Here's What Some People Had To Say About My Talks and Workshops
Testimonials for Motivational and Inspirational Talks:
Secrets of Success / Too Sensitive for Science? / Emotion: The Secret Asset in Your Career
At Public / Corporate Events and Conferences
“We had a great turnout to come and hear Emily speak about Imposter Syndrome at HSBC London, and she did not disappoint. With her inspiring story of the impact of Imposter Syndrome at various turns in her life - through her struggles to fit in as a Research Scientist and Actress, then persevering despite anxiety to become a BBC Expert and now combining her skills as a Science Communicator, Emily was an authentic and engaging speaker. She spoke openly on topics which resonate with many in the Corporate sphere but not often talked about. We want people to feel empowered to fulfil their potential and Emily’s touching talk certainly helped in our aim to achieve this.”
Rachel O’Neill, Senior Business Operations Manager and Diversity and Inclusion Lead, HSBC, May 2019
“I found Emily’s talk on ‘Imposter Syndrome’ brilliant and refreshing! We had a fantastic and diverse turnout as ‘Imposter Syndrome’ resonates with men and women, young and old(er!), and different ethnicities. Emily was passionate, authentic and enthusiastic, which empowered, inspired and motivated us all. She was truly inspirational, encouraging us to persevere through our insecurities and stop being our own personal obstacle preventing us from achieving success! Like she says, “say yes, panic later!”
Sophia Bains, Analyst, Technology Strategic Partnerships, HSBC, May 2019
"I found Emily’s talk thoroughly refreshing and could relate to the feelings she’s experienced at certain points during her career and studies. I’m also a very emotional/creative person so it’s great to hear that this shouldn’t be viewed as a sign of weakness, or as a barrier to success in Corporate/STEM environments. I’m glad Emily’s found her ‘place’ career wise. She will no doubt influence many others who feel they don’t belong, for whatever the reason, to persevere and find theirs."
“I would just like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Emily’s talk last week! I think the way she was so honest and open really helped the audience understand and engage with her even if your background wasn’t STEM related. I’ve taken lots away and the highlight for me was when she discussed the three Cs (Compassion, Collaboration and Creativity) and how they are individually important.”
STEM conference delegates, WMG University of Warwick, March 2019
"Giving her talk Emily demonstrated why she is a STEM Ambassador. Relaxed and relatable, as she told her story of developing a career in STEM many of our delegates were reassured that their own experiences were not unique and were encouraged rather that there is a space and indeed a need for a diverse workforce in STEM.”
Christian FitzHugh, Senior Programme Manager, Inside Government’s Presenting STEM in Schools Forum, July 2018
“I thought Emily’s talk at the Linnean Society of London was really great at inspiring the younger generation of scientists. She highlighted how easy it was for people, especially women, to feel not good enough and out of place using examples from her own career path. However she also explained how this sensitivity and compassion, normally seen as weaknesses in science, are exactly what is needed for a successful scientific career. Overall it was an informative, inspiring and fun talk that left you feeling positive about the future role of women in science.”
Leanne Melbourne, Events and Communications Manager, Linnean Society of London, March 2018
''Recently we invited Emily Grossman to speak at our Science Conference at Leeds Trinity University for our Science Curriculum Leaders. Emily was truly inspirational and provided our Curriculum Leaders with some really interesting facts and information to take back and trial in the classroom, to enthuse and engage their students. Emily began her presentation with her own account of the difficulties of being a woman in the Science community and how she overcame these challenges to have a satisfying career as a Science Communicator. Emily followed this on by introducing her 'Weird and Wonderful Science Facts'. This was an interactive presentation where Emily conducted live experiments, with a 'fun quiz questions' approach, all which were greatly received by our Science Curriculum Leaders, but equally would have engaged an audience of school students too. Truly inspiration, thought provoking, interactive and engaging! A great presentation, thanks Emily."
Sinead Miley, Director of Leeds School Centred Initial Teacher Training, March 2018
"I really enjoyed Emily's talk at the Science Curriculum Leaders Conference in Leeds today. It hit home and challenged me to create an environment in my classroom where girls feel supported and encouraged”
Matt Boutle, Science Teacher at Mount St. Marys, Leeds, March 2018
“Emily is a passionate and motivating voice for both women in STEM and STEM as a whole.”
Suzi Levitt, Science KS4 Achievement Leader, Allerton High School, March 2018
"Emily is an extremely effective communicator, using humour and demonstrating openness and compassion as she shares her enthusiasm for science and mathematics.”
Kristin Coldwell, Cambridge Area Coordinator, Further Mathematics Support Programme, Jan 2018
"Emily is a fantastic speaker; informative, fun, passionate and knowledgeable. She is a natural communicator and managed a multi-generational 400 person crowd with ease. We loved having her speak and would recommend her for any community or event that would like to hear about where feminism, science and communication come together. She is an inspiration."
Ruth Moir, Community Creator, Sunday Assembly London, Sept 2017
“Emily is a great science communicator. She combines her personal story with her contagious scientific enthusiasm in a compelling way, and her engagement with the audience encourages them not only to understand what she is telling them but to believe that they can be successful scientists too.”
Dawn Bonfield MBE, Former President of the Women’s Engineering Society, April 2017
“Emily’s energy and enthusiasm for science and STEM shines through. She is an extremely engaging speaker - a true motivator encouraging everyone to believe in themselves and follow their passion.”
Luisa Corricelli, Senior Events Manager, Coram Children’s Charity, Nov 2017
"Emily delivered an engaging and fluid talk on the value of soft skills in STEM. Offering a well-articulated presentation of her personal experience of the highs and lows of passing through the STEM education system her story really resonated with delegates who identified with the barriers facing sensitive students in STEM.”
Christian FitzHugh, Senior Programme Manager, Inside Government’s Women in STEM Conference, Dec 2017
"A brilliant public speaker and a great advocate for humanity. This TEDx talk should be compulsory to watch in schools."
Mike Thompson, YouTube user, Feb 2016
“Passionate, courageous and present. Emily is a potent presenter”
Malcolm Stern, Director of Alternatives, Oct 2016
In Universities / Business Schools
"Dear Emily, This is to express my gratitude to you for not only providing an inspirational talk on science facts at our STEM Festival today, but also for sharing your journey in such a frank and honest way. The hall was packed with pupils, teachers and undergraduates as well as seasoned academics, and you could not fail to see from their gleaming faces the connection they all made with you. We have had many guest speakers but only a handful has generated such a genuine and powerful impact that resonated with so many. You have inspired so many young people (and some not so young, as well as really old and grey haired men with glasses) with your story. I am really grateful to you for that. I am sure your message delivered today will remain with them and serve as an inspiration for a very long time to come. I am truly grateful for adding such a value to our STEM Festival and making it an even more special event for us all to enjoy.”
Professor Mehmet Karamanoglu, Head of Design Engineering and Mathematics, Middlesex University, March 2019
"Emily's presentation was both engaging and thought provoking; her enthusiasm for STEM and supporting females to reach their full potential really came across. The audience really related to what she had to say, and her openness and honesty about her own experiences was refreshing."
Jane Shepherd, HR Projects Coordinator, WMG University of Warwick, March 2019
“I’d like to extend my thanks to all involved in organising the talk at WMG. Dr Grossman was so engaging and it was a really enjoyable session. I think it is always a worry that ‘women’s day’ talks can fall into the trap of having negative aspects aimed at focussing on how hard it is for women or highlighting particular bad practices by some men. This talk was not at all like that and instead had an uplifting, positive spin with constructive messages which would have benefited everyone, not just the mostly female audience.”
“Emily was really engaging and I think most people in the room could relate to things she was saying – I know I certainly could!”
“I found this a really interesting presentation and it would be quite hard to recommend improvements. The talk was stimulating and gave the audience plenty to reflect on. As a line manager, research student supervisor and lecturer I feel a strong responsibility to help bring forward the next generation of scientists. The talk from Emily helped to crystallise the diversity of needs from young scientists that I am responsible for, and hopefully will help me guide them appropriately.”
