A ‘Feel for Forensics’ at Sheffield Hallam
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘Forensics’?
Maybe the likes of CSI and Silent Witness come to mind? Here at Sheffield Hallam we have developed an activity which highlights the lesser known areas of forensics to Post-16 students and aims to encourage students to think more about what the term ‘forensics’ really represents in everyday life professions.
On the 18th January 2019 the University welcomed a total of twenty-five students from All Saints’ Catholic High School and Sheffield College to take part in our Forensics Taster Day. The day’s aims were to; explore forensic related courses at Sheffield Hallam, to dispel myths about Forensics and what it involves and to learn about different careers that relate to the field of Forensics.
The students took part in four, forty-five minute unique and interactive sessions, which were each based on the four distinct subject areas of; Forensic Accounting, Forensic Psychology, Computer Security and Forensics, Health and Social Care. These sessions involved students taking part in activities such as:
- Investigating the ‘Fraud’ Triangle and students exploring their ‘moral compasses’ when faced with ethically challenging financial situations (Forensic Accounting)
- Practising FBI Profiling techniques when presented with the details of a crime scene (Forensic Psychology)
- Using Metadata to identify the details of a crime scene (Computer Security and Forensics)
- Taking part in a University style lecture discussing Diagnostic Radiography and the different diagnostic techniques used within this job role (Health and Social Care)
Taking part in these sessions gave the students an insight into how Forensics are used in a range of different job roles in very diverse careers, while getting to use some specialist technology and practice specialist skills first hand. We hope that by providing the students with such opportunities to explore these areas of study that they will be encouraged to think outside of the box when considering career and study options within Forensics and realise there is more to Forensics that just what you see in the programmes.
What did students think?
Reflecting upon their Forensics Taster Day experience, students provided the following feedback:
“I found the day really useful and interesting – I know now that I would like to study Radiography”
“I got more of an insight into forensics for future plans”
“I really enjoyed learning about the different careers and how they have different elements of forensics in them”
“Good insight – everyone was really helpful”
We would like to thank everyone who attended the day and we hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did!
How to take part
If you yourself are interested in bringing a group of your students to our next Forensics Taster Day which is scheduled for the 22nd May 2019, please contact our School and College Engagement Team at sclo@shu.ac.uk.
