My CREST experience has been a bit of a wild one, from lessons full of procrastination to hyper energy presentations fueled by passion. This for sure has been unique and strange, as we would have never done anything of this sort if it were not for the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled our IGCSE final exams and extended the school year by 2 months.

 

How my project was successful/not successful?

I will say my project was mostly a success, as I was able to talk about the topic I was interested in (aviation and technology) freely and openly, which allowed me to be more creative with the process. My research/planning doc was very well organized, and it was aesthetically pleasing to see all the research laid out in a nice list format, which also did (sort of) help me with the structure of my podcast.

One thing which I felt did not help me and was a slight hindrance was how chunky the information was in the planning doc. It was hard to read while recording, meaning I did miss some points which I was trying to make, and my podcast may have had moments of me rambling on something which might not have been useful.

 

What have I learned through this whole process?

Apart from my researching and presentation skills, I was able to learn about how technology in aviation has had a very powerful impact on the world, allowing for the interconnected world we live in today.

 

What impact might the results of my project have on other people/the wider world?

The results of my project show how much convenience and safety have increased in the aviation space, with pilots being able to fly for hours and hours without a single accident ever occurring. Showing these results may incentivise nervous flyers to give flying a shot, as flying has become significantly safer than what it was 50 years ago.

 

What I would have done to improve my work?

I would have made a separate doc to make the podcast easier to record, as in having the major points highlighted, not having a big chunk of useless words covering what I needed to say in my podcast

 

What I’d do to develop the project in the future?

I might focus on less than 6 topics, but go even more in depth, because having only two minutes to talk about a topic does not give me enough time to go into depth as to what it is, why it was made, the impact on the aviation industry and the world as a whole.

Coming up with the CREST project idea was one more to do with passion than anything else. I’ve always had a love for aviation, so being able to research about it was absolutely great. Knowing that the the project had to fall under STEM made me think a little harder on what I wanted to focus on regarding the aviation industry. Obviously, I couldn’t just go on and on about it aimlessly (as I would have hoped), but instead I needed to focus on a specific area of the industry. Combining another aspect which I love, technology, allows me to look into how the two have been together since the start of computers, all the way till now. I know this is a viable option to research as there have been massive leaps in both industries.

Doing the project as a podcast will hopefully get the more chill and informative side of me out t0 the listener, as I really hope that with speech, I can make more emotional and ‘sharp’ statements rather than having to look at it on a piece of paper.