Swiss Youth in Science: La Science Appelle les Jeunes!
© 2016 EPFL
11 high-school students hosted for one week in 6 SV laboratories
The week of March 13th to 19th 2016 six labs in the School of Life Sciences (SV) hosted 11 high school students coming from all corners of Switzerland as a part of the Biology and Medicine Study week organized by the Foundation La Science Appelle les Jeunes (Swiss Youth in Science) based in Bern. SV participated along with l’Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Zurich (ETHZ) and the Universities of Bern, Geneva and Zurich to welcome overall 72 curious students.
The aim is to give motivated and bright students their first hands-on laboratory experience in one of the following areas – Cell Biology, Genetics and Evolution, Bioinformatics, Neurobiology or Physiology, to whet their appetite and passion for basic research. They are supervised by lab staff and create a poster at the end of the week to present at the closing poster session/symposium on the Saturday morning. This year SV hosted the symposium in the Rolex Learning Center. All the students from all over Switzerland converged on our campus with their families to celebrate the new experience and hard work accomplished during the week.
This year at the symposium Professor Nicola Harris from the Global Health Institute spoke about her experience of discovering and pursuing her passion for science and how to integrate life and work to lead a fulfilling life. Students representing each participating host university also presented their work! The symposium was a mix of inspiring discourse, good music (The Sheiks – trombone/guitar duo), good music and enjoyment.