Making careers central: Hitting Gatsby through science

Want to hit Gatsby Benchmarks without adding more to your plate? This session shows how research-based science projects make careers learning feel natural — and powerful. Come away with examples, tools, and ideas to help students see science as something they could do, not just learn about. Careers education is more than one-off talks or job boards — it’s about helping students see a future for themselves in the subject they’re studying now. Yet science departments often struggle to meet Gatsby Benchmark 4 (“linking curriculum learning to careers”) in meaningful ways. This session shows how authentic research projects give students a real sense of purpose, career context, and professional identity — often without teachers having to do anything extra. From analysing tropical disease data to designing greener aircraft, IRIS projects embed science learning in real-world contexts where students see their work making a difference. In particular, projects such as Future Flight empower students to engage with the grand challenges of our time — like the climate crisis and public health — and explore how their skills could help shape the green economy of the future. This is not just about awareness; it’s about agency. We’ll share project examples, lesson-planning ideas, and simple prompts that make careers visible in research-rich classrooms — and show how to work with careers leads to align science and Gatsby meaningfully. By the end of this session, participants will: - Understand how research can help deliver Gatsby Benchmarks meaningfully and efficiently. - Discover practical examples of careers-linked science teaching through research. - Learn how to use student-facing tools to highlight real pathways in STEM. - Leave with an action plan for careers integration in their own context.