highlighted by them: reading. Going headfirst into the project left them with a mountain of papers to read in an attempt to comprehend why they were carrying out their research, or what they were supposed to do in the first place. Hestia mentioned how some papers used mathematics one would typically only find at a university or graduate level, making her project even tougher to work on as a student in JC.

While Alex (perhaps wisely) avoided this problem, she had to face her own set of issues. Growing plants takes time, and with her mentors and her team both being quite busy in general they didn’t have as much free time as they would have wished to have collecting data. This did limit the amount of results she could produce for her work, regrettably.

One common thread you may notice is the workload. It is inevitable that your research project will increase your overall workload, putting additional strain on your student life. No matter what kind of project you do, you’ll always have to find a way to manage your dual lives as researcher and student so you can do well in your studies while also pulling through the project. That’s why time management is key for any kind of research.

How did you feel about the experience of SSEF? Was it fruitful and enjoyable, and how did you prepare?

One thing most of our interviewees mentioned is that SSEF, as are most science fairs, was a challenging experience because of how tiring it was. Standing around for eight hours, speaking to six or more judges individually and answering their questions for about fifteen minutes each is a physically demanding task to begin with, not to mention an intellectual workout (an eight hour long oral exam, anyone? Except the examiners can sneak up on you anytime.)

All of our interviewees, though, seemed to agree on one thing: the fair itself was a greatly satisfying and inspiring experience. To be able to see others' projects and marvel at their hard work over the past year was important to Hestia, who felt that it was like a glimpse into everyone’s lives over the past year. Jo also agreed, saying that these projects gave her a stronger sense of motivation to work harder and aim to accomplish even more in future projects. To Alex, one more thing was that it was a culmination of all her hard work. Although not everything that was done over the half a year or so of lab work could be presented, as a way of wrapping up the project it felt nice to be able to provide conclusions.

As for how to prepare, our interviewees had varying perspectives.

Jo and Hestia were probably on opposite ends of the spectrum here, with Jo’s team having grinded with many rehearsals over a few weeks to prepare their presentation and get ready to face the Q&A, while Hestia (being quite honest, it seems,) went through SSEF winging it without worrying too much about preparation. For most of you, you may find yourselves somewhere in the middle of this spectrum as the lead-up to the fair takes you by storm, but fret not – whatever works best for you, adopt that approach and believe in yourself.

Are you planning to follow up on your project or do research in the future?

Unfortunately, none of our interviewees said they were intending to follow up on the specific projects they were doing, a common trend amongst the participants in science fairs.

Alex, however, mentioned that doing such a project has lowered the barriers to entry for her to pursue a research career, This makes it easier to envision her taking research up as a long-term career. This sentiment was echoed by Hestia , who mentioned that she’d be open to having research be a part of her future career even if she doesn’t actively pursue it.

As for you, reader, that path is up to you to choose. If you wish to embark on this struggle as your seniors did, how would you do so?

What advice would you give to aspiring young researchers among your juniors?

Hestia wants to remind our readers that research is a lot of winging it and sometimes it will work, while sometimes it won’t. Don’t worry if you feel lost at some point, because if you keep shooting in the dark you’ll eventually hit the light.

Alex just hopes that aspiring researchers will remember that there is an end in sight and that any conclusion made is a good conclusion. Don’t dishearten yourself – you’re contributing to the knowledge of the scientific community!

Jo wants to encourage her juniors and fellow young scientists that passion and curiosity are the best things to get you started on a project. These will be your guiding light through the tough times and will carry you through when things (inevitably) get hard. There will be times where everything feels overwhelming, but she hopes that you’ll see the big picture and find it easier to push on. She also adds that research should be fun, not rigid; be irreverent and original and follow your own way of doing things.

Also, remember to sign up for those mentorship programmes! Even if you don’t get in, you can curate your own opportunities for research such as by simply writing directly to professors whose work fascinates you.

Whether you’re just curious about scientific fairs or are ready to participate in one already, we hope that these answers help spark your passion for research and give you an idea of what to expect, from the brutal realities of nitty-gritty study to the satisfaction of standing at your booth, chatting with the judges about your hard work. Now go forth, (hopefully) future science fair participants, and forge your way ahead into the shadows of the unknown!