World Science Day at TNMU Department of Foreign Languages

Every year November 10 is celebrated as World Science Day for Peace and Development. Its celebration was started in 1999 at the World Science Conference (now the World Science Forum) held in Budapest, where the participants expressed their views on the need for closer cooperation between science and society. Following the 1999 conference, the UNESCO General Conference in 2001 officially established World Science Day.

For more than 20 years, the world scientific community has celebrated it in the context of the important role of science in society and the need for interaction between science and the public.

Students of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University joined the celebration of this date.

In particular, students of the Faculty of Dentistry (group CC-106), on the initiative of Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages Tetiana Khvalyboha, organized an interactive speaking club, during which they discussed the essence of the day itself, current issues of modern dental science, and the possibilities of involving students in scientific work at the university. The event was held in English in an online format.

The Head of the Department, Nadiya Fedchyshyn, discussed with the students of group MM-120 the importance of the application of fundamental sciences for the progressive development of medicine, communication and culture, with an emphasis on the role and achievements of scientists in the context of modern global challenges.

Future doctors and dentists eagerly expressed their opinions about the necessity of the holiday itself, discussed the role of science in modern society. In particular, extremely thought-provoking were the students’ opinions that science plays the role of a social force in solving the global problems of our time, and that the level of development of science serves as one of the main indicators of an economic, cultural, civilized, well-educated society. Points of view about the role of science in solving environmental problems were interesting too.

Students’ ideas about the global threats posed by the scientific progress were quite prudent. In particular, students talked about the potential risks of AI, such as mass unemployment and loss of control over AI. The students’ remarks about the role of scientific achievements in building up the military potential were also relevant.

It is important to note that the event for dentists was held in English, so students had the opportunity not only to discuss interesting issues, but also to practice oral English communication. It was also interesting to hear information about the development history of the science of dentistry in Ukraine, its achievements in Ukraine and current problems of dentistry, which were prepared by future specialists. At this stage of the event, the attendees had the opportunity to discuss the role of certain achievements in dentistry, improving their dialogical speech skills.

Medical students exchanged opinions about ancient Roman science, which gave impetus to the development of applied, mathematical and medical fields. A characteristic feature of Roman science was the exposition of scientific questions in a literary and interesting form.

For a deeper assimilation of lexical material related to scientific and academic communication, students were asked to solve a crossword puzzle. However, the most interesting part of the class was “Brainstorm” intellectual game, during which students gave answers to questions related to medicine and dentistry. It is worth noting that despite the considerable complexity of the questions, the students successfully coped with them.

In response to the lively interest of students in scientific work, professors Nadiya Fedchyshyn and Tetiana Khvalyboha told the students about the main stages of conducting dissertation research. Students talked about their own scientific interests in the field of medicine and dentistry.

The event was organized, first of all, with the aim of popularizing science among students and improving their oral professional and academic speech skills. The role of science in the development of our common future can be realized only if there is an avid interest in science. It is the passion for science that contributes to attracting the most talented young people, which, undoubtedly, are the students of TNMU.