Grammar school student as an apprentice researcher
As part of this year´s Junior Researcher Contest, Clara Zielinski from Elsinore Grammar School has written a synopsis on cultural transfers. Associate professor Steen Bille has been her mentor. They have both been very pleased with the cooperation, and Clara Zielinski is grateful for the input and source references provided by Steen Bille.
Grammar School student Clara Zielinski felt that she needed new challenges. Therefore, she joined the Junior Researcher project, which included taking part in a nationwide contest against other grammar school students. The objective was to write the best possible synopsis for a research project of one´s own choice. Clara Zielinski´s synopsis "A Reimagined Eunuchus: a Study of Cultural Transfer in the Greek New Comedy" is concerned with the ways in which cultural phenomena/objects have been transferred from one culture from another. This is a research area in which associate professor Steen Bille, AU has great expertise. Therefore, Clara got in touch with him, hoping that he would agree to be her mentor.
`I find it impressive that some grammar school students are up to the challenge of doing research at an early age, and I have been happy to be able to help Clara find answers to the relevant questions within the field that I specialize in´, Steen Bille says.
A meeting with the mentor
Clara Zielinski is happy that Steen Bille took an interest in her project, and she has only positive things to say about their collaboration: `Steen has been very friendly and accommodating, and his great respect for my work has made me feel like we were equals. He has provided me with useful source references, as well as other input as to what I should include in my paper´, she says.
On Thursday, October 30th, Clara Zielinski travelled from Elsinore to Aarhus, to meet Steen Bille, and to participate in a conference on Cultural Transfer that he was arranging.
`I really enjoyed meeting Steen face to face, shaking his hand, and thanking him for his help with my synopsis. I also liked participating in the conference, hearing the scientists talking about the same things that I have been dealing with in my paper, Clara Zielinski says.
Standing on one´s own feet
Clara Zielinski is proud to have handed in her synopsis. However, she also points out that the project has cost her a lot of hard work.
`The contest has taken a lot of my time, and, of course, I still had to go to school every day as well. Therefore, I have spent both the summer holiday and the autumn break working on my project, and I have been forced to neglect some of my hobbies. But I still think that working on the project is exciting, so I do not mind the fact that it has taken a lot of time and effort´, Clara Zielinski explains.
At the same time, the project has given Clara an opportunity of immersing herself in the topic, and working independently, in a way that other projects at grammar school level do not leave room for.
`I have considered it a privilege, being able to concentrate intensely on a topic of my own choice, and I have enjoyed immersing myself in the topic. The shaping of my project has not been limited by any style guide, either. My own ideas have carried the project through. In that way, I have been standing on my own feet´, Clara Zielinski explains.
About the Junior Researcher project:
- The Junior Researcher Project is a nationwide offer to students at all four upper secondary education programs.
- The Junior Researcher Project is a contest that runs for a whole year. At the end of October, the Junior Researchers submit a synopsis for a research project.
- A jury selects the three best synopses from each of the main categories: Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Health.
- The twelve nominated projects are presented at a celebration in December. Here, a winner from each of the four categories is awarded Junior Researcher of the Year. The winners are presented alternately by the Minister of Education and by the Minister of Higher Education and Science, and each winner receives DKK. 20 000 for carrying out his/her research project.