“I really enjoyed Emily’s presentation- she was really enthusiastic and engaging. It was easy to relate to her and a lot of the things she felt and I liked how she talked openly about her own life and feelings and spoke casually and naturally about different things she had experienced. It was nice to see someone in such a role being completely honest about her journey there and how she had broken down along the way and focusing upon how normal this is - you don’t often hear people speaking openly about their insecurities. Her presentation was really light hearted and funny which I liked.”
“I liked the way the talk started with audience participation – it got people involved, Emily was motivational, encouraging and thought provoking. I could see how positive it would be for children, teenagers and those at university could be encouraged to think ‘outside the box’ regarding career choice and being in a learning environment.”
Students at WMG University of Warwick, March 2019
“Delighted to have had Emily as key note speaker at our Inspiring STEM Educators event, for 240 ‘to be’ science teachers. ‘Inspiring, thought provoking, enthusiastic, passionate, relevant’ were all words used by delegates in their feedback. Thanks for your input Emily, and I’m looking forward to our on-going partnership.”
Alastair MacGregor, CEO Scottish Schools Educational Research Centre, January 2019
“I was very impressed with Emily’s ability to engage an audience of several hundred staff at London School of Economics last summer, and subsequently I asked her to come and speak to our students about the importance of expressing emotion. She adapted extremely well to a different audience and changing circumstances on the day, and gave us a more intimate and thought-provoking talk, offering space for students to discuss and give feedback. I would recommend her highly as a speaker in any educational context.”
Susie Ward, Student Counsellor and Peer Support Co-ordinator, LSE Student Wellbeing Service, January 2019
“Emily gave a session on ‘Emotion: The secret asset in your career’ at London School of Economics' professional women’s network conference. Her fantastic talk was definitely a highlight of the day. Hearing her highly personal journey to accepting her own emotional side at work, and how emotional diversity can benefit team performance and organisational success, was both inspirational and thought provoking. We came away with a fresh way to understand and leverage our emotions as tools to positively impact our careers.”
Liz Griffith, Professional Women’s Network Co-Chair, London School of Economics, June 2018
"Emily is an incredible presenter and an inspiring role model for everyone”
Dr William Whittow, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University, July 2017
“Emily is a fantastic public speaker. She delivers her speech with passion and her emotional openness and honesty give her a distinctive and lovable character.”
Farideh Honorary, Professor of Space Plasma Physics and chair of the Lancaster University Athena SWAN committee, Feb 2016
“In occasion of the annual student-led symposium of the School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences we wanted to hear a strong voice that could provide a different perspective on what being a scientist means. Emily, with her enthusiastic and engaging presence on the stage, completely fulfilled our expectations. Her vivid talk has been truly inspiring for all of us!”
Elisa Roccia, PhD student and Event Organiser, King's College London, October 2017
"Emily gave a fantastic talk to our research students and staff at Manchester Metropolitan University, providing a fascinating insight into her personal career choices and the difficulties faced by young people in STEM careers, particularly women. It was inspiring and motivated many of our students to face their personal difficulties and to take pride in their individual qualities - and that it's OK to cry!"
Nicola Edwards, PhD student and Event Organiser, MMU, October 2017
"Dear Emily, when I was asked to work on a science TV programme for ABC Science I hesitated, and started questioning my own ability. And then I remembered what you told us - "Say yes, panic later". So I did just that. I cannot thank you enough!"
Naomi Koh Belic, PhD student and Science Communicator, University of Technology Sydney, Nov 2017
“Cannot explain how inspired I am after listening to @DrEmilyGrossman today, she’s helped me to believe in myself again after a lot off doubting and stressing. Thank you for looking out for us sensitive gals, you do an amazing job!!!”
@Chloejordanwoo, Nov 2017
"The talk was excellent. I enjoyed and connected with the content and loved the delivery. Many of the issues you discussed we about we talk about and deal with a lot, but you have helped me find better leverage to do this. This talk should be compulsory for older, male academics!"
Cat Morrison, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of East Anglia, June 2017
"I really enjoyed Emily’s Athena Swan talk. Particularly, the part where she mentioned that she felt vulnerable about things going around her when she first started uni and that affected her confidence sounded similar to me when I first started my PhD after coming from a different culture and different background. And later how she ended up doing things that really make her happy and integrating all of what she has done so far in her life made me feel hopeful about the future. I am also into drama and actually doing drama classes and never thought I could integrate my skills with the science I am doing here at uni.’"
Biological Sciences Undergraduate, University of Southampton, Sept 2015
“I greatly enjoyed Emily’s talk on women in in science because you made people think and once they realise there is a problem we’re a long way towards a solution. Personal experience makes it relatable to others, they realise they aren’t the only ones to feel that way. That, combined with the general stats at the end gave it real impact.”
Dr Judith Lock, Centre for Biological Sciences, Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Sept 2015
“I loved Emily’s Athena Swan talk! It was so friendly and enthusiastic. I enjoyed watching clips from the TV shows where Emily explained in a simple way scientific questions. I really liked realizing the similarities between our concerns now in academia with those that she faced during her time at the University, even having the full support from her family. It was also wonderful to have the opportunity to talk her after the conference and ask her suggestions that help me to do similar things in my school and community. Thanks to that I became a member of the Women on Physics Network organizing committee from the School of Physics and Astronomy, which acts primarily as a support network for all female members of the faculty, from undergraduates to academic staff and aims to bring together female physicists and promote gender equality and diversity, inspiring women for future generations to be involve in STEM careers. Thanks a lot for bringing her to Southampton!”
Dr. Margarita Pereyra, Visiting Researcher, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Sept 2015
“Thanks so much for a truly wonderful lecture. Our girls left feeling very inspired and motivated - thank you. It was a powerful example of the way female role models can help encourage more girls to think of a career in STEM. A truly enlightening and motivational talk!”
Kristina Lewis, Head of History & Politics and Enrichment & Outreach, Bromley High School GDST, December 2018
“A dark, rainy, windy night at the Dartford Science and Technology girls’ school was illuminated by a motivational, inspirational and wonderfully scientific - with a touch of the weird and certainly odd – Christmas lecture to parents, governors and pupils. An incredibly thought provoking night…now that’s the way to inspire girls into studying STEM, allowing them to consider wider science, technology and engineering career opportunities. Thoroughly entertaining…book in this honorary STEM Ambassador soon!!!”
Dr Ajay Sharman, Chair of Trustees, Dartford Science and Technology girls’ school, November 2018
“Hi Emily! I’m Rosie from year 10, who was one of the girls you presented a prize to at Manor House School the other day! I just wanted to email and say thank you for such an amazing and inspiring speech. I left the room so excited and inspired, because I’m a very sensitive and creative girl, but I adore physics! I related to practically everything you said and it’s made me realise that even someone like me can do science, a long with other things I love such as art, film and dance. Me and all of my friends loved your speech, and were really sad we didn’t get a chance to talk to you afterwards, you're by far one of the most inspiring guests we’ve had at prize giving! As we're a girls’ school, we're all ardent feminists, and believe that there should be more girls doing STEM, so it was amazing to here from a woman in the industry. I also love how you haven’t stuck to one career, and you’ve kept trying new things and challenged yourself constantly. I just want to thank you again, you've really inspired me. I’m now considering doing physics A level because of you!”
Rosie O’Neill, Year 10, Manor House School, October 2018
“I was delighted to have been at the talk Dr Emily Grossman delivered to our S2 & S3 pupils this week. I had expected it to be centred on Science and Maths, and to some degree it was. However, Dr Grossman delivered so much more.
The themes of her journey resonated with the experiences that a great many of our young people are going through;
• Feeling that you don’t fit in, or that your of a different mind set to those around you
• Feeling that you can’t ask a question because others will scoff at you
• Doubting your abilities in spite of successes
• Thinking that you’ve been successful by luck rather than talent and effort.
Dr Grossman’s messages to youngsters included:
• Follow your own path
• It’s ok to change direction
• Don’t limit yourself to one pathway (something for staff to be aware of at course choice)
• Be brave and do what you feel passionate about.
I loved Dr Grossman’s talk. It was inspiring, engaging and aspirational for our young people. For the youngsters to know that someone so successful has experienced the same emotional rollercoaster as they are experiencing is just brilliant. I had a pupil talk to me later in the day, saying that she felt “more normal and optimistic. That could be me in the future.” I’m hoping Dr Grossman will return to Harlaw Academy in the future. I’d recommend her to every secondary school.”
