The 6th Horizons in Molecular Biology Symposium

In 2009, “Horizons in Molecular Biology” which is organized by PhD students of the International Max Planck Research School for Molecular Biology took place for the sixth time. This means six years of growing experience when it comes to organizing such a meeting and also six years of increasing reputation and significance.

“International, interdisciplinary, and intensive” - Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, Federal Minister of Education and Research, ascribed the motto of the study program also to the symposium and honored the event by accepting the patronage. And indeed, it was international with speakers coming from all over Europe, from Canada and the United States. We were honored to welcome for instance Matthias Mann, Yehezkel Ben-Ari, Sandra Schmid and Elspeth Garman.

The symposium was interdisciplinary due to the different sessions Horizons traditionally features. They covered the latest research in the fields of cell biology, developmental biology, structural biology, neuroscience and, as a special session, biomedicine. This multidisciplinarity as well as the lively interaction of young scientists discussing their research and forming networks are the strengths of Horizons.

For the third time Horizons was preceded by a Career Fair which also became very popular among students. It featured workshops, company presentations, a podium discussion, CV checks and a live interview with Roche Diagnostics. A special guest was Prof. Klaus Landfried, one of the founding fathers of the Bologna process, who commented on education-related issues. The Career Fair offered an excellent forum for students to make professional contacts and gain first-hand career information and advice.

Preparations for this year’s Horizons are underway. If you don’t want to miss the chance to learn about latest research in molecular biology directly from renowned researchers and if you want to avail yourself of the unique opportunity to present your own research, remember that Horizons 2010 will be held be held on 27-30 September 2010.

Birgit Manno

from Molecular Biology Newsletter, January 2010