Abstract

A common response to headlines such as: “There is a crisis in science and mathematics education” is for educational or research organisations such as universities, to offer outreach programs either based in schools or on campus. The SPICE program at The University of Western Australia is one such program. A strategy adopted by SPICE to support school students is the Travelling Scientist project. Travelling scientists are doctoral students who visit secondary students and talk about their science journey. While the overall aim of the Travelling Science project is to broaden study and career options of secondary students, this paper focuses on travelling scientists. Narrative accounts are used to describe their experiences and through these gain some insight into professional and personal benefits and drawbacks. A framework of graduate attributes as a measure of professional value shows clear benefits from being a travelling scientist, but these benefits must be weighed against time management issues.