Harvard Science Research Conference
A student-run conference for high-school students to develop their interests in the sciences and in research.
The Mission of HSRC
The Harvard Science Research Conference (HSRC) is a two-day conference for exceptional high school students, hosted on Harvard’s campus that will entail a series of speakers, workshops, and mentoring sessions designed to encourage and promote interest in the natural sciences as well as research.
HSRC is a platform for exceptional high school students from across the world to develop their interests in the sciences and in research. The Harvard Undergraduate Research Association (HURA) strongly believes that students have the ability to make meaningful and significant contributions in all fields of study and to the greater body of world research knowledge. Students are not only engaging in research earlier in their careers—starting from their time in high school—but they are also participating in increasing numbers. In light of this positive growth, we have identified the urgent need to promote outreach and interest in the sciences by encouraging talented high school students in the sciences to consider or continue research.
HSRC promotes interest in the sciences and science research for high school students by facilitating exposure to some of the most important ongoing developments in all facets of the sciences, promoting acquisition of fundamental skills in public speaking, writing, and reading for the sciences, and providing individualized mentoring by Harvard students to encourage conference participants to pursue future study and careers in the sciences.
Objectives
Allow advanced high school students to advance and deepen their exploration of the natural and applied sciences, through exposure to Harvard’s repository of resources.
Allow high school students to form connections with Harvard’s faculty and students in the sciences and in their areas of interest, as well as with each other.
Provide useful and translatable skills relevant to both the sciences as well as other disciplines, including reading scientific literature, public speaking and presentation, active critical inquiry, etc.
Provide preparation for future research endeavors, including research at the undergraduate and graduate level, research at the high school level, competitions including Intel STS, ISEF, etc.
Allow high school students to form longer mentor-mentee relationships with current Harvard students, which will help them solidify college and future career goals.
Programming
Faculty Keynotes.
Selected participants at HSRC will hear from Harvard Faculty speakers about current ongoing areas of research in the natural sciences and applied sciences. Harvard University is one of the top research institutions in the world, and providing high school students with opportunities to form connections with both Harvard faculty and students who are pursuing cutting-edge work will help provide encouragement and inspiration. HSRC challenges the traditional paradigms of studying science at the high school level, which emphasizes the memorization and regurgitation of facts and information. Rather, HSRC will expose students to researchers and research intended to excite, motivate, and inspire.
Growth.
HSRC acknowledges that science students are motivated by a fundamental pursuit of knowledge. Weaving new connections in a larger group that shares this same motivation is not just empowering – it is integral to success in the increasingly collaborative world of research. HSRC prepares high school students for the future by bringing them together with a purpose – the betterment of our world through a common pursuit of knowledge.
The Harvard Science Research Conference (HSRC) will bring together a host of budding minds and established researchers to expand upon this theme in one-day dialogue that will address the challenges and opportunities that face exceptional high school students in the sciences today. The future of how we explore our world through research will hinge on our answers to some of these vital questions.
Workshops.
HSRC participants will attend a series of small group workshops led by Harvard students, teaching staff, and researchers. The skills presented in these workshops will focus on imparting skills translatable to all other academic disciplines rather than facts.
Mentorship.
HSRC participants will receive intimate mentoring from Harvard students on important skills such as resume writing and public speaking. Mentoring sessions will allow participants to ask questions about how to further their science education through research, provide participants with guidance on selecting and applying to colleges, and foster long-term connections between high school students and Harvard students who have successfully navigated their high school careers. Additionally, HSRC enables students to form friendships and connections with other talented high school students who are interested in science.
