LIYSF 2015: Day 2 – Opening Ceremonies

This morning, after a much-needed night of rest, we all headed to our breakfast across the campus. We are staying at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College, and we were given empty dorm rooms for the duration of our stay. Breakfast and dinner is done in shifts since there are so so many of us at the forum, thankfully I had the last shift, which meant sleeping in an extra half hour. I sat with Nur from Turkey and Lillian from Israel for breakfast, which was an amazing plateful of eggs sausage and bacon!

Next we all changed into our fancier set of clothes in preparation for the opening ceremonies. There was on official walk-in of the flag-bearers (65 countries represented!), and an opening keynote address by Professor Fiona Watt. This was extremely fascinating for myself particularly as she gave a presentation on stem cell research and regenerative medicine! The theme of the forum appears to be about internationalism, and collaborating with scientists from all over the globe. A fit theme for such a forum!

Following the opening we were left to find our own lunch (apparently the only day we don’t have it provided) and so I wandered around London with a couple of fellows from Spain to find food. (We didn’t get lost, goal still met). This afternoon we had another biology-related lecture, this time on viruses and transmission of pathogens. Needless to say, everyone washed their hands before dinner!

Finally after dinner is planned a welcome party at a venue down the street. They definitely emphasize the social aspect in addition to the science while we are here which is really cool what with the variety of culture!