Q&A’s

This covers the total cost of the 15 day programme at Imperial College London and includes:

• 14 nights accommodation in South Kensington, central London
• All meals throughout including, breakfast, lunch and dinner
• 10 main lecture demonstrations
• 4 day visits to best UK university departments, laboratories and research centres (choice from 50 visits, with travel included)
• 4 specialist lecture sessions across a wide range of STEM subjects, such as; Artificial Intelligence, Nano-technology, Engineering, Robotics, Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Astrophysics (choice from 32 lectures)
• Active social programme with over 10 varied events
• Certificate upon completing the programme (extra certificate if you present a project at our science bazaar

Not included in the charge:

• Flights/travel to/from London to attend the programme
• Optional sightseeing tours and theatre tickets
• Visa (although we do provide invitation letters to help with a general tourist visa application)
• Insurance (we require students to get their own travel insurance)
• Health testing requirements in relation to COVID-19. We will require all students to obtain tests close to or on arrival at LIYSF and throughout the event, the additional cost of these tests will be at the student’s own expense.

1. Participation is open to students of science aged between 16 and 21 years old.

2. You must be passionate about science.

3. All activities are in English and participants should have a good knowledge of the language.

4. Students should have a keen interest in Science with a reference from their school.

Optional extra visits are offered as follows

• Day trip to Salisbury and Stonehenge,
• Day trip to Oxford of Cambridge
• Theatre visits,
• London Eye,
• The Tower of London and
• Buckingham Palace State Rooms

Yes – please e-mail [email protected] to get this. Please ensure you organise your visa requirements as early as possible. You just need to apply for a standard tourist visitor visa, if you require one.

See the directions to our halls.

An information pack will be provided prior to arrival detailing how participants can get from the airport to the halls of residence using public transport. Alternatively you can arrange a private transfer through us at an extra cost, email us at [email protected] outlining all details of your arrival and departure.

Casual clothing is appropriate for all LIYSF events. However, you may wish to wear smarter clothes for the Opening Ceremony and lectures. It’s a good idea to bring some closed shoes as some laboratory trips require this.

If you have national dress / traditional costume, please wear bring this along and wear this at the Opening Ceremony and also on our International Cabaret and Traditions of Home evenings.

Bring comfortable shoes, as there’s lots of walking. A rain jacket for wet days and something warm for if it gets cooler.

London can get warm in the summer, normally reaching temperatures of 25-33 degrees Celsius, but can also be cold and be 15-20 degrees Celsius. It is not unusual to expect some rain during the two weeks of LIYSF. So please, for your own comfort, pack wisely!

You will find LIYSF offers a full programme and you will be kept very busy. There will be some free time which you can use as you please. In the past participants have explored the city with friends or relaxed and caught up on sleep!

Yes. All participants will be issued with a certificate upon successfully completing the forum.

We do not acknowledge receipt of option forms, please ensure you submit before the deadline. Students that do not submit their option choices before the deadline will have their options chosen automatically.

We advise participants to try and arrive between 10am – 4pm (10.00hrs – 16.00hrs). This day is a registration and familiarisation day, with a welcome talk in the evening. Registration is open from 10am, although your room may not be ready until later. Those students arriving after 18.00hrs (6pm) to the Halls of Residence should advise the LIYSF office of their late arrival in advance.

Accommodation is across several student halls of residence and one hotel. We have students in areas reserved for LIYSF – although there are other guests staying in the halls also. If you are travelling in a group: all participants are given the opportunity to meet new people to ensure new friendships are formed outside their group. All allocations are made by the LIYSF office, with a variety of factors borne in mind, time of submission of application/student details form and age are factors. Students are located within easy walking distance of each other.

If you wish to guarantee your accommodation in the 4* hotel that we use, then you can arrange this with us by paying the hotel supplement of £250 for the 14 nights (£17.86 per night) This secures your place in a 4* hotel room on a twin share basis with a private en-suite bathroom.

No, clean towels and sheets are provided. Sheets will be changed throughout the forum. A minimum of four towels will be provided for your stay. Washing facilities are available, please see below.

As is common for students studying in London, you will be sharing a room with other LIYSF participants of the same gender. Most rooms are twin rooms, but some are allocated in triple, quad and six-person rooms. A single room can be arranged for an additional cost of £595 for the 14 nights, please contact us if you would like this option. If you want a single room in the hotel, both supplements will apply.

There are shared bathrooms for many of our rooms, which are single gender and this is common for most London/UK universities. Some rooms do have their own private bathroom. If you would like an private en-suite bathroom, please consider the hotel supplement as detailed above.