Jennifer Rennie, Deputy Head Teacher, Harlaw Academy, September 2018
“We were delighted to welcome Emily to speak at our annual Speech Day. She has such a natural delivery that our girls felt she was talking directly to them. She is a utterly engaging and our girls were riveted by her honest and compelling personal journey to Science communicator and broadcaster. The content of her speech really resonated with both pupils and staff and she is a superb role model for our young scientists. Earlier in the day Emily had also delivered a Weird Science talk to our Year 7&8 pupils. Again they were riveted by her enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise. Emily really inspired our pupils and made them feel that anything was possible, if they had the courage to pursue it. The school was buzzing following her visit and we’d love to welcome her back in the future.”
Ms J Sharrock, Headteacher, Shrewsbury High School for Girls, September 2018
“Hi Emily, I really appreciated the talk you gave at Shrewsbury High School last Friday at the speech day. My daughter who attends the school who is only 12 has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and clearly seems to have her path in life directed towards science and medicine. It was wonderful to hear you speak so enthusiastically and candidly to the pupils encouraging them to believe in themselves and follow whatever path they choose. I think she will remember your story for years to come and hearing somebody who has achieved so much is inspirational and aspirational.”
Dr Mark Carter, GP, and parent, September 2018
“I would just like to say thank you for the talk you gave at Shrewsbury High School last week. My daughter is a pupil and was questioning her choices after opting to do both art and science for her GCSE’s. I think that having someone tell her it’s ok to have wide range of interests can only have helped. Keep up the good work!”
Parent, September 2018
"Emily is a fantastic and engaging speaker. The students really related to the messages she shared and they felt inspired by her successes and determination in a male dominated industry. She was the perfect speaker for our Women in STEM Careers Conference."
Jon Cooper, Assistant Head, Redmaids' High School, May 2018
"I really enjoyed your talk today and it made me really think about the difference between the stereotypical characteristics of a scientist and the characteristics of an actual scientist. Thank you so much for being so inspiring and making the day so memorable.”
“I found how you talked about the lack of confidence that a lot of young girls have in the area of science really inspiring. I went to YouTube and watched the debate you had with Milo Yiannopoulos. I found the way he spoke about feminism and how if someone is above the age of 70 then they have the right to say disrespectful and sexist comments towards women very hard to watch. It amazes me how someone can be so obnoxious and still have such a large fan base. It saddens me to see that so many people follow his views and agree with his disgraceful comments. I'd just like to say thank you for being the first women in science for me to stand up against the sexist world we live in, so thank you. Please never stop what you're doing and push further to educate those who want to listen.”
Students, Year 10, Redmaids’ High School, May 2018
“Hi Emily I’m Nellie, and I absolutely loved your talk last Friday about women in STEM. I am a specialist violinist at Wells Cathedral School, and I’ve always enjoyed physics, chemistry, and maths. Because music is what I always put first, a career in STEM wasn’t something I’d ever considered. I still will be auditioning for music colleges rather than universities, but after your talk I’m much more likely to take a science or maths for A level. Thank you for all the tips! I am definitely someone who thinks “ahh I will never be able to understand this and I won’t pass the exam” but I have found your “say yes now, panic later” strategy very helpful even for violin playing! I found the idea of the arts being added to STEM quite strange actually. I have been a musician for as long as I can remember, and weirdly, I actually find it a more technical subject than science and maths! In violin you need hours of practice, many specific techniques, and knowledge of how you’re using your arms and body. It’s far less creative than people would think - the creativity is what you have to add on to make your playing special. It’s funny how science tends to be more imaginative than music in some ways! I completely agree with you about STEM being best left alone so it’s not diluting the subjects already in hand. Thank you so much for coming to Bristol, I’m really glad I could hear all that you had to say!"
Nellie Whittham, Age 14, Wells Cathedral School, May 2018
“Thank you again for making it in such appalling conditions and giving such a fantastic talk. The girls are raving about you and actually, you discussing your difficulties with ‘Imposter Syndrome’ has resonated not just with them but with quite a few of us staff too. The girls were really buzzing as they identified so much of what you felt through your education and career, as being part of theirs. I think we’re all guilty of not necessarily taking the chances (or risks) presented to us for fear of failure, but by you telling them to take those chances I think many of them have now gone into their studies with renewed vigour to succeed and not give up at the first hurdle that’s presented to them. They also feel empowered knowing that being sensitive and having emotions doesn’t mean they ‘aren’t cut out for Science’. We teach resilience and that’s important but as you said, being able to express feelings and emotions makes them easier to deal with than bottling them up trying to play the ‘tough guy’. The girls can see that the STEM subjects are accessible if someone ‘like them’ is doing as brilliantly as you are. Just a fantastic talk we could have listened to for a lot longer. Even the male members of staff thought what was said was important and needed saying and you are just so engaging. We will definitely have you back.”
Mrs Rebecca Richards, Senior Science Technician, Blackheath High School, March 2018
"Emily came in to talk to two age groups about her career in Science, and her experiences as a woman in more masculine areas. Her warmth, enthusiasm, honesty and positivity were genuinely inspiring. Talking to students afterwards, they could not stop singing her praises! The talk had been completely engaging, and they had been truly inspired by Emily's positive and tangible advice to have confidence in themselves and their abilities, even in challenging situations. What an incredible outcome! We were delighted and would love to have Emily back to talk to more students on even wider areas."
Mrs Paula Stones, Kingston Grammar School, February 2018
“Emily was easily our best speaker this year – engaging, entertaining and educating in an interactive way. And those aren’t my words as a coordinator and teacher, but the consensus of pretty much our entire Sixth Form. There are several clear reasons why Emily is so good at what she does. Her double-first in Natural Sciences from Cambridge, followed by her PhD, give the gold-plated academic credentials you would surely want to have in any speaker to your students. She is a trained actress, giving her the side-ranging skills to genuinely perform for an audience, not just hide behind a lectern to mumble over some notes for a 84 slide wordy PowerPoint. And a career in TV entertaining, broadcasting and lecture-touring means she can pitch her presentations to the right level without needing the substantial briefing support that some speakers require. Expect Emily to come to your school and get students up on their feet enacting science; expect Emily to present to 150 Sixth Formers and have them testing their tickle reactions in the pursuit of experimentation; expect Emily to have your students ask really insightful, even profound questions of science – expect all that, and you’ve got her to a tee.“
Mr I Elkin-Jones, Enlightenment Lecture Coordinator, Cokethorpe School, February 2018
"Passionate, articulate, charismatic, informed, personable... Emily is a phenomenal speaker. Could have heard a pin drop!"
Penny Godfrey, Teacher, Redmaids' High School, Bristol, Feb 2017
"Emily, the girls are raving about you! They were really buzzing after your talk yesterday, as they identified with so much of what you shared about how you felt through your education and career. Discussing your difficulties with ‘Imposter Syndrome’ has resonated not only with them, but also with quite a few of us staff members too. I think we’re all guilty of not necessarily taking the chances (or risks) presented to us for fear of failure, but by telling them to take those chances, I think many of the girls have gone back into their studies with renewed vigour to succeed and not give up at the first hurdle that’s presented to them. They also feel empowered knowing that being sensitive and having emotions doesn’t mean they ‘aren’t cut out for science’. We teach resilience here and that’s important, but as you said, being able to express feelings and emotions makes them easier to deal with than bottling them up and trying to play the ‘tough guy’. It was just a fantastic talk, we could have listened to you for a lot longer. Even the male members of staff thought that what you said was important and needed saying - and you are just so engaging. Thank you again for giving such a fantastic talk. We will definitely have you back!"
Mrs Rebecca Richards, Senior Science Technician, Blackheath High School, March 2018
"Emily gave an extremely engaging and motivational talk on what it takes to be a scientist. Our students were very moved by her message and will have taken some excellent inspiration they’ll be able to use throughout their careers. We look forward to inviting her back in the near future for one of her other talks.”
