The Gairdner National Program [http://www.gairdner.org/], established over 15 years ago, takes place in 16-18 academic centres across the country, is unique in the world of awards. Gairdner awardees travel across the country, from St. John’s to Vancouver, to present their work and meet with students.  Gairdner Student Symposium 2012

Please feel free to forward this information to your colleagues that might be interested as this will be a wonderful opportunity for students who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of science. This event is FREE, however, due to limited space, we require teachers to register their students. Registration is now open.

Last year’s event was a huge success and was very beneficial to the students and teachers. See some of the comments below.

If you have questions about this event, please do not hesitate to contact Seetha Kumaran [skumaran@cmmt.ubc.ca]

Student comments:

• The Gairdner lectures were a priceless experience I’ve never had before as a student.  I feel so lucky to have been able to listen to medical professionals.
• I wasn’t previously thinking about studying the research and laboratory-related side of medicine, but now I’m considering a career in medical research.
• In the past, I have not been interested in biology, but my interests have been sparked.
• The lectures made me want to get into the health sciences even more.
• I was very inspired by the lecturers.  They seemed so passionate about that they were talking about and were very encouraging.
• I learned about many careers I had never heard about before.
• The lectures influenced my decision of doing what I love to do.
• Made me realize that everyone is unique and can make an impact on the world.
• The lectures made me more interested in research as opposed to being a clinician.
• I was already interested in sciences and helping others; this only cemented my thoughts and dreams into goals.
• Great scientific eye-opening ideas.
• Knowing that great achievers like themselves were undecided and changed their career paths is comforting knowledge.
• No matter what, I intend to do something that impacts the world in a positive way.
• It made me want to explore my choices more and be open to change.
• I got more inspired that even though I am just one person I could change the world.
• I already am extremely interested in science and how the world works, but the words of both Dr. Cedar and Dr. Hayden were very inspirational. The unknown is calling me and I want to discover as much as possible.
• Incredible speakers made me realize that science is for me.