This is one of the really cool things that they do in Helsinki. Every year the ecology and evolutionary biologists con 4 students into organising a symposium for their division (it used to be for the department, before it was poisoned by administratium). So here I am, live blogging whilst Hanna is mangling her Spanish introducing the foreign guests.
The symposium is over three days, and is mainly talks by the department’s PhD students. But they also invite three outside guests to talk (Thomas Hansen is now starting off).
They also give out feedback forms, asking us to assess the talks on things like organisation, voice, and handling questions. These are given to the student afterwards as feedback. Most of the people giving feedback are also students, so they don’t tend to be unkind.
As well as giving talks, the guests also have to judge the talks and give “Olli’s Prize” to the student with the best talk. This is given in a party at the end of the symposium, on Wednesday.
There are several reasons why this is a great idea. Obviously students get experience of giving talks, and feedback on them. It also provides a snapshot of the work going on in the division. One of the professors who has been to all of the symposia was saying that it was interesting how the topics had changed – less natural history and theory, and more molecular biology and evolutionary biology. It also helps the social side of the division – the coffee breaks and party at the end encourage students and everyone else to talk to each other.
The idea is so good that it has been taken up by other departments – I know Uppsala and BIO at the UEA now have something similar – I guess other departments do something similar.
This year they have added a little innovation – seminar bingo.
All good and thanks for seminar bingo which looks fun 🙂