Tomas Blasco, Science and Engineering Enrichment Lead, Bellerbys College Brighton, Sept 2017
"Emily came in to talk to two age groups about her career in Science, and her experiences as a woman in more masculine areas. Her warmth, enthusiasm, honesty and positivity were genuinely inspiring. Talking to students afterwards, they could not stop singing her praises! The talk had been completely engaging, and they had been truly inspired by Emily's positive and tangible advice to have confidence in themselves and their abilities, even in challenging situations. What an incredible outcome! We were delighted and would love to have Emily back to talk to more students on even wider areas."
Paula Stones, English Teacher, Kingston Grammar School, February 2018
“Emily was easily our best speaker this year – engaging, entertaining and educating in an interactive way. And those aren’t my words as a coordinator and teacher, but the consensus of pretty much our entire Sixth Form. There are several clear reasons why Emily is so good at what she does. Her double-first in Natural Sciences from Cambridge, followed by her PhD, give the gold-plated academic credentials you would surely want to have in any speaker to your students. She is a trained actress, giving her the side-ranging skills to genuinely perform for an audience, not just hide behind a lectern to mumble over some notes for a 84 slide wordy PowerPoint. And a career in TV entertaining, broadcasting and lecture-touring means she can pitch her presentations to the right level without needing the substantial briefing support that some speakers require. Expect Emily to come to your school and get students up on their feet enacting science; expect Emily to present to 150 Sixth Formers and have them testing their tickle reactions in the pursuit of experimentation; expect Emily to have your students ask really insightful, even profound questions of science – expect all that, and you’ve got her to a tee."
Mr I Elkin-Jones, Enlightenment Lecture Coordinator, Cokethorpe School, Feb 2018
"Dr Grossman spoke at our annual awards evening and captivated our audience of young people from the beginning. The story of her life at school, in academia and in the media proved to be interesting, insightful and inspirational. Dr Grossman's presentation thoroughly entertained and inspired many in the audience to discard any limits they had previously put on their ambitions and dreams.”
Harry Ingham, Headteacher, Thamesview School, November 2016
“Emily is such a great role model for young women aspiring to careers in science. She is engaging and informative in equal measure and gave our pupils such an inspiring message about self-belief and perseverance. She engaged parents and pupils with her story about her own journey through science.”
Victoria Bingham, Headmistress, South Hampstead High School, July 2017
“Emily gave a tour-de-force speech which really inspired the girls to bring their whole selves to their work. Emily has a fantastic rapport with her audience and had so many important messages for young people about following their aspirations and their dreams.”
Kirsty von Malaisé, Headmistress, Norwich High School, Nov 2017
"Emily, I just wanted to thank you so, so much for coming along to our Awards Evening and helping to make it a success. It was great to meet you and you were just the person we needed, to hopefully inspire the students to work as well as they can and who knows, it might lead some of them to become more interested in science too! You were the perfect guest for us to have, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to others. I hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did.”
Sheila Thompson, Teacher, Thamesview School, November 2016
“Thank you for delivering an inspirational and thought provoking speech at our Annual Prize Giving - so many pupils and parents complimented you on your enthusiastic and confident delivery. Thank you on behalf of all our pupils, staff and parents for visiting us and making our day so special.”
Adrian Meadows, Headmaster, The Peterborough School, October 2017
"Thank you again for coming to talk to our year 9 and year 10 girls last week at The Priory School. It has been a pleasure and a privilege for us all. We found your talk about your academic and professional journey to date fascinating to say the least and most certainly inspirational. Our girls have not stopped talking about it. Your explanation and demonstration of some of the more bizarre and fascinating scientific facts was entertaining to say the least and definitely had a ‘mouth opening’ effect on us all. A most sincere thank you again – you have been a true inspiration for our girls."
Stella Brennan, Science Teacher, The Priory School, June 2017
"Emily, we wanted someone to come in to talk to the girls and you were number one on my list! The girls can see that the STEM subjects are accessible if someone ‘like them’ is doing as brilliantly as you are."
Rebecca Richards, Senior Science Technician, Blackheath High School, Nov 2017
"The boys warmed to Emily straightaway. She powerfully communicated the importance of conviction and self-belief; the message that one shouldn’t just accept that “that’s not how it’s been done before”. She then moved on to talk about the use and misuse of statistics by the press, using “embarrassing examples” from her own career. This was not only informative and entertainingly presented, but also put out the message that one should own one’s mistakes, learn from them and move on – something that is of vital importance in today’s world. If we are afraid to take risks, afraid to make mistakes, our intellectual and scientific progress is going to be seriously hampered."
Andrew Wilkinson, Senior Tutor, Hampton Boys' School, Nov 2017
"Dr. Grossman recently gave a keynote speech during an awards evening at my daughter’s secondary school. My daughter Aimee was the proud recipient of an award - however, the highlight of the evening was Emily’s personal story. She presented with passion and humour, as she relayed her personal journey from school pupil, to scientist, to science communicator and educator. Her personable style and honesty really resonated and had the audience of parents, teachers and pupils completely engaged. Aimee was really buzzing when she got home and we had a great conversation about what Emily said. It was lovely to see my daughter so fired-up, she did not stop talking about the presentation for days! I know first hand the value of surrounding yourself with positive people and having strong role models/mentors. I am therefore grateful that she has discovered Emily and that it is cool to love science! I would highly recommend Dr. Emily to any school looking to inspire their pupils, especially girls, with a passion for science.”
Gary Lucking, Parent, Thamesview School, November 2016
"Emily made my daughter believe and experience that should she want to achieve a career in science, her goals were achievable, despite being female. She is an inspirational tour de force of energy in motion. I think she is so empathetic and encouraging because she has walked in the shoes of the young women she teaches and mentors”
Christina, Mother to Year 11 Student, August 2015
“Such an inspirational speech from Dr Emily Grossman at an awards evening at my school tonight. She is such an amazing woman!”
Amy Furrents, Student, Thamesview School, November 2016
“Emily’s speech at Thamesview School Awards evening was exhilarating, my daughter was very inspired”
Fiona Gluck, Parent, Thamesview School, November 2016
"Emily was wonderful when she came to Queen's College to deliver a talk to our students for their PSHEE programme. The girls had been looking at future career opportunities and Emily was kind enough to discuss the huge variety of different jobs and positions of responsibility that she has held. She encouraged the girls to widen their horizons with regard to the possible careers that they could pursue; highlighting that they were perfectly able to achieve highly in all fields of study, even those often perceived as being more male oriented, as well as, tackling the notion that your career has to be fixed for the duration of your life. It was brilliant for the pupils to see both Emily's passion for her career and her motivation to succeed. I have no doubt that she will be a role model for many of them!"
Lauren Robinson, Head of PSHE, Queen's College Girls' School, 2015
"Coming from an all girls school where science A-levels are not popular, Emily's insightful yet entertaining talk on female roles in science was enlightening to many. She informed us on how her career was forever changing and how we should view science and other careers with an open mind, whilst not letting our gender inhibit us'"
Isabel Stock, year 11, Queen's College Girls' School, 2015
In Secondary Schools
"Dr Emily Grossman spoke to 200 enthusiastic student applicants for our Sixth Form. Afterwards she was surrounded by girls who were not only entranced and intrigued by Emily's own educational and varied work experiences, but also seemed much keener to choose science A-Levels. What is clear to everyone who meets Emily is her energy, wit, warmth, clarity and genuine passion for science. She is also a strong advocate of the need for every young person to develop resilience, and to work hard to realise their goals. She was so inspiring on the subject of girls maintaining their determination when studying a science degree, whatever the challenges. Last year she came to our school again to inspire potential female scientists in the current Sixth Form. After meeting Emily, many of these girls (most of whom do not have parents or siblings who went to university) were much more confident and informed about which particular science courses to go on to study. Emily is certainly one of the first people I shall contact to share my students' successes. Quintin Kynaston Academy is an inner London state school with students who are dynamic and diverse but considerably disadvantaged in terms of economic need. As a school, QK is really happy to consider Dr. Grossman as a friend and a truly inspirational figure.'"
Sharon Worthington, Year 13 Director of Learning, Quintin Kynaston Academy, North London, 2015
"Emily came to speak at our school science week. She gave an interesting and inspiring talk on her career. The talk also had fun demonstrations and intriguing scientific facts. Students were encouraged to ask questions and take part in the demonstrations. The students found her approachable. She showed pupils that a career in science is not only achievable but an exciting option."
