Posted on behalf of Professor Nadia Rosenthal of EMBL Australia.
Last month, sixty first and second year PhD students from around Australia came to Melbourne to take part in the inaugural EMBL Australia PhD Course.
Over the two weeks of the course, I watched as these young researchers were inspired by new scientific ideas, connected with other students as well as the speakers, and came into their own as scientists. The speakers, invited from around Australia as well as from EMBL in Europe, also enjoyed the experience and the atmosphere. It felt like I was back at EMBL, with the same excitement and buzz and level of excellence that we strive for there.
One of the students asked me what’s in it for EMBL Australia to hold a course for PhD students. It’s a good question, and one I was happy to answer. Quite simply, we are investing in the future of Australian science, growing future leaders and imbuing them with an international outlook.
When the students heard about the annual EMBL PhD Symposium, which is organised by the first year PhD students at EMBL, I was asked why Australia couldn’t have a conference for PhD students. I’m delighted to announce that the students attending the 2013 PhD course have volunteered to organise their own conference, with the support of EMBL Australia. They plan to invite students from EMBL to attend the conference, just as students from Australia are able to attend the EMBL PhD Symposium through our student grants program.
I’d like to extend my thanks once again to the University of Melbourne, Doug Hilton and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for hosting the course, the speakers and the students for your input and enthusiasm, and finally the staff at EMBL Australia, for making the first EMBL Australia PhD Course a resounding success.
Two international visitors will be visiting Australia this month. Mike Hucka will present a series of talks in Melbourne and Sydney about open standards in systems biology research, while Bob Kuhn is bringing the USCS Genome Browser Workshop Roadshow to Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. They’ll be followed by a series of visits by Japanese science leaders in September and October. More details can be found in the events listings.
Finally, later this month, I’ll be heading off to the 2013 International Conference on Systems Biology (ICSB) with Silvio Tiziani as well as Sarah Boyd from SBI Australia. While there, we’ll be talking about next year’s conference in Melbourne and catching up with some of the scientists working with us to plan the program. I look forward to bringing you more news about the conference in coming months.
First EMBL Australia PhD course a roaring success..Read more
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