Student Symposium Research Articles

Scientific Research in Nova Scotia

On the evening of Monday, March 4, 2024, the Nova Scotian Institute of Science (NSIS) held a student symposium as part of its public lecture series. This year’s theme was Scientific Research in Nova Scotia, welcoming talks from all scientific disciplines.One goal was to highlight the diversity and breadth of research currently being conducted by students across the province. The NSIS Council therefore decided, as part of its lecture series, to invite short, 3-minute talks from students with projects at any stage of com-pletion. The focus was to attract young researchers to contribute more to NSIS activities. The limited time enabled the session to maximize the number of presenters. Many strong applications to present were received, and eight students were selected from various academic levels (from undergraduates to doctoral students) to give talks about their research. They also answered questions from the live audience and those watching and listening online. At the end of the evening, awards were presented to selected contributors, and all students were commended for very well-presented and interesting talks.The abstracts for the talks are provided below.

The Year Publication Rate of Presentations from the Inaugural Medical Student Orthopedic Society Research Symposium

Introduction Orthopaedic surgery is one of the most competitive residencies to match in medicine, the match rate has decreased to 63.1% in 2023.<sup>1,13</sup> Aspects of the application that are most in the control of applicants are their personal and research experiences in the field and their choice of acting internships. The Medical Student Orthopaedic Society (MSOS) hosted the first national, and virtual orthopaedic research symposium for medical students. This study aimed to examine the short-term publication rate of the research presented at the 2022 MSOS Research Symposium. Methods The titles of the articles and the names of the presenters from the MSOS program were used to search for publications via PubMed and Google Scholar search engines. If no matching result was found, the article was considered not published. If the presentation was published in a journal within our study period, the updated title, name and gender of the medical student and senior author, name of the journal, and date of publication were recorded. Demographic variables among presenters included gender, and current training status. These were determined via a Google search. Impact factors were extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database for the year of 2023. Results For the 2022 MSOS Symposium, a total of 300 presentations were given. Nineteen publications had to be excluded. Of the 281 presentations included in this study, 129 were published in a peer-reviewed journal within 18-months after the symposium (45%). Presentations were published on average 165 days (~5.5 months) after the symposium. Of the journals that had an impact factor score, the average was 2.18. Categories with over 60% publication rate were Practice Management and Health Disparities, shoulder and elbow, and medical education. Among presenters whose projects were published, 74% identified as men and 26% as women. The papers’ senior authors were 85% men and 15% women. Of those that participated and published in the 18-month period, 22% of individuals matched into orthopedics the following year, 9% matched into another residency, 38% were still medical students, 30% statuses were unknown or could not be determined. Of those schools represented, 20 schools (35 participants) did not have a home program at their institution, also known as orphan programs. The presenter was the first author in 53% (69) of the published works. Discussion The Medical Student Orthopaedic Society (MSOS) touted a publication rate of 45% which is comparable to the rates of publication in less time than numerous other meetings (~5.5 months). This may be due to medical students’ finite amount of time to gain the experience necessary to apply, suggesting there is a higher motivation to get research out and published. However, further research into the participation levels of presenters would need to be studied directly to give a definitive understanding as to why first authorship was not provided to the presenter. Participants that published were majority male and attended allopathic schools. Most were still in medical school, while 21% have matched into an Orthopaedics program, 9% matched into another program and 30% could not be determined at this time. Conclusion As the goal for a medical student is to successfully match it is highly important that opportunities are not only accessible but allow for URiM and orphan medical schools to engage in a meaningful way.<sup>11</sup> The MSOS is hopeful that this virtual symposium can be beneficial in expanding exposure to orthopaedics through research opportunities and experiences. <sup>1</sup>

Organizing a Regional In-Person Medical Student Symposium in Neuroscience and Neurosurgery Research: A How-To Guide

