From January 6th to the 20th, Nisha Moorfield was sponsored by her local Rotary club to attend the 2024 Rotary National Science and Technology Forum held in Auckland. Here are here reflections from the trip.

I spent the two weeks in a university hall with 167 other Year 13 Science enthusiasts from all over the country. Together, we visited the three main Auckland universities – AUT, Auckland University, and Massey (Albany) and were taught by various lecturers on a wide range of topics. The aim was to expose us to the possible science and technology careers in New Zealand so we could make more informed decisions on our university study choices.

My favourite modules were biomedical science, where we dissected a sheep’s heart and lungs; sports science, involving a Vo2 max test and learning about human physiology; and chemistry, where we separated the ethanol from red wine and got to smash onions frozen by liquid nitrogen. Other modules we attended included food technology, robotics, biological science, molecular biology and AI, to name a few. Prior to the Forum, I was thinking about studying medicine after leaving school, and having attended these modules, I am now confident in that decision.

I had heard from Kiera Sullivan, who attended last year that the days were busy, but I hadn’t realised just how busy they were. Each day, we were expected to be up by 6am to participate in ‘Early Morning Activities’ (such as the gym, jogging or walking) followed by a rushed breakfast before leaving for our first module of the day at 8am. Following the afternoon module, we would rush through an early dinner at the halls as the day was not yet over; an evening activity was yet to come, such as university tech visits, volleyball games, or the famous “Shrekture”s – watching Shrek in a lecture theatre. Despite the 10pm curfew, my days would typically end between 12 and 1am.

Although the days at the Forum were packed, it certainly did not stop us from having fun. The advisors in charge of our colour groups were hilarious to be around, particularly during their ‘performances’ at the full Forum meetings, crazy dancing on the bus rides, or spontaneous singing at the breakfast table. On the two days without modules to attend, we travelled to an Auckland beach, and had an ‘explore Auckland’ day where we could roam in the city with no supervision whatsoever – quite a new experience for many of us. We finished off with a formal dinner and a night of no sleep. The Forum (now known to us as ‘nerd camp’) was a great experience overall and while I came home completely exhausted, I think it is possibly one of the best things I have ever attended. Obviously none of this could have happened without the help from Rotary, the universities and my parents, so I am very grateful for their support (plus Ms Dibley’s help too). I would highly recommend this Forum to any current Year 12 looking to explore their career options in Science and Technology. The 2025 Forum entries are likely to open around July-August so keep an eye out and ask your Science teacher about an application form if interested.