Largest student conference in the Baltic States starts at RSU

On 4 and 5 April the International Student Conference is being held as part of the widely celebrated Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Research Week. Last year's student conference gathered approximately 2000 participants from 25 countries, which were unprecedented numbers for an event of this kind in the Baltic States. This year students have the opportunity to demonstrate their scientific achievements in 17 sections covering the fields of social and health sciences, as well as to participate in workshops and attend guest lectures. Students also have the opportunity to go on various field trips to the Saeima, for example, or visit various sector representatives. Participation in the event is open to all interested parties.

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On 4 April from 8:30 to 10:30 three speakers will give an address at the opening ceremony of the conference in RSU Great Hall: science journalist Sandra Kropa will speak about the importance of media in the representation of health and environmental issues; Associate Professor Noël Christopher Barengo, from the Florida International University, will give a report on the prevention of Dementia and Alzheimer's; Professor Matthew Goldsmith, of the University of Washington, will report on the therapy of acutely ill children.

The conference is organised in 17 sections over the span of 2 days – 3 sections are dedicated to social sciences: international relations and political science, economics and law, and communication science. Engaging students in these sectors has been successful – three times more abstracts have been submitted for this year’s conference compared to the previous year. Meanwhile the sector of healthcare and medicine will cover such topics as pharmacy, public health, internal diseases, surgery, oncology, gynaecology and others. Alongside section presentations, poster presentations will be displayed in the lobby of RSU, while guest lectures and practical workshops will be held in the afternoons of both conference days. Pursuant to prior application the guest lectures and workshops will be open to anyone interested.

Like every year the organisers of the conference intend to provide social science students with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge in their study area, as well as to expand their horizons by learning from one another about other areas. Two surgery workshops will be organised, for example – one for beginners, or for people who have never held a surgical needle in their hands, who will be able to learn the very basics of suturing, and another workshop for those with experience, i.e. medical students, who will be able to test their more complicated techniques. A unique workshop developed in co-operation with the Art Academy of Latvia will be offered to admirers of art and medicine. At the workshop each participant will use wax and special tools to re-create anatomically correct mimetic facial muscles and attach them to a model of a skull under the tutelage of artist Pascale Pollier.

Approximately 350 students from 12 different countries are participating in the conference with their scientific works; an international jury will evaluate their achievements. In order to introduce the foreign guests – both students and members of the jury – to the city, RSU students will offer guided tours showing off art nouveau architecture, the Central Market, and other impressive sightseeing objects.