BackgroundMedical students are increasingly seeking out research opportunities to build their skills and network with future colleagues. Medical student-led conferences are an excellent endeavor to achieve this goal. MethodsThe American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) student chapter at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell designed an in-person medical student research symposium alongside the Northwell Health Department of Neurosurgery. Post-conference feedback forms were sent out digitally to student attendees to evaluate event planning and execution and responses were given on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the highest score). ResultsIn December 2023, the Northeast Medical Student Research Symposium (NMSRS) was held with over 80 participants and 52 medical student presenters. Keynote speakers delivered lectures geared towards students interested in neurosurgery and neuroscience research, followed by an interactive poster board session and resident/attending networking dinner. After the conference, students affirmed that they learned more about neuroscience research after the event (mean: 4.3), were more inclined to attend other neuroscience research events in the future (mean: 4.7), and would attend this event if held next year (mean: 4.8). The poster sessions (mean: 4.75) and keynote lectures (mean: 5) were the highest rated events, while the resident/attending networking dinner (mean: 3.6) was a potential area for improvement. ConclusionRegional in-person conferences are an excellent way to foster interest in neurosurgery and neuroscience research, network with like-minded peers, and prepare students for presentations at national meetings.

Beyond barriers, towards diversity: how hybrid student conferences can drive accessibility.

The third International Student Symposium on Animal Behaviour and Cognition (ISSABC) aimed to address barriers for early career researchers, hosting a conference both in-person and online at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). The conference, attended by 101 in-person and 79 virtual participants from 24 countries, featured 81 presentations, 29 posters, five plenary talks, three workshops, and a career development round-table discussion. A user-friendly website and digital platforms facilitated communication and real-time discussions between in-person and online participants. Transparent fund management, support from sponsors and societies, and sustainable practices ensured financial accountability and minimised environmental impact. The conference emphasised sustainability measures, including eco-friendly catering and local reusable mugs. Future organisers of similar events are encouraged to prioritise local representation, plan contingencies, select plenary speakers rigorously, and employ effective marketing. With this meeting review, we highlight how hybrid conferences like the third ISSABC, through innovative approaches and sustainable practices, enhance accessibility, inclusivity, and empower the next generation of scientists.

The ASLO Multicultural Program: 34 Years of Leading the Way for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Success

AbstractThe ASLO Multicultural Program (ASLOMP) began in 1990 to promote diversity in the aquatic sciences. It involves brining diverse undergraduate and graduate students to annual ASLO meetings. The students participate in special programing that includes an opening dinner and keynote speaker, a student symposium where they present their work, a field trip, and work with meeting mentors. Between 1990 and 2023, 1443 different students participated in ASLOMP. They were a diverse lot; 43.0% African American, 33.0% Hispanic, 6.4% white, 6.4% Native American, 5.3% Pacific Islander, 3.5% Asian, and 2.4% other. Participants have gone on to be the first persons of color to serve on the ASLO Board of Directors and to assume other leadership positions in the society. Many former ASLOMP participants have gone on for advanced degrees and often return as mentors in the program. The ASLOMP model has been adopted by various other scientific societies including the Ecological Society of America (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability ‐ SEEDS), the Society of Wetland Scientists, Sigma Xi, and the Coastal and Estuarine and Research Federation. The founding of ASLOMP demonstrated the usefulness of empowered allies in leading efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Promoting diversity in neurosurgery through a virtual symposium.

The rates of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (UREM) students successfully matching into neurosurgical residency are extremely low and do not reflect the makeup of the general population. As of 2019, only 17.5% of neurosurgical residents in the United States were women, 4.95% were Black or African American, and 7.2% were Hispanic or Latinx. Earlier recruitment of UREM students will help to diversify the neurosurgical workforce. Therefore, the authors developed a virtual educational event for undergraduate students entitled "Future Leaders in Neurosurgery Symposium for Underrepresented Students'' (FLNSUS). The primary objectives of the FLNSUS were to expose attendees to 1) neurosurgeons from diverse gender, racial, and ethnic backgrounds; 2) neurosurgical research; 3) opportunities for neurosurgical mentorship; and 4) information about life as a neurosurgeon. The authors hypothesized that the FLNSUS would increase student self-confidence, provide exposure to the specialty, and reduce perceived barriers to a neurosurgical career. To measure the change in participant perceptions of neurosurgery, pre- and postsymposium surveys were administered to attendees. Of the 269 participants who completed the presymposium survey, 250 participated in the virtual event and 124 completed the postsymposium survey. Paired pre- and postsurvey responses were used for analysis, yielding a response rate of 46%. To assess the impact of participant perceptions of neurosurgery as a field, pre- and postsurvey responses to questions were compared. The change in response was analyzed, and a nonparametric sign test was performed to check for significant differences. According to the sign test, applicants showed increased familiarity with the field (p < 0.001), increased confidence in their abilities to become neurosurgeons (p = 0.014), and increased exposure to neurosurgeons from diverse gender, racial, and ethnic backgrounds (p < 0.001 for all categories). These results reflect a significant improvement in student perceptions of neurosurgery and suggest that symposiums like the FLNSUS may promote further diversification of the field. The authors anticipate that events promoting diversity in neurosurgery will lead to a more equitable workforce that will ultimately translate to enhanced research productivity, cultural humility, and patient-centered care in neurosurgery.

