The Lindau Alumni Association of Pakistan
Brief Report on the participation in the 57th meeting of Noble
Laureates in Physiology or Medicine with students and young
researchers, 1st-6th July, 2007, Lindau, Germany.
By: Talha Vaqar
1. How good were you as compared to your fellow participants of
advanced countries?
The Pakistan squad representing at the 57th meeting of students with Nobel
laureates in Lindau, comprised 7 students/researchers in total. Six out of us hailed
from the medicine background while one was a dentist. At the meeting, the seven
Pakistanis featured prominently, actively participating in the formal lectures in the
mornings and also in other activities scheduled for the evenings. Many a good
questions were posed by members of the Pakistan squad at the question and answer
sessions following the lectures. This was commendable keeping in mind the fact that
most other participants came from a research background and a major chunk of them
had completed their Phd and were pursuing post-doctoral studies. One of the
Pakistanis even got a mention in the lecture of Nobel Laureate Dr. Bert Sakmann, as
he narrated the events of the past day's 'Science Bazar' in his lecture at Lindau. It
brought us great pride when Pakistan was mentioned among the very best
researchers from around the world.
2. Was the public money worth spending for this participation?
The idea of Pakistan's participation has a much deeper ideology than a superficial
thought might reveal. It is a part of the campaign to popularize science amongst the
masses in Pakistan. This program focuses to pick up bright students through a
rigorous selection procedure. This is with the hope that inspiration gained from
meeting highly accomplished contemporary scientists might help these students to be
leaders in the field of science in future. The initiative and the force to propel this
program forward come from Dr. N.M. Butt - Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation.
His dedication to the cause is unarguable. He has a unique quality of taking every
challenge with a smile on his face. The higher education commission has been
generous in supporting this program financially. If this program continues with the
sincerity that I observed during my own experience, I truly hope and expect that
with Allah's grace, Pakistan would be able to produce scientists who are world leaders
in their respective disciplines.
3. What benefits you think the Pakistani students derive from such
participation and should this program be continued in future?
Personally, the experience at Lindau has contributed to my making the decision that
a career in science is the way to go rather than directly plunging in to clinical
medicine. Clinical medicine is a horizontal study of the human body where we are
expected to know a little bit about every process and abnormality in the human
body. Research on the other hand encourages its pursuers to delve deeply and
vertically in to a narrow area of study e.g. the brain's anatomy. I think that this
program has in the past and will in the future contribute to convincing students from
all dsiciplines, that a career in science is just as rewarding (or even more), as
compared to an applied science discipline like medicine or engineering. This, if it
happens, will be a good thing for science in general and particularly in Pakistan, since
new knowledge is only generated though research and highly focused investigation.
4. How good was this organisation on the part of the Lindau council and
the organising committee?
As compared to the reports from previous years, this year's arrangements at the
Lindau meeting were truely exceptional. The Lindau council and its president had
made every effort to make the participants comfortable and provide them with many
opportunities to interact with each other and with the Nobel Laureates. I would
truely want to thank them for their thoughtful preparation for the meeting and for
their generosity in hosting us in Lindau.
Other Acknowledgements:
Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Waqar Butt - Senior scientist at
Pinstech, for his continued support before and throughout the trip. He
was also my consistently cheerful company at Lindau. Not to forget, the
good time we seven participants had together in Frankfurt, Lindau and
in Ulm. I could always see in all of them a future nobel laureate from
Pakistan - InshaAllah.
Laureates in Physiology or Medicine with students and young
researchers, 1st-6th July, 2007, Lindau, Germany.
By: Talha Vaqar
1. How good were you as compared to your fellow participants of
advanced countries?
The Pakistan squad representing at the 57th meeting of students with Nobel
laureates in Lindau, comprised 7 students/researchers in total. Six out of us hailed
from the medicine background while one was a dentist. At the meeting, the seven
Pakistanis featured prominently, actively participating in the formal lectures in the
mornings and also in other activities scheduled for the evenings. Many a good
questions were posed by members of the Pakistan squad at the question and answer
sessions following the lectures. This was commendable keeping in mind the fact that
most other participants came from a research background and a major chunk of them
had completed their Phd and were pursuing post-doctoral studies. One of the
Pakistanis even got a mention in the lecture of Nobel Laureate Dr. Bert Sakmann, as
he narrated the events of the past day's 'Science Bazar' in his lecture at Lindau. It
brought us great pride when Pakistan was mentioned among the very best
researchers from around the world.
2. Was the public money worth spending for this participation?
The idea of Pakistan's participation has a much deeper ideology than a superficial
thought might reveal. It is a part of the campaign to popularize science amongst the
masses in Pakistan. This program focuses to pick up bright students through a
rigorous selection procedure. This is with the hope that inspiration gained from
meeting highly accomplished contemporary scientists might help these students to be
leaders in the field of science in future. The initiative and the force to propel this
program forward come from Dr. N.M. Butt - Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation.
His dedication to the cause is unarguable. He has a unique quality of taking every
challenge with a smile on his face. The higher education commission has been
generous in supporting this program financially. If this program continues with the
sincerity that I observed during my own experience, I truly hope and expect that
with Allah's grace, Pakistan would be able to produce scientists who are world leaders
in their respective disciplines.
3. What benefits you think the Pakistani students derive from such
participation and should this program be continued in future?
Personally, the experience at Lindau has contributed to my making the decision that
a career in science is the way to go rather than directly plunging in to clinical
medicine. Clinical medicine is a horizontal study of the human body where we are
expected to know a little bit about every process and abnormality in the human
body. Research on the other hand encourages its pursuers to delve deeply and
vertically in to a narrow area of study e.g. the brain's anatomy. I think that this
program has in the past and will in the future contribute to convincing students from
all dsiciplines, that a career in science is just as rewarding (or even more), as
compared to an applied science discipline like medicine or engineering. This, if it
happens, will be a good thing for science in general and particularly in Pakistan, since
new knowledge is only generated though research and highly focused investigation.
4. How good was this organisation on the part of the Lindau council and
the organising committee?
As compared to the reports from previous years, this year's arrangements at the
Lindau meeting were truely exceptional. The Lindau council and its president had
made every effort to make the participants comfortable and provide them with many
opportunities to interact with each other and with the Nobel Laureates. I would
truely want to thank them for their thoughtful preparation for the meeting and for
their generosity in hosting us in Lindau.
Other Acknowledgements:
Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Waqar Butt - Senior scientist at
Pinstech, for his continued support before and throughout the trip. He
was also my consistently cheerful company at Lindau. Not to forget, the
good time we seven participants had together in Frankfurt, Lindau and
in Ulm. I could always see in all of them a future nobel laureate from
Pakistan - InshaAllah.
If you have any comments or queries,
please feel free to contact us:
editor@promotingresearch.com
please feel free to contact us:
editor@promotingresearch.com
To continue that positive and useful interaction and
exchange of ideas, a forum has also been made. Hopefully it
would be a platform for generating good discussions and
staying in touch with fellow students/scientists from around
the world. International Participants are also invited to
become members and share their experiences and ideas and
participate actively in the discussions.
Meetings of Young Scientists with Nobel Laureates
http://lindaualumni.blogspot.com/
exchange of ideas, a forum has also been made. Hopefully it
would be a platform for generating good discussions and
staying in touch with fellow students/scientists from around
the world. International Participants are also invited to
become members and share their experiences and ideas and
participate actively in the discussions.
Meetings of Young Scientists with Nobel Laureates
http://lindaualumni.blogspot.com/
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