[Mariana Schuster]

Great initiative Katie!
As a scientist, I found Skype a Scientist (https://www.skypeascientist.com/) a great platform for connecting with educators and setting up calls. It is super simple to access and educators and scientist can e-mail and design the kind of session they prefer.
I also like the fact that is open for the whole world and that the sessions do not have to be done in English. As a scientist, you list the languages you speak and educators can choose accordingly. I have been supporting this initiative for several years now and am happy to answer any questions about it 😃

[Mariana Schuster]

Hi! My name is Mariana Schuster and I am a Postdoc at the Department of Plant Sciences of the University of Oxford.

I was born in Colombia, in a family of German descent, and finished studies in Biology and Botany both in Colombia and Germany. I received a PhD in plant-pathogen interactions from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and the Philipps University in Marburg, Germany.

During my PhD, I established the CRISPR-Cas9 system in the fungal pathogen U. maydis and used it for the study of effector gene families. In Oxford, in the Plant Chemetics lab, I currently investigate the role of cysteine proteases in immunity.

I am also an ASPB ambassador, love outreach and fight plant (and fungal) blindness every time I can!

Let’s connect on twitter! Mariana Schuster (@MariSchuster) / Twitter

[Mariana Schuster]

Hi Alan!
Thank you for your enthusiasm and questions! you should definitely give it a go! and now that the new school year is starting it is a good time to sign up 😉 regarding your questions:
1. I have had several sessions all of them different. In rather few cases the teachers have had a concrete subject/concept for me to work on. The only concrete topic that many have is: How do oy became a scientist? When the teachers want me to suggest a topic. I generally go for a session aimed to fight plant blindness 😉
2. Preparation and support. I have not received support from skypeascientist or the teachers for the preparation of the sessions. I have engaged in training (teaching, outreach) myself and those are the tools I use for preparing the sessions. I ask the teachers for feedback after the sessions. That has been really useful! Regarding time: As in “general teaching” the preparation of the sessions at the beginning takes a couple of hours. Now I have a little portfolio of sessions and can prepare one in about 15 min.
3. My sessions have been from 30 to 60 min. That depends on the teacher/class and is agreed in advance.

4. Now to my personal highlight! I really like when the kids show me their plants at home! some of them take care of them and are super proud! some others are now curious and leave the session wanting to water them and see them grow/flower.
Let me know how your sessions go Alan and have fun 🙂