We conducted our second and final bioBREAKFAST of the Autumn semester! As students have become to feel stressed with final exams and presentation and may have been feeling a little blue due to the dark season we thought a cozy bioBREAKFAST would be a nice way to start off the week. BioBREAKFAST is always a success as it allows students from multiple disciplines of study and academia to come and interact with one another in a relaxed learning environment. We provided a variety of fruits, warm drinks, Christmas goodies, and freshly baked cinnamon buns from the UNIS cantina for the students to eat as they mingled and took their seats.
Our first speaker was a Master’s student in the Arctic Geophysics department named Erland Kalleid. He informed us about his Master thesis in which he is studying the mechanisms behind the Arora borealis. This was super interesting as he described the impacts they may have on the ionosphere and their potential to break down ozone. After his presentation the biologists had a lot of questions as we are unfamiliar with this study. It was really cool to allow an environment for students to interact without the pressures of misunderstanding. Erland was great at answering the student’s questions and I think everyone learned a thing or two from his presentation.
Our second speaker was a new PhD student in the Arctic Biology department named Snorre Flo. Snorre first discussed his Master’s project in which he studied single celled diatoms, marine biology, and bioinformatics. He told us that though this was very exciting for him he is happy to be doing something different for his PhD. His PhD study consists of zooplankton, which is whole new field for him. He informed the group that it’s okay to study different things and that your bachelor/Master field does not have to fully translate into your PhD if you become interested in another area of study. This was really nice for students to hear as it’s easy to feel unsure when applying to different programs.
The overall environment was warm and inviting and students who attended had a nice time. It was enlightening to hear from both a Masters and a PhD student from different courses of study. BioBREAKFAST #2 was another success!
Julia Troxell (bioCEED Student Representative Autumn 2019)