Tareq Omairi

" One day, while I was still a second year PhD student, I was meeting a senior academic in our department, who eventually became my mentor. I explained to her my desire to work on projects that go beyond my work in the lab; I wanted to be part of something which would help me to contribute positively to the local community and our schools but was not sure where to start. My mentor then nodded in understanding, stood up and brought a small leaflet to me, it was then when I first became aware of the Brilliant Club Scholars Program.

While many researchers might be intimidated by the idea of teaching in schools, I was genuinely intrigued by the idea. Being able to act as a role model for young people and inspire them to completing their university education was something I could relate to, having been myself coming from an environment where most of my friends did not get to even finish high school. Looking back on my journey, I could confidently admit that I would not have been where I am now if it was not for the guidance and support of my tutors and role models that I had. 

Therefore, for me, being part of the Brilliant Club felt like the best way to pay-it- forward and give new students the same fair chance of competing in this world. Therefore, I moved forward with my application and subsequently, the interview, to join the Brilliant Club program. The training event was the next step in enabling us new PhD tutors to have the skills to be able to deliver our lessons efficiently to the students at schools later. The two days of training I received were one of the highlights of the program for me since it allowed me to meet many like-minded PhD students and researchers from the nearby Universities, thus expanding my network of friends and colleagues. I also learned during the training event what subject I will be teaching, and which school I will get to work with.

Following training, the next step was being with my student group for the first time during the program’s launch day, where they get to visit our University, and me introducing them to it and what I do as a Scientist. After I got to know the students, my task was to deliver a one hour lecture every week for each group, where we had a course-book of a topic originally related to a PhD project, but converted to suit the learning needs of the school students, while still challenging them to go beyond what they normally study at school. These lectures followed the same style as in the University, I was initially concerned that the students might find it difficult to keep up or lose interest, however, my fears were diminished as the students exceeded all expectations and performed exceptionally well in comprehending and studying information that was well above their current study level. Which proves that the only thing needed to get young learners to take an interest in Science, is to provide support and the means for them to pursue their passion.

Towards the end, the final assignment was for the students to write a large piece on the subject, I was extremely proud of when I got to examine the quality of work my students produced, considering how little time the got to work on it, despite this, the quality of their written piece was not that far from one produced by university-level students! 

The final event of the program was the graduation day; This was when the students got to visit the university to celebrate their achievement and success and receive their certificates. It was also a unique sight to observe the same students coming to the university during the Launch Day, and later the Graduation day; As one can clearly see the change from them entering with uncertainty and hesitation in the former, while they arrived on the latter with a great sense of belonging to the university and a determination to pursue their dreams in going to a University. It is not often that you see the immediate good impact of your work, however, being part of the Brilliant Club Scholars program, gave me the privilege to experience that! "