Alison Logan, Head of Science, South Hampstead High School For Girls, 2015
"Emily, you made such a great impact on the school community here – both to students and teachers alike. Your career trajectory has always fascinated me and you communicated it so very engagingly. In your year-9 talk you made the science facts both fun and informative and succeeded in enthusing the students both for the subject matter and your manner of communicating it. In the afternoon you made a huge impact on the year-11 audience through telling them about your own journey as a woman scientist and, in particular, with the nightmare you went through during the summer around online misogyny and trolling. It was deeply moving and hugely courageous that you were prepared to open up about such a personal and painful experience. It’s a message people – especially young people - need to hear. My colleague, Ali Boucher (Head of English) had to head off before he got a chance to meet you, but wanted to convey how moved he had been by your story. It was a lovely day and thanks so much for coming. You’ll be welcome back here, I can assure you."
Richard Vergette, Head of Teaching and Learning, Ackworth School, 2015
Wonderful talk from Dr Emily Grossman today - can't believe sexism exists at large still. She's put to sleep any seeds of doubts about my career which will hopefully be in politics even though is a "man’s world". I'm determined to succeed and she's shown me ‘just do it’.
Paris, Year 11 student (female), Ackworth School, 2015
"Emily spoke informally to many of our sixth-formers and really inspired them to think about going to university and to take various directions. They were keen to speak to Emily and said that she was really easy to speak to her and helped them to decide what to do in the future. Later in the year, Emily returned more formally to school to be our guest speaker at our prize-giving ceremony. She gave an inspirational talk to our governors, parents, staff and students on choosing your individual career path - her background being so varied with her Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge and her media pathways. Emily has certainly had an impact on all of our female A-level sciences students, many will certainly be going on to study a STEM subject at university."
John Campbell, Head of Science, Stockley Academy, West London, 2015
"Emily provided an innovative and engrossing workshop on practical Science to a group of young people who are often denied access to similar opportunities because of the limitations of our hospital setting - it was especially engaging for those members of the school who were inpatients at the time. Feedback was very positive from the full-time pupils in our Day School who really enjoyed the learning experience and showed real interest during our plenary session in Emily's career and achievements."
Alex Yates, Head Teacher, The Royal Free Hospital Children's School, 2015
"Emily is amazing. She really inspired me to keep at it with science. In school, I was in a male-dominated class and this made me less motivated. Emily gave me the motivation and confidence to continue with sciences and not give up just because it wasn't so natural to me."
Hannah Flora, year 13, 2015
"Emily, we would like to thank you for coming to our school. We can hand on heart say that the children absolutely loved it. I truly believe that you have inspired the children at Dovedale Primary. Since your visit, we have heard lots of children saying they want to become scientists when they get older. Please don’t stop doing what you’re doing, you can’t put a price on the way you inspire people – not just children but adults too."
Mr Mackinnon and Mrs Paul, Dovedale Primary School, 2016
"Emily your presentation at the AET Science Conference yesterday was outstanding. I'm a primary school teacher and I believe that any presentation you deliver would be so inspirational for the children."
Fay Bryan, Teacher, Charles Warren Academy, July 2017
"Emily has an excellent down-to-earth and child-friendly approach to her teaching. So much so, she invited us (a group of primary school students and their teachers) into her home via Skype to sit down with us for some warm and cosy 'science chats.' Here she told us all about her rich experiences in science; her supportive upbringing; her passion for the stage and how she managed to fuse the two passions of her life; science and acting. The children were greatly inspired when learning of how Emily overcame her experiences of sexist remarks made against her just for being a female in science; how knock backs happen to all of us and how we can stand up to those that say we can't. The children hung onto every word as she answered science questions they had posed, using illustrations, videos and even items from her own fridge! She makes science fun and much simpler to understand for the children and adults alike; allows scientists to be seen as real people, with real lives, well people 'just like you and me'; and most importantly, she is a fantastic role-model for our young people to look up to and follow into the wonderful world of STEM. I certainly recommend booking Emily. Do it; do it now!"
Joe Bradbury - The Keys Federation of Schools, Wigan, 2016
"Dear Dr Grossman, thank you for one of the best Skype sessions we've ever had. You are an inspiration to us. The children said that you were extremely good at giving answers. You explained concepts really well and made it easy for them to understand certain points. You were absolutely amazing! The thing that struck my heart was the final piece of advice you gave the students, that everyone has the potential to become a scientist. We ourselves now can become scientists, by asking questions that start with Why does that happen? How does this happen? and so on. It depends on us, on who we choose to be.”
Daksha Abeyewickrema. WISE International School, Sri Lanka, Feb 2017
In Primary Schools
"To Dr Emily Grossman, thank you for coming to our Prize Giving and sharing all of your kind stories about you becoming a scientist. I am going to ask lots of questions and not let anybody say I can NOT!!!"
Madison Roberts (pictured), Age 8, Form 4B The Peterborough School, Oct 2017
"Dr Emily Grossman was inspirational in encouraging our girls at NHEHS to follow their dreams and explained that absolutely anyone can be a scientist. It was the perfect way to launch our STEM week - we loved her!"
Jasmeet Singh, Science Teacher, Notting Hill and Ealing Junior School, May 2017
"Dr Emily Grossman came to our school during STEM Week. She was very inspirational and told us many fun facts about science and the world around us. She even helped us to recognise that it can take all sorts of interests, personalities and talents to build a career in STEM."
Year 7 pupil, Age 11, Notting Hill and Ealing Junior School, May 2017
Testimonials For Talks on Cutting Edge Science Topics:
Gut Feelings, How to Build a Human, The Fat Controller
Gut Feelings
“Dr Grossman visited our school and gave both an inspirational and informative talk promoting science to a select group of our students. She managed to both engage and enthuse our students with her open and friendly approach. I was particularly impressed with how she managed to not only discuss the science involved but to weave a whole story drawing the students along with her while also including the message that everyone can do science. Our students are still discussing the merits of faecal transplants!”
Alexis Shead, Head of Science, Aldenham School, November 2018
“Emily delivered a fascinating and inspirational STEM talk at Francis Holland School, Sloane Square. She provided a good balance between introducing a fascinating and topical scientific field of study, how parasitic organisms can affect animal (and even human) behaviour, and describing her personal journey in STEM, and how she has overcome the challenges that she faced as a woman. Her manner was engaging throughout and the pupils responded with interesting questions. I can highly recommend her as a STEM speaker.”
Laurence Dare, STEM Coordinator, Francis Holland School, November 2018
"Hi Emily, I just had to send you an email! Thank you so much for an amazing talk at the NCH conference. Your presentation style and enthusiasm was so inspiring and I learnt so much, not just about gut health, but how to present to make your subject interesting."
Gin Lalli, Solution Focused Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist , June 2018
"WOW! What a talented, clever and stunning "Gut Feelings" presentation. A very motivational start to 2016 for my 16 year old son who is considering a career in medicine and he was completely inspired and fired up. If ever there was a woman who could capture the imagination of young and old alike to engage with STEM subjects it is Dr Grossman. I would love to hear her again and if I had a wish it would be that every secondary school student in the UK could meet her and be motivated to be inquisitive!"
Mary C. Sykes, Manager of BOBW Ltd, Jan 2016
How To Build a Human
"Emily is a great science communicator, passionate and engaging."
Sarah Sword, Deputy Head, Newstead Wood School, March 2019
“This week we were fortunate enough to be able to host a talk by Dr Emily Grossman as part of our spring science lecture series. Her talk was on stem cells, one of the current ‘hot topics’ of medicine right now. Not only did she explain such a complex topic in an engaging and understandable way, but she also discussed loads of potential applications of stem cells in the field of regenerative medicine. It was very eye-opening and an excellent opportunity for students to learn something beyond the syllabus; something that is actively encouraged at Newstead Wood School, as it’s so important to develop a wider interest in your subject. Most importantly, Dr Grossman was an excellent advocate for women in science, and concluded her talk by motivating students to pursue scientific careers beyond A-level. It’s so valuable for students to have the opportunity to meet people like Dr Grossman, as it’s a reminder of the opportunities out there and all that we are capable of achieving.”
