Students seek career advice from Nobel laureates
On 25 September, contestants participating in this year's European Union contest for young scientists in Budapest Hungary were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to seek career guidance from a group of highly acclaimed Nobel laureates. During an hour long session, Nobel laureates Harold Kroto and Ivar Giaever, as well as the president of the Hungarian academy of sciences, Szilvester Vizi, were asked by students to comment on a number of topics, including careers in science and the public's perception of scientific investigation. The laureates were first asked to outline the attributes needed in order to become a good scientist. Sir Harry, who was awarded the noble laureate for the discovery of fullerenes in 1996, explained that curiosity in abundance is the most important attribute a scientist could have. 'Just being interested and fascinated by how things work is a good start,' he said. While agreeing with these sentiments, Professor Giaever and Professor Vizi suggested that the question is a little more complex. 'What's important in science is knowing how to put it into practice,' explained Professor Vizi, a specialist in the area of neuro-chemical stimulus transmission. Asked to provide advice to potential scientists across Europe on which avenues to take in the beginning, the panel agreed that students should not be too career-orientated. 'It is important to make sure that you have covered the basics when first starting out,' explained Professor Giaever, who received the Nobel prize in 1973 for his pioneering studies in superconductivity that led to the landmark discovery of tunnelling superconductors. 'Hit science when you are young and the world will become your oyster,' he added. 'I think that young people interested in science shouldn't worry about their careers,' said Sir Harry. 'Instead, students should simply focus on doing their experiments to the best of their ability [...]. If dedicated, they will find a lot more avenues will open up to them.' However, according to Professor Vizi, young people interested pursuing a career should find themselves mentors. 'Structuring their ideas early on is very important,' he said. 'My advice is to find someone who is really brilliant in a field and learn their way of thinking.' The panel was also asked to comment on the current gap between science and the public, and the lack of understanding of the benefits science brings to society. 'This is a relatively new phenomena,' explained Sir Harry. 'In the last 30 to 40 years, life science and technology have made our lives so much easier, but because we are submerged in it, we don't appreciate the benefits they bring.' Both Professor Giaever and Professor Vizi also agreed that the negative perception held by a majority of the public is due to a lack of understanding and a changing world. 'Unfortunately, many people are more money minded these days and are not interested in taking time to see the benefits of science or pursuing a career in the field,' Professor Vizi told CORDIS News. 'Science is perceived as difficulty and students tend to go towards careers that are better paid.' However, Professor Vizi believes that with a new direction in European scientific policy, better dialogue can be established between science and society. 'The EU is going in the right direction with its call for a European Research Area and a Higher Education Area,' he said. 'This should encourage more people to be get involved in science.'
Countries
Hungary