Investigation on learning behavior of undergraduates in application-oriented universities

Based on the NSSE-China measurement tool, combined with the actual situation, as well as the need for research, selected some indicators, and finally compiled the undergraduate learning input research questionnaire, online questionnaire research for all undergraduates, and at the same time, through the student symposium, field visits, and other forms of offline research. By analyzing the results of the empirical research on undergraduate learning investment in the School of Information Technology of NingboTech University, the problems existing in undergraduate learning investment in applied colleges and universities were found, and targeted suggestions and improvement initiatives were finally put forward to address the existing problems.

Joint event: 8th Regional Symposium on Electrochemistry of South-East Europe (RSE-SEE 8) and 9th Kurt Schwabe Symposium

After a one-year delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 8th Regional Symposium on Electrochemistry of South-East Europe was held jointly with the 9th Kurt Schwabe Symposium from July 11-15, 2022 at Graz University of Technology in Austria. This special edition of the jESE contains a collection of articles presented at this meeting. The 5-day event (including Monday’s Satellite Student Symposium) organized by the Association of South-East European Electrochemists (ASEEE) featured 5 plenaries, 15 keynotes, 71 contributed talks and 38 posters and was attended by 152 scientists and researchers from 23 countries.

Session S1: WORKSHOPS I / First International Student Symposium on Future Doctors Educating the World

Session S1: WORKSHOPS I / First International Student Symposium on Future Doctors Educating the World

Communication skills in practice vs. communication in the real world: Insights from an international medical student symposium

ObjectiveTo explore and compare medical students’ experiences with communication skills training (CST) in medical education. MethodFive medical students from the U.S., U.K., and Ireland shared their experiences with CST at a 90-minute symposium held at the 2022 International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH). ResultsStudents identified two areas of CST that may affect their preparedness for real-world clinical practice: 1) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communication teaching and learning, and 2) the need to effectively communicate with diverse patient populations. ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic brought major changes to CST, and though training programs varied in their approach, students found that they were able to successfully adapt while gaining valuable skills needed to navigate communicating with patients on virtual platforms. When learning to communicate with patients from diverse backgrounds, students perceived generalized strategies that equipped them with the skills needed to adapt to uncertainty to be the most valuable. Practice implicationsCollaboration between medical schools, both nationally and internationally, provides opportunity to share areas of strength and avenues for improvement in CST. Representation of learner perspectives is essential in order to better understand how well current educational methodologies prepare learners to enter real world clinical practice.

McMaster Child Health Conference 2023

The McMaster Child Health Conference (MCHC) is an annual symposium for stakeholders, faculty, and students from multiple disciplines to discuss issues, policies, and novel research relevant to child health and development. For their 8th year, the conference invited the Hamilton community to explore the theme “Food for Thought: Nutrition &amp; Health in Child Development" at the first in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 11, 2023. Keynote speakers and workshop leaders covered a range of topics from consequences of maternal nutritional on perinatal development to food insecurity among children in Hamilton, and more!

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Curriculum: The Digital Platform and Student Symposium Presentations

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University and is in collaboration with New York City Public Schools. This large-scale project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), generated a large amount of data through programming that engaged both teachers and students. This article presents the third part to the study with focus on the Digital Platform and results from the student Symposium presentations. Part 1 focused on Underrepresented Minority (URM) student interest in STEM as motivated by the original project. Part 2 focused on URM student engagement with teachers to support students in teaching science through experiential learning and lessons that connect science to the real world, particularly through science in the New York Harbor. Moreover, the second part of the study focused on teacher engagement in the program, and what the researchers had learned in the process. The third aspect of the study, and primary focus on this paper, had found additional positive results cited by the teachers in the study both using the Digital Platform and after the project outcomes from the student Symposium presentations.

