The Senior Project is an opportunity for graduating seniors in their final trimester to participate in an off-campus research project or internship of their choosing. Students select a BASIS International Schools faculty member as their advisor and also work with an on-site mentor at their selected research site. These projects may be completed anywhere in the world and can be on any topic of the student’s interest and choice. At the end of the trimester, the students return to present their findings to their peers and faculty, and also submit a tangible product of their research, such as a paper, original music album, or other product that represents their work.
The Class of 2022 has completed a wide variety of projects this year, on topics including music, psychology, visual art, literature, engineering, business, and more. This year also includes the first senior projects from the inaugural graduating classes at BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour and BASIS International School Hangzhou.
For teachers, the Senior Project provides a unique opportunity to work alongside gifted students on higher level concepts, and produce work that frequently rivals projects seen at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The special interests and expertise of our faculty allow the wide variety of research seen in these projects and give teachers a way to share their high level knowledge as well.
Just a few of the highlights of Senior Projects from the Class of 2022 include:
- Jesse X., BASIS International School Guangzhou: Make Computers See: Image Processing with OpenCV
- Patty T., BASIS International School Guangzhou: Intellectual Property Laws in China: Infringements and Disputes
- Tristan Y., BASIS International School Shenzhen: Traditional Chinese Music: How to bring it to life through modern Western approaches?
- Fiona L., BASIS International School Shenzhen: Gothic Literature and its Application in Creative Writing
- Helen M., BASIS International School Hangzhou: Analysis of Cyanotype as a Predecessor Method to Be Used as a Contemporary Tool for Alternative Photography Process
- Anthea G., BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour: Expression of VP2 Protein of the Canine Parvovirus disease with the Luminex Expi293 Expression System that uses Mammalian Cell Cultures
From Anthea: DNA transfection and protein expression through mammalian cell cultures provide scientists with details about the structure of the protein’s biological structure, the human igG expressed, diseased cells and allows for post-translation manipulation. This means that scientists can better understand what a translated protein from the mRNA will do in humans/animals and is critical for accurate protein expression as well as medicine development. In the past, bacteria cells were mainly used because of their simplicity to handle, however, bacteria cells have linear DNA and only the translated protein only has a primary structure. This greatly decreases the amount of detail that is translated and decreases its functionality. Currently, mammalian cell cultures are being used to create antibodies against SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19). With mammalian cell culture, my main goal will be to express the proteins of antigens and use them to couple to detect antibodies, creating a product for faster and more accurate detection of viruses.
- Felix W., BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour: “Save the Rural Areas” A Community Development Project
- Vivian X., BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour: Two-Month Legal Internship at Yingke Law Firm
A complete list of Senior Projects for each campus can be found on their websites:
BASIS International School Shenzhen
BASIS International School Guangzhou
BASIS International School Hangzhou
BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour
For more information about teaching with BASIS International Schools visit our careers website.
