| | ISCB Student Council
Overview
By
Lorena Pantano Rubino, Student Council Symposium 2011 Chair and
Pedro Lopes, Student Council Symposium 2011 Co-Chair
 The ISCB Student Council is dedicated to promoting the
development of the next generation of computational biologists. We
achieve this goal by organizing and supporting scientific events,
networking opportunities, soft-skills training, educational
resources and other career development activities for computational
biology students throughout the world, and by attempting to
influence policy processes affecting science and education. One of
our key objectives is to provide support and financial assistance to
computational biology students from developing countries.
Over the past year, our organization has continued to grow and
evolve. Our volunteer student members have outdone themselves in
putting together an outstanding program for the 7th Annual Student
Council Symposium and organizing events for students throughout the
ISMB conference. For example, our Art & Science Exhibition at ISMB
2011 will display images and videos generated as part of
computational research projects and creative works that involve
scientific concepts or employ scientific tools and methods. At the
Student Council booth in the exhibition area, students can get
career advice and review job boards. We're also hosting several fun
social networking activities, such as "Scientific Speed-Dating,
"Social HQ", and "BLAST your Brain." What does exactly does that
mean? Come to our booth to find out!
At ISMB 2011, you'll
have an opportunity to see the ISCB Student Council in action. But
our presence at this event is only one facet of our organization. We
strive to reach out and support the computational biology student
community throughout the whole year by:
- Offering competitive mini-grants of up to USD 400 each to help fund innovative initiatives and events proposed by regional student groups (RSG). During the past year, 6 out of 14 proposals from RSGs in Central and Eastern Africa, France, Poland, Brazil, and India were approved for Student Council financial assistance. Our grant cycle for 2011-2012 will be starting soon.
- Establishing internships that provide students from developing nations an opportunity to work in a world-class computational biology laboratory. These internships enable students to gain international work experience and acquire new skills that they can share with research communities in their home country. Through this Student Council program, four students, representing India, Brazil, Kenya, and Nigeria, were given the opportunity to work for three months at the Rost Lab in Germany, under the direction of Professor Dr. Burkhard Rost.
- Organizing and supporting regional meetings, such as the 2010 European Student Council Symposium held in Ghent, Belgium, and the 2010 North Africa, Portugal and Spain Student Symposium on Bioinformatics held in Málaga, Spain. These regional meetings are an excellent forum for students to present preliminary research, learn about research activities and job opportunities close to home, and get recognition in their local research community.
You can read more about these and other
ISCB Student Council initiatives at the ISCB Student Council website
(www.iscbsc.org)--or look us up
on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Of course, the best way to find
out about the Student Council is to talk to our volunteer members.
If you have a few minutes between sessions or if you're feeling lost
in the crowds at the Austria Center, stop by the ISCB Student
Council booth. And we'll show you how we're making a difference in
the computational biology student community.
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