Over 110 participants at the IECB Young Scientist Symposium 2011

On May 19-20, 2011, over 110 PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from the Interbio community (Bordeaux, Toulouse, Barcelona, Valencia and Lisbon) attended the 4th edition of the IECB Young Scientist Symposium. This event gave the opportunity for young chemists, biologists and physicists to present their results through oral communications and posters, and discuss different career paths with professionals working in academia and technology transfer.

“I think it's a great opportunity for PhD’s like us to get insight into our future careers”
Sara Santiago Felipe, PhD student, Valencia

The IECB Young Scientist Symposium (YSS) was launched in 2008 with the aim of promoting interdisciplinary interactions between young chemists, biologists and physicists. Since 2010, this event, which is organized by PhD students and post-docs from the IECB, has been recognized by the Interbio network. “Interbio provides financial support to participants from Toulouse, Barcelona, Valencia and Lisbon to come to Bordeaux and attend the event. This year we had a strong Spanish delegation. It is good to broaden the audience and think about research and career opportunities from a European perspective” explains Daniel Dasilva, president of the 2011 YSS organizing committee.

In 2011, 15 oral communications and 26 posters were presented. At the end of the meeting, prizes were awarded for the best oral communications and posters (see list below).

In addition to scientific presentations, a session entitled “I have my PhD… now what?” was included in the programme of the 2011 YSS. IECB post-doctoral researcher Simon Dawson explains: “Our aim with this session was to discuss the different career pathways available after graduating with a PhD. Dr. Stephen Hilton (School of Pharmacy, University of London, UK) highlighted the academic options available to students, using his own career as an example. He also gaveuseful insight into employment prospects in the UK, with regards to the current economic climate. Dr. Marc Chevalier (Whizzat, Bordeaux) described his experience in starting a company and gave valuable advice to students thinking of pursuing the same career path. Finally, Dr. Joana Coulon (Microflora, ISVV, Villenaved’Ornon, France) gave an overview of her career in microbiology and how she was able to apply this to the production of wine. This gave us an excellent insight into how technology is transferred between academia and industry.”

Pictures of the 2011 YSS >>>

Best oral communication awards

Best poster awards