Every year, first-year EMBL PhD students organise a three-day scientific symposium. Going 26 years strong, each iteration is a unique product of the diverse cast of students and the defining scientific focus of that time period. Quickly skimming through the gallery of past symposia would convince you of it. 

This year, our batch of PhD students set out to highlight the work being done outside of well-established fields of biological research. Biology as we see today is the product of decades of cumulative scientific knowledge: paradigms, model organisms with established gene editing tools, and tried-and-tested experimental techniques. However, these were once uncharted territory, pioneered by researchers who aimed to revolutionise science. With biological research innovating at an almost daily pace, this is the perfect moment to ask where biology is being newly discovered.

The symposium is 100% student-organised, from brainstorming the theme to the final bow at the wrap-up. While it gives us freedom, it also comes with a catch… As the saying goes, the more you know, the more you realise you don’t know. And that’s not just about the science we aim to showcase, but the work of organising a three-day event. It wasn’t until I started working on promotions and outreach that I realised just how much coordination and care goes into advertising our event – and I know that I can say this for the rest of the crew, too. Having the EMBL Courses and Conference Office (CCO) to guide us was a true lifesaver in the moments of uncertainty, of which there were a lot more than I’d like to admit. Still, we continue onwards, with the hopes of organising something that we can proudly say that it benefited students at every point in their academic career: this is why we’ve provided registration options for undergraduates, on top of the normal invitation to PhD’s, late-stage academics, and researchers in industry.

So, let us invite you to take a leap into the unknown and celebrate the beginning of pioneering research that could revolutionise biology in the 26th EMBL PhD Symposium ‘Biology outside the box’.

See you all soon!

Jae Min Eum, Head of Promotions & Outreach for the EMBL PhD Symposium (together with the symposium organising committee)