Extending the use of Spectroscopy in a Suitcase aimed to build upon good practice from the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) project Chemistry for our Future, and to develop new activities which could then be used with the RSC’s Spectroscopy in a Suitcase (SIAS) equipment. The project explored appropriate contexts which may appeal to students with a view to produce resources which can be used to illustrate spectroscopy in a broader range of areas.

Through the project we delivered aspiration-raising activities to secondary school students using a wider range of SIAS examples than is currently available. Students often have a lack of understanding of “what scientists do.” Diversifying the range of contexts available in the SIAS activities increased the appeal to a wider audience and therefore promoted STEM subjects and a greater understanding of career pathways for students taking up these subjects at HE. The use of University students to deliver the activities had the additional benefit of improving the communication and employability of these students.

The project produced a set of resources for IR and UV/Vis, containing worksheets and background information which can be easily used by other HEIs with access to similar instrumentation. For more information on access to SIAS equipment see: http://www.rsc.org/education/hestem/sias.asp

The final report for the project can be downloaded below: