Hyderabad: Students of CSIR-CCMB organized Hyderabad’s first student-centric biology conference, Hy-Sci 2019. The objective was to stimulate discussions and collaborations among research students in the city since Hyderabad is a hotspot for cutting edge biology research in the country.
The event saw the confluence of over 260 students from 11 different institutions. Unlike conventional science conferences, all the talks and presentations were by the students. In addition, there were two panel discussions on topics relevant to the students. Both the panels had eminent professionals from different areas of biology.
The first panel was titled ‘Ten years down the line’ where the discussion was about the areas and issues in research that beg attention in the coming decade. The panelists were Drs D Balasubramanian (LVPEI), J Gowrishankar (CDFD), Mukund Thattai (NCBS, Bengaluru) and Suman Sahai (Gene Campaign). This panel was moderated by Dr Jyotsna Dhawan (CCMB).
The second discussion was about the plethora of career options available to PhD graduates. Sharing their expertise were Drs Ramaswamy S (Purdue University, USA), Smita Jain (IndiaBioscience, Bengaluru), Shambhavi Naik (Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru) and Satya Prakash Dash (Global Innovations Impact lab, PATH, Delhi). The panel was moderated by Dr N Madhusudhana Rao (AIC-CCMB).
The organizers collected questions for the panel discussions well beforehand from students across the country using social media.
There are institutes which do great science in Hyderabad, but such gatherings will help foster collaborations and increase the collective output. In the long run, such collaborations will assist the future generations of scientists to take up different roles in society for a better tomorrow.
This event was conceptualized, coordinated and curated by students of CCMB, with invaluable support from Dr Rakesh Mishra, director, CCMB. In addition, CCMB students also have ongoing outreach programs for undergraduate students in the city, educating them about careers in research.