Mariam Baghdady
On November 13 – 15, nearly 300 scientists from all over Europe came together in Nijmegen to share new ideas and innovative approaches in life sciences. The symposium is organised annually by the ENABLE initiative: the European Academy for Biomedical Science. This year, the programme was filled with short talks and post presentations. PhD students from various fields of life sciences shared personal experiences and increased their knowledge. As the editorial board of RAMS we had the opportunity to be present at the plenary debate discussing open access: A movement influencing the way scientists will publish papers in the future. The idea: open access for research and not only for the privileged who can afford to pay the high subscription fees asked by journals. To end the day with something fun, the symposium organised a ‘Life science on Tap’ event. In short, different bars in the city centre opened their doors to welcome scientists and non-scientists for a drink while learning something new. The young researchers explained their work in short 10 minute talks. In just 10 minutes PhD students tried to use colloquial language to explain what happens to the body after burning yourself and whether infections during pregnancy could lead to autism. The pub talks were a great opportunity to learn more from upcoming scientists while also being able to talk to colleagues in the field. We had a great evening and learned lots of new things!
As this year comes to an end, we hope that you will pick up our new edition soon and wish you good luck with any upcoming exams, reports or assignments.
Happy holidays!