The Department of Chemistry recently welcomed students from around the world to a forensic science summer school titled CSI: Leicester.

CSI: Leicester was established in 2009 and is organised by the University of Leicester and Northamptonshire Police. The three-week summer school is designed to give overseas students (mainly from the USA and mainland Europe) an appreciation for the practical and theoretical science that underpins forensics. It also gives the students exposure to the UK education system and provides a different cultural experience.

The course is based around a fictitious crime, which starts from alleged workplace harassment, but escalates to include malicious letters, use of a gun and a house fire. The students, working in investigative "teams", are given evidence / information each day and have to process it and analyse the data. As well as laboratory investigations, the students participate in external visits to a police forensics laboratory as well as the police firearms and dog handling units.

Over the three weeks, they assemble the evidence and make a final presentation that summarizes their findings.

The course was featured on ITV news.