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UNMC International Student Forum participants visited the Great Wall of China during their trip in 2006, top, and enjoyed a bit of Tokyo last year. This year, they’ll host their international colleagues, who will visit Omaha and the medical center in June for the 2008 forum. |
The annual forum allows the students to share their research and culture with others from around the world. In years past, the forum has allowed UNMC students to see what life is like for graduate students in Beijing and Tokyo.
This year, students from Japan, China, Australia and India get to see what’s going on here in Omaha as they take part in the forum, which will be held on campus on June 2 and 3.
“This year’s forum is a great opportunity for UNMC students and the university to represent ourselves to a global audience,” said Nathan Erdmann, a UNMC M.D./Ph.D. student who is helping to coordinate this year’s forum, a task he helped with the previous two years.
UNMC’s Asia Pacific Rim Development Program is coordinating this year’s conference and is now accepting abstracts from students wishing to participate.
UNMC students from every college and departmental area are encouraged to apply in order to fully represent research at the medical center. Students will be selected based upon scoring by a panel composed of students from programs throughout campus.
Scoring will emphasize the organization and clarity of the scientific argument and writing. The abstract submission deadline is Friday, Feb. 22.
Abstract guidelines and additional forum information can be found on the forum Web site.
Students selected to participate will take part in forum events as well as give a 15-minute oral presentation. Honors including cash awards will be given to outstanding presentations during the forum. Students attending this year will also be elligible to attend to next year’s international forum, which will again be held outside the United States.
The awards would include a plaque and cash awards and options for going to next year’s international forum, which will again be held outside the United States.
UNMC attendees will be joined by colleagues from The Institute of Medical Science at The University of Tokyo, the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of California, San Francisco as well as schools in India and Australia.
The forum presents an opportunity for the world to see the cutting edge research and education taking place at UNMC, said Jialin Zheng, M.D., associate professor in the UNMC departments of pharmacology/experimental neuroscience and pathology/microbiology and director of the APRDP.
“Students who participate in this forum will get a rare opportunity to share their research with international colleagues,” Dr. Zheng said. “This forum presents a wonderful opportunity for our students to build international contacts and relationships.”
Building such relationships is extremely important as the current climate of biomedical research calls for cooperation among scientists that extends beyond the lines of disciplines and nationalities, said Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., UNMC’s vice chancellor for research.
“In order to stay ahead in research, it will be important that scientists have an understanding of what’s going on scientifically around the globe,” Dr. Rosenquist said. “Having a network of international colleagues is essential for success in biomedical research.”
Hosting such forums and being able to showcase the campus and the work being done here helps UNMC in its mission of becoming a world-class academic health sciences center, said Don Leuenberger, UNMC’s vice chancellor for business and finance.
“We have world-class education, research and clinical facilities here at UNMC and our international colleagues will see that when they visit in June,” Leuenberger said. “I’m excited that we have this opportunity to literally show the world what’s going on at the medical center.”
What others are saying
“This forum is excellent opportunity for our students to interact with their international colleagues. Having the opportunity to host such a forum is solid proof of UNMC’s growing reputation and is another example of the exciting educational opportunities that are offered to our students.”
Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies
“The call for international cooperation among biomedical researchers is growing progressively stronger. Forums such as this provide our students with a wonderful opportunity to lay groundwork for relationships that may benefit them as they progress in their careers. Also, being able to show the international students the research and facilities that we have at UNMC will undoubtedly make a powerful impression on our guests. This is a wonderful opportunity for UNMC and our students.”
John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Medicine
“Attending the forum last year allowed me to meet the graduate students from Japan and China and I was amazed at how our group was received by the international students. Even though all the students were from different countries we had so much in common. I look forward to welcoming the students from abroad to Omaha and UNMC and treating them with the same hospitality that we received in Tokyo. … Participating in the forum not only would allow UNMC students an opportunity to present their research to an international audience but we also are planning social functions that will allow students to get to know their fellow international students in a setting outside of the laboratory.”
Dan Flaherty, a pharmaceutical sciences graduate student and a student coordinator for the 2008 International Student Forum