Lucy Hawkins, Year 12 Newstead Wood School, March 2019
“Thank you so much for joining us at Leighton Park School yesterday and for delivering our inaugural STEAM lecture at our STEAM Career Fair. You were a truly inspirational speaker and I know the students, the stall holders and all the teaching staff attending, were impressed, entertained and educated by the content of your presentation as well as the enthusiasm with which it was delivered. We do appreciate your giving you time to benefit so many people. Thank you.”
Emma Randall, Marketing Manager, Leighton Park School, July 2018
“Emily’s talk was a fascinating insight into recent developments in science, in particular biotechnology and transformative medicine. It was a very accessible presentation and left us all with a sense of awe, wondering what will be possible in the future. Emily is a strong female ambassador for women in science and a real inspiration to all the students who saw her speak.”
Karen Gracie-Langrick, Academic Deputy-Head, Leighton Park School, July 2018
"Science depends on communication, on people being able to distil complex ideas for a wider audience, preferably in the most engaging way possible - this is exactly what Emily does. Her talks for Science Live were perfect for the A-Level Biology students who made up the audience. Using what they were studying as a starting point, she stretched them and introduced them to the possibilities that further studies in the sciences may offer. Students and teachers alike commented on the high quality of Emily’s talks, which were a great combination of effortless presentation stye and scientific rigour”
Daniel Powell, Director, Science Live, March 2017
"Emily presented at the Malvern Festival of Innovation’s Family Day about "stem cell research and the progress of regenerative medicine". She kept children aged 8-10 engaged at the same time as making the content appeal to teenagers and adults. The audience remained captivated for an hour, leading to fascinating questions from the children and hopefully a few new scientists of the future.”
Dr Adrian Burden, Founder, Malvern Festival of Innovation, July 2016
"An inspirational talk from Dr Emily Grossman on regenerative medicine, which managed to engage both our younger pupils and senior members of the school community. “How to Build a Human” was both captivating and informative and prompted some fascinating questions from our aspiring young scientists."
Dr Neal Carrier, Head of Religious Studies and Philosophy, Hampton School, Nov 2017
"Dear Dr Grossman, I very much enjoyed speaking with you when you recently visited my school, and I found your lecture very interesting and informative. It made me excited about continuing with science after A levels"
Anjuli Bali, Year 12 Student, Lady Eleanor Holles School, Oct 2017
The Fat Controller
“A wonderfully engaging event, filled with important information that we should all take on board, presented in an accessible way.”
Luiza Patorski, Programme Manager Science Oxford, Jan 2017
Testimonials For Fun Science Facts Shows
Dr Emily's Weird and Wonderful Science Facts / Brain-Fizzing Facts
"Emily brought great energy to our annual Discovery Day at the Crick Institute with her Brain-Fizzing Facts show. The auditorium was packed for her show and the family audience loved her witty and entertaining take on the scientific method. She inspired 300+ visitors with her message that science is all about asking questions and making sense of the world."
Jenny Jopson, Public Engagement Manager, The Francis Crick Institute - June 2019
"Thank you for visiting our school, Emily. Your talks were so inspiring for our students and it was wonderful to see a hall so full of engaged faces, all equally full of awe, wonder and curiosity for STEM! Your talks provided the perfect blend of humour, interactivity and scientific facts- the students were absolutely buzzing afterwards! Not only a role model for our students, you also made science fun, interesting and relevant. One of our goals has been to close the gender gap in STEM and you were the perfect ambassador for this - thank you!"
Hannah Mitchem, Assistant Headteacher, Townley Grammar School, February 2019
"Thank you Emily for your inspiring and interesting talks, your words of wisdom I am sure will last a very long time in the memories of our students. Your story will be of great inspiration to our girls and will give them renewed confidence to reach for the stars in their chosen career when they are older. We all enjoyed you weird facts and loved your explanations, helping to make a very enjoyable STEM day for all."
Colin Robinson, Director of Mathematics, Townley Grammar School, February 2019
“Emily Grossman presents and inspires simultaneously. Honesty about her own experiences (some good, some bad) makes her relatable but also motivating. She delivers science with a twist and a wow factor that will leave you with her infectious inquisitiveness and longing to learn.”
Dr Roseanne Miller, STEM Lead, TechFest, October 2018
“The day that Emily delivered was fun, engaging and incredibly motivating. It was the perfect way to engage our students in discussion and conversation around science! The students have commented how much they enjoyed it, and when you hear them carrying on conversations about Dr Emily’s weird science facts the day after, you know it has been a success!”
Katie Southall, Assistant Headteacher, The Priory School, March 2018
"Recently we invited Emily Grossman to speak at our Science Conference at Leeds Trinity University for our Science Curriculum Leaders. Emily was truly inspirational and provided our Curriculum Leaders with some really interesting facts and information to take back and trial in the classroom, to enthuse and engage their students. Emily began her presentation with her own account of the difficulties of being a woman in the Science community and how she overcame these challenges to have a satisfying career as a Science Communicator. Emily followed this on by introducing her 'Weird and Wonderful Science Facts'. This was an interactive presentation where Emily conducted live experiments, with a 'fun quiz questions' approach, all which were greatly received by our Science Curriculum Leaders, but equally would have engaged an audience of school students too. Truly inspiration, thought provoking, interactive and engaging! A great presentation, thanks Emily."
Sinead Miley, Director of Leeds School Centred Initial Teacher Training, March 2018
"Emily has been a lively and brilliant contributor to our TeenTech events. She brings Science to life in a very engaging way for young people and is very professional and reliable in her approach.”
Maggie Philbin OBE, Teentech, Jan 2017
“Emily is an excellent speaker and really knows how to engage kids – and parents – in the most fascinating and wacky parts of science”
Sarah Fairbairn, Production Manager, Jewish Book Week, Jan 2017
”Emily was fantastic with the kids - really bringing science alive with her wonderful experiments”
Karen Kinsley, parent at Jewish Book Week, Jan 2017
”Dr Grossman captured our students’ imagination and curiosity by performing live on stage certain carefully chosen, fun scientific experiments: Our students marvelled at the simplicity, ingenuity and profundity of Emily's experiments.”
Ioannis Raptis, Head of Science, Heathside Prep, April 2017
"Emily gave a keynote lecture at our Clever Clogs Conference. Capturing the imagination of a hall full of hundreds of Year 6-13 girls is no easy feat, but Emily gave us a brilliant afternoon of science in action. Her gift for sharing her fascination with Science is very special indeed. A funny and wildly intelligent session. Her presence there was a joy."
John Parsons, Science Teacher, Wimbledon High School, May 2017
"Thank you again for coming to talk to our year 9 and year 10 girls last week at The Priory School. It has been a pleasure and a privilege for us all. We found your talk about your academic and professional journey to date fascinating to say the least and most certainly inspirational. Our girls have not stopped talking about it. Your explanation and demonstration of some of the more bizarre and fascinating scientific facts was entertaining to say the least and definitely had a ‘mouth opening’ effect on us all. A most sincere thank you again – you have been a true inspiration for our girls."
Stella Brennan, Science Teacher, The Priory School, June 2017
"Emily, we would like to thank you for coming to our school. We can hand on heart say that the children absolutely loved it. I truly believe that you have inspired the children at Dovedale Primary. Since your visit, we have heard lots of children saying they want to become scientists when they get older. They loved the experiments you did and liked how you were able to explain scientific facts in a simple and fun way. As teachers we were also impressed by the way you used simple everyday objects to explain ‘how science works’ – it has opened our eyes to how facts can be explained with minimal resources, yet still keeping it fun and informative. Please don’t stop doing what you’re doing, you can’t put a price on the way you inspire people – not just children but adults too."
Mr Mackinnon and Mrs Paul, Dovedale Primary School, 2016
"Emily was a consummate performer and educator. Despite initial technical difficulties on our part – and our year 9s flagging at the end of a six period day – the show went on: Emily quickly had students and staff alike captivated with facts as varied as tickling, milking and bathing; and willing participants eager to join her on stage. Nothing can be a greater accolade for how entertained and informed our students were by the fact that the final bell was impending and yet they pleaded for Emily to continue sharing her weird and wonderful facts. We thoroughly enjoyed her talk and will definitely be inviting her again next year to our Big Bang event."
