Want to change the world? – Plant Science Careers Poster

Plants – and plant scientists – are in many ways our hope for the future. Plants are key to human life on Earth, from providing us with food and mitigating against the worst effects of climate change to supporting mental well-being, sourcing many medicines and providing us with materials for building, clothing and packaging. Plants are the often-unsung heroes of human existence, and we need students to both recognise their importance and choose to move into one of the multitude of plant-based careers out there. Some of these careers are high-powered, demanding academic excellence, degrees and research experience. Others are more pragmatic, requiring practical skill and application on a day-to-day basis.

The teaching notes provide you with a few ideas to share with students about how plants will be involved in meeting global challenges going forward, and how they, working with plants, might change the world for the better.

The accompanying PowerPoint presentation contains photos of plants in different contexts. This will help you share more of the amazing world of plants with your students, and maybe inspire some of them to consider a plant -based career.

The Plant Science Futures website offers more detailed and specific examples of plant science careers and the organisations where students might aspire to work. Many of them target young adults planning to obtain PhD level qualifications – but there are ideas for everyone and certainly useful information on the types of areas where students might find future work as plant scientists or simply with an interest in biology. Students can also find study advice and guidance on writing a CV.

Other posters in the series:

• Awesome Plants – aimed at 11-14 year-old students
• Amazing Plants – aimed at 14-16 year old students
• Incredible Plants – aimed at students aged 16+