10 top young scientists from Finland accepted to Singapore’s reputed Global Young Scientists Summit
Technology Academy Finland had the honor of nominating candidates from Finland for the Global Young Scientists Summit 2024 in Singapore. Ten top young scientists from Finnish universities and research centers will participate in this prestigious conference in January.
The scientists from Finland are eagerly awaiting the rare chance to meet a significant number of Nobel Prize, Millennium Technology Prize, Fields Medal, and Turing Award winners at a single occasion. Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS) brings together bright young researchers and top scientific minds from around the world for one week to discuss science and technology trends, future game changers, and how research could address major global challenges.
”I’m really excited to be in the same room with some of the biggest names in science and to hear directly from them about their scientific journey.”
Shruti Jain, University of Turku
”I’m really excited to be in the same room with some of the biggest names in science and to hear directly from them about their scientific journey. I’m also looking forward to meeting my peers from around the world, making valuable connections and sharing the thrill and excitement for science”, tells one of the participants, doctoral researcher Shruti Jain at the University of Turku.
GYSS is a multi-disciplinary summit that covers topics including chemistry, physics, medicine, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. Participants from Finland are particularly excited about the chance for cross-scientific exchange with other researchers.
”It is an amazing opportunity to hear the world-class experts from different fields discuss with each other, and to have one’s questions answered from different perspectives. Also meeting other early career researchers from different fields in science and from around the world is a precious chance to learn”, says Freddy Suarez Rodriguez, doctoral researcher at Åbo Akademi University.
Participants waiting to be inspired by world-class speakers
The GYSS 2024 speakers include two winners of the Millennium Technology Prize,the pre-eminent global technology prize awarded by Technology Academy Finland: Professor Martin Green, who was awarded the Prize in 2022 for pioneering global solar industry with his PERC solar cells, and Professor Shankar Balasubramanian, who won the 2020 Prize (together with David Klenerman) for developing fast and cheap DNA sequencing technology.
Shruti Jain and Freddy Suarez Rodriguez both work with applications that have been enabled by the innovation of next generation DNA-sequencing and are thus eagerly waiting to meet Professor Shankar Balasubramanian.
“The discovery of next generation sequencing has been an incredible boost in our knowledge of cell biology and genetics that I’m focused on in my research. I have a lot of questions for him about the future of the technology and also about professional development in research as a career”, says Freddy Suarez Rodriguez.
Maryam Mousavi from Aalto University is working with solar cell research and for her part, she looks forward to meeting the biggest name in the field, Professor Martin Green.
“I am working with newer solar cell technologies and trying to find interdisciplinary answers to my research questions. I believe talking with Professor Green and other experts at the summit will help me to come up with innovative solutions to existing issues in the third generation of solar cells”, Maryam Mousavi says.
Cross-sectoral cooperation feels interesting and rewarding to other GYSS-participants from Finland, as well, many of them having some links to the research of the two speakers awarded with the Millennium Technology Prize.
“With my research in fuel cells, I’m in the green energy area with Professor Martin Green. Furthermore, my research group at the university will continue with solar cell studies in the future so meeting him and learning from him will be very inspiring for me”, says Buse Bilbey, doctoral researcher at Tampere University.
“It’s going to be all about interdisciplinary brainstorming!”
Sanaz Zarabi, Aalto University
Joni Tanttu, doctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, is for his part using semiconductors in his work, similar to Professor Green.
“I am very curious to discuss with him about novel semiconductor materials, or other materials, that he is particularly excited about at the moment”, Joni Tanttu says.
At the Global Young Scientists Summit, participants will take part in lectures, plenary sessions, panel discussions and site visits. They will also have the opportunity to interact with and be mentored by world-class speakers in informal small group sessions that will allow closer work with the world’s best scientists.
Sanaz Zarabi, doctoral researcher at Aalto University, puts it well:
“It’s going to be all about interdisciplinary brainstorming!”
Other participants from Finland attending GYSS 2024, nominated by Technology Academy Finland, are: doctoral researcher Mahmoud Elsanhoury from University of Vaasa, doctoral researcher Ahmed Sedda from LUT University, senior scientist Tatu Pinomaa from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and doctoral researcher Parisa Mapar from the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at University of Helsinki and Amsterdam UMC and Cancer Center Amsterdam (joint doctorate).
