FEBS presents a unique opportunity for young researchers
As part of the 12th Ukrainian Biochemical Congress, FEBS initiated educational workshop for scientists in the field of natural sciences and experimental medicine “Techniques And Efficient Road Maps: New Options For Practicals And Innovative Learning”. The workshop covered a wide range of topics such as preparing dissertations, writing research articles and grants, distance learning, etc. (https://www.tdmu.edu.ua/2019/10/05/hii-ukrayinskyj-biohimichnyj-kongres-zibrav- u-tnmu-vidomyh-naukovtsiv-biohimikiv /).
Professor Jerka Dumic (Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia), Dr. Angel Herraez (University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, Spain), Dr. Keith Elliot (University of Manchester), Dr. Ferhan Sagin (Ege University, Izmir, Turkey), Dr. Beáta G Vértessy (Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary) shared their knowledge and experience with teachers and students.
Professor Tetiana Borysova, Head of the Department of Neurochemistry at O. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, Secretary for International Affairs of the Ukrainian Biochemical Society, who was in charge of workshop, noted that three guests of the workshop are Chairmen of FEBS committees, including Jerka Dumic, a Charirman of Integration Committee, Ferhan Sagin, a Chairman of the Education Committee, Beáta G Vértessy is the Chairman of the Higher Complexity Courses. According to T. Borysova, there were three lectures and interactive work in groups in two days, where invited experts tested the acquired knowledge and skills. Tetiana Borysova added that FEBS has a good tradition of including national speakers and experts, in our case Ukrainian, in its seminars.
Our guests shared their impressions of communication with young scientists of TNMU and Ternopil city.
– What is the purpose of your visit?
Ferhan Sagin: We organize such workshops every year. This time it was held within the framework of the Ukrainian Biochemical Congress at TNMU. All workshops are aimed at educators, young researchers, so that we and they can exchange ideas about education, talk about new teaching methods, give young scientists advice on building a scientific career, teaching and practice information, talk about how to prepare formal documents how to write a resume correctly.
Beáta G Vértessy: We represent the scientific communities of different countries of the world, so this is a great opportunity to learn more about the possibilities of scientific implementation at the international level. Our mission is to make it easier for young scientists to build careers, to provide knowledge on how to gain support from the global community of scientists. We hope that after our workshop, there will be more young researchers willing to join our society, develop and participate in various international research programs.
– Could you, please, share your impressions on communication with our students?
Jerka Dumic: My main task, as chairman of the FEBS Integration Committee, is to care for the growth of the country’s educational and research potential, to increase the level of activity of the scientific molecular society in the world. In particular, my purpose is to assist in the implementation of as many molecular studies as possible, especially in countries where they are relatively low.
We were impressed with the motivation and enthusiasm of your students. Many of them are looking for implementation, want to know more. These days, they have participated in general overview lectures that will help them to develop further. We presented the research in English and it was a good opportunity to gain practical experience to integrate into the European and world scientific environment. I want to say that Ukraine has great potential. The Ukrainian Biochemical Congress has shown its potential, so our desire is to help Ukrainian scientists as much as possible.
Keith Elliot: When we come as part of the program, we never say what and how we should do, we share our ideas, our experiences. We are more focused on developing students’ skills for further development, for establishing important scientific contacts, for building a future career. This is what we talked about during our lectures, workshops.
Angel Herraez: Our job is to show young people how FEBS can help them in their future careers, in their development. Lecturers, professors spoke about it. We always share our experience with a large number of people, with young scientists from around the world. We show that they are not alone, that they can find a reliable place for decision-making, for support, where they are told where to learn new technologies, teaching methods. When we travel, we see many people with great scientific potential, so we tell you how to develop it. We see people with interesting ideas and ready for international cooperation. Successful scientific activity requires many like-minded partners in different countries, and they must be people of international orientation.
We were pleased to see a large number of students during the workshop who were interested in getting new information, to pick up something useful for themselves. They had high motivation. It would be nice to see that their motivation is related to science. We were also pleased to see their activity. Some of these students travel a lot, know how to speak English, learn new technologies and methodologies. And this communication between the professors and the teachers was wonderful. And very often during such local events, we can get an interesting look at our work, good feedback.
– Do these conversations inspire you to carry on?
Angel Herraez: It’s really important when your information and your experience is interesting to the public, when you see the interest. This is the best motivation for us.
Keith Elliot: We were very impressed with the students and young scientists. They speak good English, have interesting thoughts.
Ferhan Sagin: My colleagues have expressed important thoughts and views. I want to say that during the last 5-6 years of our workshops we have had such a large audience. I would like to thank Serhii Komisarenko, Tetiana Borysova, Rector Mykhaylo Korda, the entire organizing committee and colleagues for this wonderful opportunity to present FEBS in Ukraine. It was a good opportunity during our workshop to see the situation in the country, hear the opinions of other colleagues.
Beáta G Vértessy: What was important during this visit was that we wanted to convey to the audience. We were told that anyone can get information from the official site. It’s true. And the fact that we communicated to each other in person with the audience made a very big difference. We were able to exchange contacts for further communication. We saw a grateful audience who expressed their delight. I have seen so many enthusiastic students who are focused on their future careers. My speech and my discussion was about the capabilities of our federation. Many young people expressed their impressions. It’s nice that they understood what to do next. And that’s wonderful.
Tetiana Borysova: It was a long way to organize this event. I wrote a letter to Ferhan Sagin requesting that the Federation conduct a workshop on education within the framework of the 12th Ukrainian Biochemical Congress. I would like to thank Ms Ferhan and the entire FEBS committee for their decision to organize an educational workshop. I think the event was very successful. I asked my friends about their impressions and they replied that it was really needed and very important. And all the reports were very interesting.
At the end of the meeting, Jerka Dumic noted that the workshop schedule was quite intense and interesting. Despite this pace of lectures and group work, the guests were able to get a little familiar with the city. They had the opportunity to enjoy our magnificent promenade and walk the streets of Ternopil. They also expressed hope that Ukraine will use its scientific potential and develop it. In their turn, they will support sharing knowledge, information and experience.
TNMU Press-Secretary Yanina Chaikivska.
Photographs by Yanina Chaikivska.