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Warwick staff and students participate in the Global Young Scientists Summit

Five Warwick scientists were recently selected to take part in the Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS) in Singapore, January 2020. Following a competitive nomination process, three students and two early career researchers were invited to join 300 of their international peers for a chance to interact with eminent scientists and technology leaders.

GYSS2020 Warwick Staff and Students

Global Young Scientists Summit 2020 in Singapore

The multi-disciplinary summit covered topics including chemistry, physics, medicine, mathematics, computer science and engineering. It gave the students a platform for conversations on science and research, technology innovation and society, and solutions to global challenges.

Dr TouloupouOne of the Warwick Early Career Researchers who joined the event, Dr Panayiota Touloupou, Department of Statistics said;

“It has been a great honour and pleasure to be part of the 2020 Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS2020). It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to meet such leading scientists in their fields telling you stories about their life journey, the problems faced and inspiring young scientists like me to follow their dreams."

Professor Mike Shipman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) said;

"It is great that five of our early career researchers were able to take part in GYSS2020. Warwick’s involvement in this meeting builds on a strong and broad base of collaborations with top research institutes and universities in Singapore. These span research, undergraduate exchange and research activities, a joint PhD programme and a dual Masters."

At the Summit, participants took part in lectures, plenary sessions and panel discussions. They had the opportunity to interact with speakers in informal small group sessions which Imran Ahmed, a PhD student at Warwick Medical School, found particularly interesting;

“It was an incredible opportunity to hear the stories of eminent scientists and prize winners which has provided inspiration for my own work and ideas. The manner in which they simplified very complex topics is something I will take away from this and implement in my own work.

All prize winners started in my own position and had roadblocks along the way. What was important to note is how they kept pursuing their work despite this and their ability to come up with solutions through discussions with peers and supervisors.

The opportunity to listen to and discuss ideas with international peers from a range of scientific disciplines is also something quite unique to this conference. I can safely say my own learning and thoughts have developed through discussion with peers.”

Chris Ellingford, PhD student, WMG, agreed;

"I thoroughly enjoyed my participation at the GYSS 2020 and I feel that it has provided me with knowledge and insights that will better prepare me for my future academic career. The unique selection of attendees, from all areas of science, led to diverse conversations and enabled me to hear other exciting research taking place across the world which I could never have had the opportunity to know about.

GYSS has a different atmosphere to that of other conferences I have attended. Everyone was friendly and keen to network and interact with as many people as possible, and I made many contacts in the process. My favourite sessions were the small group sessions, where I got the chance to talk with distinguished scientists such as Professor Kees Immink and Sir Tim Hunt in a relaxed environment, however the lecture sessions were also fascinating and demonstrated how high-impact research is executed. I highly recommend applying to the next GYSS!"

Dr Gabriel Meloni summed up the GYSS 2020 experience;

"Being selected to represent the University of Warwick at GYSS 2020, in front of such a uniquely talented group of people, was an honour. It was great to connect with fellow young scientists and see that the challenges and rewards that come from scientific research are not restricted to any border.

Learning from world leading scientists and having the opportunity to exchange experiences with them was unbelievable and a once in a lifetime opportunity!

The format of the summit is quite interesting as it is not focused in any particular field of science, and discussions are very broad. Sometimes it is easy to get caught, and frustrated, by small details and peculiarities in our own research fields, talking science in general was a great opportunity to reconnect to the thing that connect us all, our passion for science!”

The following students were selected to attend the summit

  • Charlotte Roman, Mathematics for Real-world Systems, Supervised by Dr Paulo Turrini
  • Imran Ahmed, Warwick Medical School, Supervised by Dr Andrew Metcalfe
  • Dr Gabriel Meloni, Chemistry, Supervised by Professor Patrick Unwin
  • Chris Ellingford, WMG, Supervised by Dr Chaoying Wan
  • Dr Panayiota Touloupou, Statistics, Supervised by Dr Simon Spencer