Nobel Prize-winning chemist discussed how to attract young people to science
“How to encourage and attract young people to do science?”
.jpg)
Prof. Morten P. Meldal gave a lecture on the advancements and importance of "Click Chemistry" at the opening ceremony of the National Student Chemistry Olympiad, taking place at the University of Natural Sciences, VNU-HCM.
That is the question that Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Hai Quan, President of Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, posed to Prof. Morten Peter Meldal, University of Copenhagen, Denmark - co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - in the exchange program Professor's meeting with scientists, teachers and students at the opening ceremony of the National Student Chemistry Olympiad in the afternoon of April 18.
According to Professor Morten Peter Meldal, the question of how young people can choose to do science, especially in the competition between basic science and other applied disciplines, such as economics, law, and doctors, is a worldwide problem, not just Vietnam. However, for young people to choose to become scientists, it is necessary to nurture their love of science from a young age.
To do so, children must explore science in a real way. Adults need to invest in each lesson with true scientific knowledge, let children discover themselves through vivid images - but do not deviate from the nature of science. In other words, science must be talked about in a child's language so that a child's passion for science can be nurtured.
After that process, when children know how to ask questions about the problems that happen around them, analyze them to give explanations and solve problems, they will love science. For older children, it is necessary to give them challenges so that they have the opportunity to discover themselves, overcome barriers, from which children will be passionate, see the meaning of science to find science.
Besides, sharing lessons from Denmark about freedom in scientific research, Prof. Meldal said that in his country, there are many private funds invested by corporations and businesses with huge capital. “The special feature of this fund is that not every industrial group sponsors applied research by default, but they also invest in basic research, so the land for scientists to research is very large, without many barriers”.
Even Denmark's national research fund has gradually removed the constraints on scientists, so they are free to research, and basic research is very important.
He also noted, when establishing these funds, there should be clear criteria. Funds for basic research are only for basic research, and funds for applied research are for applied research only. It is necessary to separate, clear, not force basic research scientists to make applications, so that basic scientific research is meaningful and scientists can go deep into the problem to develop. "And once basic research has evolved, it has tremendous value, has wide applicability to a lot of fields," he said.
Besides the exchange program, Prof. Morten P. Meldal also gave a lecture on the advancements and importance of "Click Chemistry". This is part of his visit and work in Vietnam.