Unfortunately, sports facilities in South Kensington are quite limited, none of our residences have sports facilities in-house. There is a local council gym and swimming pool around 20/30 mins walk away that participants can use – Chelsea Sports Centre. Alternatively, Hyde Park is on our door step and a great place to do outdoor exercise. Unfortunately, Imperial College London’s Ethos Sports Centre is mostly closed in the summer months and access is restricted.

Each room is lockable and students are responsible for locking their rooms to ensure security. Valuables (like passports) can be secured in the reception safe. Some rooms do also have safes or lockable boxes (more information provided closer to LIYSF) and if provided – we ask all students to store valuables in them.

Yes, there are laundry facilities nearby for all residences, either located in the hall of residence or there is a launderette close by, where you can do washing.

Yes, a limited number rooms in the halls of residence are available for participants that arrive earlier or wish to leave later. These arrangements must be made with LIYSF in advance and before 1st July. Extra night accommodation is on a bed and breakfast basis only and costs £149.50 per night per person in a single room and £89.50 per person in a shared room (subject to another student of the same gender is staying opting to stay extra). Full payment must be made before 1st July. Please e-mail [email protected] for further information or to book a room.

The participation charge to attend the virtual programme information can be found here. Only one person may log-in per account registered.

You will require a desktop or tablet computer to enjoy the programme fully. You just need a computer with a stable internet connection and the ability to play sound. The platform is web-based and works with all main browsers and on Microsoft and Apple devices. Please note that it’s not possible to connect via a mobile device at this time.

No problem, we are offering all content on-demand, you can catch up with any session that you missed throughout the two weeks and also for one week after the event. After this time the content will no longer be available.

Yes please! We have our live chat area in all sessions where you can ask your questions, our LIYSF moderators may be able to help straight away and otherwise questions will be put to the speaker in the session. We will make sure that a balance of questions are asked from both on-campus and virtual participants. Please note you have to attend the session live to be able to ask questions, this is not possible when watching on-demand. We will put a selection of questions to the speakers, but as with the on-campus programme, there is only a fixed time for questions and it may not be possible to answer all questions.

Yes, we issue all participants that complete the programme a certificate of attendance.

We are offering all participants the opportunity to transfer between the on-campus and virtual programme until 28th April, after this time it is still possible, but further charges may apply. Please note that funds are transferrable, but must be paid in full for each of the respective programmes, both programmes have a different price. A reference will also be required to attend the on-campus programme, as per our standard in-person application process.

Yes, we are working hard to make sure that you can meet as many of your fellow participants as possible, so on the platform there are networking events designed to enable you meeting each other.

The programme is fixed as per the on-campus event, we will send you the exact programme timing nearer the event. There is programme content on most days, but it’s in manageable sessions, typically no more than 90mins per session. See our LIYSF Schedule.

All rooms are internet ready. If participants have their own laptop they can connect to the halls of residence intranet from their room. Wi-Fi is available throughout.

We do have a full programme where you will be with like-minded students in an exciting and supportive environment. However, you might at some times feel homesick, this is quite normal, please remember everyone is in the same position and the staff team are available 24 hours a day to help with any problems you might have. Each staff member is a former participant, so they can help guide you as they have been in the same position themselves at LIYSF!

Where possible, dietary requirements are catered for, please contact us beforehand and talk to your LIYSF halls of residence staff upon arrival. There is always a vegetarian option available at each mealtime and where possible, a Halal meat option also. If you have a serious dietary requirement or allergy, we recommend you bring provisions with you.

Your team of LIYSF staff are experienced to deal with any problems, they have all been in your position and know what problems you might encounter and are available 24 hours a day. All staff are based in each halls of residence. Each participant is given a buddy member of staff to be their contact. The LIYSF Director is on-site at all times and can be reached on the emergency telephone number, which will be given to you upon arrival.

All LIYSF programmed activities are led by LIYSF staff, so that you are always accompanied on any programmed activity.

Yes please! You can share your e-mail or keep in touch via the LIYSF Facebook group or Twitter.

We recommend you call home to confirm your arrival. Other calls are at your discretion during free time!

Yes – there is our CERN discovery programme available to LIYSF participants only. for details, or e-mail [email protected] for further information.

Additional accommodation at the halls of residence can be provided. Please see: “Can I stay for extra nights before or after LIYSF?” section above. Please note that LIYSF activities start on the arrival day and no pre-programme will be arranged should you arrive before our arrivals day.

You are welcome to do this during free time only and you must tell your LIYSF staff buddy or Hall Host. Please remember that the LIYSF programme is very full, with activities taking place in the evenings and on weekends, so there is not much free time.

There are no places for parents to attend – LIYSF is strictly a student only event.