Listen to yourself and others: community governance from a multicultural perspective

With the successful opening of the international academic symposium on Community Governance from a Multicultural Perspective held in Beijing, People from all over the world came to Beijing, China to participate in the international student symposium on Community governance. This seminar is co-sponsored by Renmin University of China and the University of California, USA, and assisted by Beijing People's Radio and Property Magazine. The purpose of this conference is to build a harmonious community and a harmonious society in China. In this paper, by drawing lessons from different countries and regions to govern the development of communities, so as to foster the strengths and avoid the weaknesses, and choose suitable methods for China's community governance.

Using Open Access Institutional Repositories to Save the Student Symposium during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities around the world were forced to close or move to online instruction. Many institutions host yearly student research symposiums. This article describes how two universities used their institutional repositories to adapt their student research symposiums to virtual events in a matter of weeks. Both universities use the bepress Digital Commons platform for their institutional repositories. Even though the two universities’ symposium strategies differed, some commonalities emerged, particularly with regard to learning the best practices to highlight student work and support their universities’ efforts to host research symposiums virtually.

Introduction

The University of Florida Classics Graduate Student Symposium is an annual meeting of graduate students organized and hosted by the graduate students of the Classics Department of the University of Florida. Every year, under the supervision of Dr. Eleni Bozia, and with the generous support of the Rothman Endowment of the Classics Department and the Center for Greek Studies, we pose questions and invite consideration of topics that push the boundaries of our field in an attempt to interpret antiquity, modernity, and their intersection. Since October 2017, we have been welcoming graduate students from the United States and Europe whose research is invested in different fields in the humanities and engaging with them in constructive discussions that illuminate the Greco-Roman world as well as current social, political, and cultural issues.

Narrating New Normal: Graduate Student Symposium Report

This article summarizes the events at Narrating New Normal: Graduate Student Symposium, held virtually on May 17–18, 2021. The symposium was organized by a number of graduate students from the School of Communication and Film (previously named the School of Communication) and was supported by Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images and the School of Communication and Film. It was attended by an international roster of graduate students hailing from academic institutions and think tanks in different countries. The presentations focused on the usage of the phrase new normal, a popular term during crises, in various geopolitical, geocultural, and historical contexts. The essay discusses first the background and theoretical framework that informs the symposium. Conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, a global crisis that has seen the use of the phrase new normal in describing the shifts in our daily lives or imaginations of a postcrisis future. Taking a critical approach, the symposium aims to interrogate how the phrase is used by different social institutions, corporations, and individuals in various crises, considering how it normalizes precarity. This essay also summarizes the keynote lecture delivered by professor Michal Krzyzanowski (Uppsala University) on the discursive strategies of normalization and mainstreaming. It also covers the papers and discussions across four panels that examined the different aspects of normalization and of new normal in its various incarnations: geopolitics, networked media spaces, normalization and precarity, and popular culture. The article ends by offering a synthesis of the major threads that tie the presentations and addresses together. It proposes that while the phrase new normal normalizes and obfuscates precarity, it also suggests that there are pockets of optimism during crises where we can witness human resilience and individual agency.

Experiencing racism within medical school curriculum: 2020 ICCH student symposium

ObjectiveTo explore student experiences relating to racism, microaggressions and implicit bias within healthcare communication and medical education in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement MethodsStudents and faculty from different racial/ethnic backgrounds, medical schools, countries, and levels of training shared their perspectives with a multi-disciplinary, international audience at the 2020 International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH). ResultsWe highlight experiences shared at the symposium and demonstrate how the student voice can help shape the medical school curriculum. 3 main themes are discussed: 1) Institutional bias and racism, 2) Racial discrimination during medical training and 3) Recommendations for curricula change. ConclusionRacism influences many aspects of student experiences and often appears in covert and institutional forms. These shared experiences reflect a common problem faced by ethnic minority medical students. Practice implicationsStudent experiences provide thoughtful recommendations for educators regarding incorporating anti-racism teaching into their curricula. It is essential that this teaching is collaborative, non-tokenistic and implemented early in the syllabus. It is beneficial for educators to build on the various existing approaches demonstrated by other institutions.

