Biomedical Kitchen Supports Student Transition to Higher Education Through Transdisciplinary Simulation

The transition to university presents a significant challenge for undergraduate students in Biomedical Sciences, many of whom lack prior laboratory experience. This inexperience can create a discrepancy between students' perceived and actual competencies, leading to a self-efficacy gap when compared to peers with previous laboratory exposure. To address this and prepare students for a research-intensive curriculum, we introduced the "Biomedical Kitchen", a novel, transdisciplinary simulation. This innovative course uses analogies between gastronomy and biomedical research, including precision, dexterity, and recording observations to provide a low-stakes, accessible environment for developing practical research skills, without explicit focus on kitchen chemistry. We evaluated the programme's effectiveness by measuring student self-efficacy before and after the sessions, and then subsequently at an interval through their laboratory module. The results demonstrate that the intervention effectively adjusted self-efficacy; revealing a group which increased and a separate group which decreased in self-efficacy, suggesting a more realistic self-appraisal. Furthermore, students described the sessions as a fun and authentic environment for practising skills and building rapport with teammates, including 6 months after they have engaged with disciplinary curricular content. In conclusion, the Biomedical Kitchen is an innovative pedagogical tool that successfully aligns student self-efficacy with practical ability. It provides a valuable opportunity for students to practice essential technical and transferable skills, better preparing them for the demands of a research-oriented course.