Ashley Levy, Science Teacher, The City Academy Hackney, July 2017
"Emily your presentation at the AET Science Conference yesterday was outstanding. I'm a primary school teacher and I believe that any presentation you deliver would be so inspirational for the children."
Fay Bryan, Teacher, Charles Warren Academy, July 2017
"Emily was contacted by a student of mine who saw her on TV, and like the snowball of excitement it caused, with a few emails we managed to organise for Emily to pop into school and do a show for the Year 9's and 10's. Emily was an instant hit with the kids, she had them in the palm of her hands, demonstrating and explaining science so awesomely well. She was impressive, fun and educational. On top if this Emily travelled here in 34 degrees, and had a hall full of hot sweaty students on the edge of their seats. I would recommend a show from Emily to anyone in education. From student shows to CPD sessions for teachers - delivering general science, great practicals and exploring what misconceptions about science need investigating. FABULOUS!"
Katia Hazell, Science Teacher, Everest Community Academy, June 2017
"Emily came to speak at our school science week. She gave an interesting and inspiring talk on her career. The talk also had fun demonstrations and intriguing scientific facts. Students were encouraged to ask questions and take part in the demonstrations. The students found her approachable. She showed pupils that a career in science is not only achievable but an exciting option."
Alison Logan, Head of Science, South Hampstead High School For Girls, 2015
"Dear Dr Grossman, thank you for one of the best Skype sessions we've ever had. You are an inspiration to us. The children said that you were extremely good at giving answers. You explained concepts really well and made it easy for them to understand certain points. You were absolutely amazing! The thing that struck my heart was the final piece of advice you gave the students, that everyone has the potential to become a scientist. We ourselves now can become scientists, by asking questions that start with Why does that happen? How does this happen? and so on. It depends on us, on who we choose to be.”
Daksha Abeyewickrema. WISE International School, Sri Lanka, Feb 2017
"Dr Emily Grossman came to our school during STEM Week. She was very inspirational and told us many fun facts about science and the world around us. She even helped us to recognise that it can take all sorts of interests, personalities and talents to build a career in STEM."
Year 7 pupil, Notting Hill and Ealing Junior School, May 2017
"Dear Dr Grossman, thank you for coming to Dovedale. It was amazing to meet someone like you. You are the most amazing person I have ever met. You are great at making complicated things simple and an inspiration to boys and girls. I enjoyed the facts and the experiments and I liked how all your experiments were possible to do at home too! I learnt that silly experiments can lead to a discovery that could help infinite amounts of people. This is interesting to me as it means scientist can be anyone in the world and anyone can find something life-changing right now. You were great at speaking to us and letting us enjoy it all. I will never forget that day. I wish you very well in the future and I hope you go on to be greater than you are today. I know you deserve it. Thank you so much for coming in and I think other people should get to meet you"
Tom, aged 9, Dovedale Primary, 2016
Thank you for coming to our school and teaching us all about science. It was a big treat for all of us and a privilege for an amazing scientist to us experiments and their favourite facts. You are a very inspiring person and you are very kind. You are an intelligent and talented person who helps more people understand science, especially girls. You are very kind to encourage more people to follow their dreams, as not many people will do that. Overall I had an amazing time
Hannah, aged 10, Dovedale Primary
“Thank you for coming to our school to teach us some science, and we learnt more about your life. I loved the day and I would like you to come again. The day was as fun as a carnival”.
Taylor, aged 9, Dovedale Primary, 2016
“The reasons I liked your visit wasn’t just because of the experiments, it was that and your explanations as to why it happened. I also liked how talkative you were (in a good way!) because if we had a question you answered it almost instantly. My favourite things were the water experiment, learning about which cows produce more milk, and the egg experiment. After your visit I have learnt that jellyfish and scorpions glow, that zebra fish embryos are clear, and what a hole-punch cloud is. We all loved your visit. When I grow up I want to be a marine biologist and I love science!”
Ellie, aged 9, Dovedale Primary, 2016
“You make everything so exciting. You are a role model to every young girl. I really enjoyed the experiment with the cloud in a bottle. It actually made me jump a little! The most amazing fact I learnt is how you should put hot water into your bath first. It’s funny how hot water rises but the cold doesn’t! We all had an amazing day meeting you and learning lot of new things”
Lucy, aged 10, Dovedale Primary, 2016
“Emily's talk was both fascinating and entertaining: our sixth form students were gripped by her compelling mode of delivery and interactive style. We are looking forward to welcoming Emily back very soon!”
Charlotte Harrison, Head of Sixth Form, St Margaret’s School, October 2018
"The talk Emily gave us was superbly pitched with the gentle risqué title: ‘Why Pandas Love Porn – the science of sexual attraction.’ And the pitch was, actually, perfect. Because whilst it was indeed funny, interactive, dialogic in nature and with lots of images and videos, none of it was crass, rude or gross as some might fear. No, this was a presentation that referenced solid, peer-reviewed science about the sheer variety, ingenuity even familiarity of the science of sexuality. This talk celebrates the biological richness to be found in the panoply of all populations. From weird red bugs to seahorses; across the range of primates and all manner of fish and birds, Emily showed us how and why sex matters in the struggle to make the best start in life. Fine lessons to learn (and just before Valentine’s day, too!"
Mr I Elkin-Jones, Enlightenment Lecture Coordinator, Cokethorpe School, Feb 2018
Pandas Love Porn is the perfect geeky night out. A wonderful balance of facts and entertainment, that makes the whole audience feel involved”
Luiza Patorski, Programme Manager, Science Oxford, Feb 2017
"We were very happy to have Emily as one of the speakers at the Hearts and Minds festival. Emily’s talk on "X-rated Bizarre Body Facts" was excellent and very entertaining! As a professional she is clearly both a scientist and a communicator. She managed to make the weird - and sometimes quite complex - body facts easily accessible and relatable.”
Sten Tiedemann, Rector, The Danish University Aarhus, Sept 2016
”Fun and inspiring stand-up about pee, poo and sex. Perhaps a little different from the usual events of the festival!”
Student, Aarhus University, Sept 2016
”Dr. Emily Grossman was amazingly well prepared. It was a very entertaining and fun show.”
Guest at Aarhus Hearts and Minds Festival, Sept 2016
"Emily delivered one of the funniest science talks that’s been given in Bucharest ever!"
Gabriel Ivan, Education and Science Projects Manager, British Council Romania, April 2016
Pandas Love Porn - The Science of Sex and Attraction
(Dr Emily's Weirdest 'X-Rated' Science Facts)
Testimonials For Talks on Maths And Statistics
“Emily’s talk skillfully combined messages about the usefulness of mathematical and scientific thinking with a striking counterpoint to the traditional stereotypes about the sort of person who succeeds in STEM careers. Students were inspired by her humility and honesty while also being entertained by her engaging style and sense of humour."
Kristin Coldwell, AMSP Area Coordinator East of England, July 2019
"The talk with Dr Grossman was a fun approach to possible future careers and the content was entertaining."
"It helped me to not always believe what the news says."
"She inspired myself and others how maths comes in handy in many different careers."
"Informative and thought-provoking."
"Made me aware of how statistics can be manipulated."
Year 10 students, AMSP Take Maths Further day at Bedford University, July 2019
"It was fantastic to have Dr. Emily Grossman as our keynote speaker for our year 10 mathematics enrichment event. The students were very engaged and inspired by hearing what Emily had to say. Emily was an excellent role model for the students, particularly the female students, as she shared her experiences as a woman in science. Many of the students chose Emily’s talk as the most useful aspect of the day and commented on how inspiring, motivating and insightful it was.”
Fiona Kitchen, Further Maths Centre Manager and AMSP Area Manager, University of Warwick, March 2019
“The maths event today was a great experience and very encouraging. Emily’s talk was fantastic and engaging. She gave real life-advice that can be applied to real examples. I learnt a lot and had fun!”
“I found Emily’s talk very inspiring and motivating. It was very interesting to hear about the experiences she has had.”
Year 10 students, Alcester Grammar School, AMSP Take Maths Further Day at University of Warwick, March 2019
“Thank you for coming to Manchester High School for Girls. We thought the talk was very inspiring and struck a chord with all students, especially your opening words regarding your career to date. Since the talk a number of students have remarked on how much they enjoyed it and the misuse of statistics in newspapers was the cause of much debate in Friday afternoon’s maths lessons.”