Manuscript Accepted!: Collaborating on a scholarly publishing symposium for graduate students and early career academic faculty

INTRODUCTION As academic libraries expand their scholarly communication support, they also need to find ways to help educate graduate students about this area as well as market themselves. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM The University of Nevada, Reno Libraries created a one-day symposium, called Manuscript Accepted!, aimed at graduate students and early career faculty that would use faculty and library expertise to lead panels and workshops. This article discusses planning for the event, including collaborating with other on-campus groups, working with publishers for financial support, and planning a program that would meet a variety of needs. Assessment of the first two symposiums, held in 2019 and 2020, shows that attendees valued the event while also highlighting the need for more targeted support for specific areas, such as the humanities. NEXT STEPS The Libraries plans to continue Manuscript Accepted! as a one-day symposium, although it will also look to ways to expand attendance. Finally, the Libraries is investigating ways to create smaller events that could be tied into the Manuscript Acceptance! brand but that help meet other needs of our attendees.

Cultivating Community in the Virtual Classroom: Using Showcases and Symposia to Share Lessons Learned in Anatomy and the Human Connection

Introduction In 2020, as classroom environments shifted abruptly from in-person offerings to largely Zoom-mediated learning spaces in response to COVID-19 restrictions, educators were challenged to engage students behind the box. Moreover, the unplanned and sustained lack of physical classroom interaction disrupted the learning community, a factor that contributes to higher student satisfaction and achievement. Our objective was to engage students with their peers and class material in the virtual learning environment. Methods: Zoom was used to deliver two distinct classroom events: a virtual showcase in an undergraduate systems-based anatomy course and a student symposium on sociocultural influences on gastrointestinal (GI) diseases and conditions in a second-year integrated medical GI & Nutrition course. The undergraduate virtual showcase featured abstract art of neurodegenerative diseases that correlated with topics in nervous system anatomy. Students used a variety of media, such as canvas paintings, sketches, and clay molds, to communicate the anatomy relevant to their disease topic and their interpretation of the effects of this disease on the patient and their families. During the virtual showcase, students viewed a rotating slide-show of the work of their peers and completed a reflection assignment. For the second project, students were organized into small groups of 5 or 6 and asked to interview multiple stakeholders involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of a disease of their choosing within predetermined categories, such as oral/pharyngeal health or chronic liver disease. Each student interviewed a person with a unique narrative related to the disease and the group creatively synthesized their findings. For example, one group role-played the experience of the patient from initial diagnosis of colon cancer with their doctor to the follow-up with the healthcare team and support groups. They presented perspectives from a patient, physician, family caretaker, support therapist, dietician, and colon cancer researcher. Results: The top 30 (of 135) art submissions were featured in an undergraduate anatomy showcase on Zoom. Student feedback was mostly positive, with 64% (n=135) indicating strongly agree (39%) or agree (25%) when asked if they enjoyed opportunities to be creative in the anatomy classroom. Additional artforms were requested by students. The student symposium was designed as a two-hour mini-conference with 206 medical students organized into 36 groups. Six groups presented concurrently every 20 minutes among six different Zoom accounts. Additionally, students signed up to attend five peer presentations. Preliminary feedback revealed several themes including a deeper appreciation of GI anatomy and the lived experience of the patient, the importance of supportive healthcare roles in patient treatment (e.g. dieticians, caregivers, community support), and pride in their peers' creative presentations.Conclusions: These projects highlight ways to foster a thriving learning community in a virtual environment. During a particularly difficult period for student engagement these activities provided students with connections to the lecture content, to each other as peers, and to their wider communities.

Medical students in the midst of COVID-19 -Report of the joint student symposium in the Joint Congress of Global Health 2020 in Osaka-

Medical students in the midst of COVID-19 -Report of the joint student symposium in the Joint Congress of Global Health 2020 in Osaka-