Young Scientist Essay Contest for Graduate and Undergraduate students

Young Scientist Essay Contest

Subject: Essay Writing Competition
Subject Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Provider: ISU, UN
Country to be taken in: Any country

Essay Description
The ISU and the United Nations are pleased to announce the Young Scientist Essay Contest for graduate and undergraduate science students on the Essay Topic: Responsible conduct in the life sciences, the importance of safety and security as well as the role for international collaboration.

Whilst advances in the life sciences bring incredible promise, they also carry with them potential risks. International efforts continue to find ways to ensure that the life sciences are used solely for our collective benefit. The Biological Weapons Convention, as the world’s premier global forum to prevent the use of the life sciences to cause deliberate harm, will meet in December to consider the next steps. What role should the scientific community play in this process?

Essay Guideline
Submit an 800 word original essay by 1 November to take part.
All essays must include title, author’s full name, programme of study, degree enrolled in, name of institution and contact details. The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any entry judged as non-original or longer than 800 words and to use any entry for promotional purposes. The organizers are not responsible for any possible difficulties in submission. Only the winner will be notified of results.

Essay Winner Prize
The winner will receive a glass microbe sculpture from renowned artist Luke Jerram. The author of the winning entry will also be invited on an all expenses paid trip (according to standard UN arrangements) to Geneva, Switzerland, to read their essay to the Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention on 5 December.

How to Submit Essay
Entries should be submitted before 1 November 2011 in Word or PDF format to: bwc@unog.ch. By submitting you are agreeing to attend the BWC review conference.

For an example of the sort of essay required, see the winning entry by Alex Hatch in the 5th Annual Bioethics Contest, sponsored by the Institute of Biological Engineering, entitled: Four Suggestions for Addressing Public Concern Regarding Synthetic Biology.

Essay Submission Deadline: 1 November 2011