NEWS FROM ISCB STUDENT COUNCIL

By Geoff Macintyre (SC Chair) and Thomas Abeel (SC representative to the ISCB Board of Directors)

The ISCB Student Council is now in its eighth year of operation. Over the years the Student Council and its extended Regional Student Group network has grown to over 2000 students across 20 countries. The purpose of the Student Council (SC) is to provide activities and support for the next generation 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. If you would like to learn more about the SC and how it operates please continue reading. Additional information can be found at www.iscbsc.org.

Who are the Student Council? The Student Council is a volunteer organisation run entirely by students for students. The ISCB provides ongoing financial support allowing the SC to continue to grow and expand. In addition, the SC raises valuable funds from sponsors to assist in initiatives such as travel fellowships for the SC Symposium. An elected Executive Team consisting of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer oversees the operations of the Student Council. The 2012 elections are currently taking place, www.iscbsc.org/content/elections. All members are invited to cast their vote during ISMB.  Beyond the Executive Team, the SC is made up of a series of organisational Committees including: The Education and Internship Committee, Outreach and Volunteer Committee, Web Committee, Fundraising Committee, RSG Committee, and SC Symposium Committee. The efforts of all Executive Team and Committee members ensures that SC events and initiatives run smoothly and the SC continues to be successful. The SC is always looking for motivated and enthusiastic students to join SC Committees. Volunteers gain invaluable experience by being part of the operations of an international organisation. Time volunteering for the SC also creates networking opportunities with the broader computational biology community. All of this assists students in their future career prospects. For more information about joining the SC, visit  www.iscbsc.org. 

Student Council Initiatives.  The longstanding premier event of the SC is the Student Council Symposium held in conjunction with ISMB. In past years the symposium has regularly attracted over 100 delegates with high quality poster and oral presentation submissions. A number of high-profile, eminent scientists have delivered keynote presentations and this year is no exception with Dr. Robin Dowell, Dr. Matthew Hibbs, and Dr. Jonathan Eisen on the program at http://symposium.iscbsc.org/

More recently, the SC has started a new symposium series under the brand of European Student Council Symposium (ESCS) that is organized in conjunction with the European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB). While this is still a very young event series, it is growing rapidly, with the number of submission doubling over the first two editions. Check http://escs.iscbsc.org/ for more details.

Over the past two years the SC has been running an Internship Program to create opportunities for students from developing nations to gain experience in an established lab. Four students have been awarded internships at the Schneider and Rost labs during this time with great feedback from the students and group leaders involved. Many group leaders around the world have since shown interest in the program and we are currently reviewing applications for internships in Germany and Australia. For more information visit www.iscbsc.org/content/internships-0

Recently, the SC has been working closely with the founder of the Arts and Science Exhibition, Dr. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern, to reorganize the Arts and Science Exhibition. While there were no submissions accepted this year, there will be an exhibition of past years winners at ISMB 2012. Watch for announcements on submissions for next year.

The SC Regional Student Group (RSGs) initiative aims to promote interaction among students pursuing research in the field of bioinformatics and computational biology. Student groups in different regions around the world can apply for affiliation with the ISCB SC, which provides them access to guidelines on running students events, a global student support network, and funds to run events. In the past year we have seen the addition of three new RSGs from Turkey, Italy and Argentina. There are over 20 active RSGs across the world. For more information on how to participate, visit www.iscbsc.org/content/regional-student-groups.

SC Activities @ ISMB

• ISCB Student Council Symposium:
  A full day of student presentations, keynote lectures and student poster session. Friday July 13
• Student Council Booth: Come find out what all the fuss is about. Visit the SC Booth in exhibit hall B during ISMB
• Career session: Want to find the perfect job? Join our panel of experts for a discussion of all things careers. Monday July 16, 5:30-6:30pm
• Job posting board: Located next to the SC booth, you can come advertise your position or search for a job. We provide a service for connecting job seekers with job advertisers at ISMB. Go to the SC Booth to find out more.
• Student Council Social event:
  Come socialise with fellow students at the official SC Social event @ ISMB event, July 15, 8-10pm, Gladstone's Long Beach, 330 South Pine Avenue.
• Student Council Social HQ: Each evening SC members will be gathering in an informal setting to sit back and continue discussions. Come visit the SC Booth to find out more. HQ will be located at the same place as the social event: Gladstone's Long Beach
• ISMB party: Want to kick back after a couple of hard days at the conference? Join the official ISMB party, Monday July 16, 9pm. Tickets are available at the SC booth.

You can read more about the ISCB Student Council at the SC 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 members. If you have a few minutes between sessions or if you're feeling lost in the crowds, stop by the ISCB Student Council booth. We'll show you how we're making a difference in the computational biology student community.

TOP