The possibilities are endless

Welcome to the new academic year. New cohorts of students are experiencing their first science at school, introduction to chemistry, or exposure to the lab. What an honour to be able to introduce someone to the world at its molecular scale.

Teaching chemistry is not without challenges, and this year the stakes are high: while the number of places to study chemistry after secondary school is increasing – it really is a new beginning for Swansea University who have their first intake of chemistry undergraduates – enthusiasm for studying undergraduate chemistry seems to have dropped. This might be a blip rather than a general trend, and we can’t do anything about the fluctuating numbers of 18-year-olds each year, but inspiring the next generation of chemists seems a more important task than ever.

TheThe reasons students choose other subjects over chemistry are multifaceted and complex to tease apart. But the perceived lack of a clear career pathway beyond a chemistry degree could be a major reason. The Royal Society of Chemistry recently asked 78 teachers why they think their students aren’t choosing chemistry at university: this was one factor many agreed on.