Fraser Heywood, Second in Mathematics Department, MHSG, June 2018
“Thank you, Emily, for your fabulous talk at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences this morning. What a wonderful addition to the Cambridge Science Festival it was. You are a great role model and I am sure that everyone in the audience was touched by your message about the positives that can arise from mistakes.”
Dr Christie Marr, Deputy Director, Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, March 2018
"Emily is unique in retelling her own most embarrassing moments when she too rapidly believed statistical claims. She then leads the audience to some subtle insights into interpreting evidence - a fine mixture of entertainment and education, delivered with both humility and humour."
Professor David Spiegelhalter, President of the Royal Statistical Society, March 2018
"Emily delivered a fascinating talk in which she humbly presented mistakes and misinterpretations she had made in her own career. This helped students to see not only how challenging it is to interpret statistics- even for the experts- but also how important it is to take risks and to learn and grow as a result. Emily is an extremely effective communicator, using humour and demonstrating openness and compassion as she shares her enthusiasm for science and mathematics.”
Kristin Coldwell, Cambridge Area Coordinator, Further Mathematics Support Programme, Jan 2018
"Emily gave another fascinating presentation exploring the widespread misuse and abuse of statistics in the media which included great clips from Emily’s many TV appearances. We had absolutely fantastic feedback from students and teachers so a massive thumbs up! Emily has a real knack for communication that always knocks the socks of our audiences. The way she interacts with the audience is superb and I really like the positivity she shows…always remembering to say “that’s a great answer” and so on. It was a very professional presentation. Thank you so much Emily for taking part in this GCSE Maths in Action event and inspiring literally hundreds of teenage mathematicians. It is because of people like you that more students will go into maths and science which makes all these days worthwhile, so thank you for that!”
David Matthews, The Training Partnership, Host of GCSE Maths in Action, Nov 2017
“Emily is an engaging speaker whose experiences on some famous TV shows gives students an insight into how easily we can be misled by the statistics we hear in the news”
Rob Eastaway, Director of Maths Inspiration, Feb 2017
"Emily gave us lots of interesting reasons why to critically evaluate stats in the media”
Maths teacher, School of St Helen and St Katherine, 2016
“Thank you for delivering an inspirational and thought provoking talk for our students. Your Maths talk found the perfect pitch enabling the audience of Year 10, 11 and Sixth Form to follow the content whilst stretching their knowledge base, delivered in an entertaining and humourous manner. Thank you on behalf of all our pupils, staff and parents for visiting us and making our day so special.”
Adrian Meadows, Headmaster, The Peterborough School, October 2017
"Emily managed to make the subject of lies and statistics in the media really entertaining. By focusing on her own embarrassing moments the students were able to see how someone in the public eye can admit to mistakes and can move on! I loved the way her talk was so interactive as they felt they could contribute and work things out in their heads on the spot. We all enjoyed her talk very much!”
Cathy O’Neill, Head of Careers, Oxford High School, March 2017
"Thank you so much for your talk to our year 10 girls yesterday. The feedback on this was excellent, with many of the girls highlighting how much they had enjoyed your talk. It was so important for them to see how they can be misled by the press and the way you covered this though your personal work in TV was inspirational!"
Alison Terry, Further Maths Support Programme SE Area Coordinator, June 2017
"Emily Grossman is an exciting and inspirational speaker. Her talk on the use of statistical errors in the media, including her own, is very enjoyable. She is a vibrant role model for young, aspiring female maths students."
Derek Couzens, Maths Enrichment Event Organiser, Further Maths Support Programme, June 2017
"The boys warmed to Emily straightaway. She powerfully communicated the importance of conviction and self-belief; the message that one shouldn’t just accept that “that’s not how it’s been done before”. She then moved on to talk about the use and misuse of statistics by the press, using “embarrassing examples” from her own career. This was not only informative and entertainingly presented, but also put out the message that one should own one’s mistakes, learn from them and move on – something that is of vital importance in today’s world. If we are afraid to take risks, afraid to make mistakes, our intellectual and scientific progress is going to be seriously hampered."
Andrew Wilkinson, Senior Tutor, Hampton Boys' School, Nov 2017
“I enjoyed it the most because she made everything seem fun.”
Year 10 student, Coleridge Community College, Jan 2018
“Inspirational.”
Year 10 student, Newmarket Academy, Jan 2018
“I really enjoyed the statistics talk - really engaging and informative.”
Year 10 student, Sir Harry Smith Community College, Jan 2018
“I found it very interesting how statistics are misunderstood and misrepresented in the press.”
Year 10 student, Cottenham Village College, Jan 2018
Lies, Damned Lies and Newspapers
Do Numbers Drive You Nuts?
"I have worked with Emily on a number of events including her plenary address on “The Role of Statistics in Society" at the ESRC Applied Quantitative Methods Network in Edinburgh, and her talk at a Royal Statistical Society event on statistical fallacies. Emily is an exceptionally good communicator, able to engage and inspire an audience. She is clearly passionate about helping people understand maths and science and this comes through in her delivery. I have also found her to be highly professional, relating well to everyone involved in event organisation."
Prof Gwilym Pryce, Director of the Sheffield Methods Institute, July 2016
Testimonials For Talks and Workshops on Sex and Relationships
"I'm a workshop facilitator myself and I've been to a LOT of workshops and this was honestly one of the best I've ever attended. It was brilliantly held and facilitated, and you hit every button for me. Thank you so much."
"Experiencing this workshop was profound for me. Both content and delivery. Both personally and professionally. The combinaiton of ego investment in 'conscious' sexuality combined with shame around my 'sexual' and 'kinky' Erotic Blueprint types has been a barrier that you have helped me realise. Thank you so much."
"This workshop was so interesting and really helpful"
Participants of What Turns You On? The Science of Sexual Arousal, Osho Leela Summer Sexuality Gathering, August 2019
"Dr Emily's workshop on the Science of Sexual Arousal was the highlight of my weekend"
"Emily, i've been using what I learnt from your workshop all weekend and it's transformed the relationship between me and my partner. Thank you!"
Participants of What Turns You On? The Science of Sexual Arousal, Summer House Weekend, August 2019
“This has been a life-changing moment.”
"Thank you this was wonderful. It will stay with me for a long time."
Participants of Relating Without a Map, Summer House Weekend, August 2019
"This was the best workshop I have ever been to."
"Thank you for holding the space so safely. I could completely relate to everything you shared"
Participants of Do You See Me?, Osho Leela Summer Sexuality Gathering, August 2019
Testimonials For Hosting Events and Chairing Panel Discussions
"Thanks so much for coming to Bristol to be part of Launch Great West! Hope you enjoyed it and it was wonderful having you as host of our event."
Dr Maddy Nichols, COO Spin-UP Science, June 2019
"A huge thank you for acting as Chair at our Preventing Hereditary Cancer in Jewish Communities event. You were absolutely brilliant and we had amazing feedback from the audience."
Cary Wakefield, Chief Executive of Ovarian Cancer Action charity, June 2018
"Emily was a stellar member of our International Day of the Girl panel. Her own experience, informed opinions and insight and enthusiasm for her chosen area of work really brought to life the phrase #breakthebarriers and elevated the evening hugely. Her resonance with all of those young (and older!!) women was fab to see and the way she handled questions and responded to comments both on and off the stage will have left lots of people with food for thought and feeling inspired!"
Dianne Stradling, Plan International UK, Nov 2017
"Emily we were delighted with how you compered the evening and coped with both the heat and the challenge of the prize winners and presenters going slightly off plan. You spoke with such passion and conviction about why science and how you got to where you are now and I think this struck a chord – as you know several of our others speakers picked up on your thoughts in their speeches too."
Susie Watts, Deputy Head of Communications, Economic and Social Research Council, June 2017
“Emily brought her infectious enthusiasm to her role as moderator of our Research to Reality lecture which saw three young scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel present their research into some diverse areas of cutting edge science. Emily succinctly summarized complex subject matter for the audience and deftly guided them through our question and answer session.”
Sheridan Gould, Executive Director, Weizmann UK, Nov 2017