The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI), in close cooperation with the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute (VTLCI), has launched the Global Summer Research Institute (GSRI). To take place May 29th through August 4th, 2012, GSRI will provide international interns the opportunity to engage in scientific research at a world-class university, assisting those without this experience to build their credentials for graduate study.
Reinhard Laubenbacher, Director Education and Outreach at VBI, states, "Education initiatives at VBI are designed to identify and groom our next generation of scientists. We are excited to offer the Global Summer Research Institute, which combines integrated interdisciplinary research team activities with workshops on leadership, presentation skills, team-building, and writing skills."
During their time at VBI, interns will work closely with an interdisciplinary team on a research project. They will receive guidance in developing graduate applications, giving talks on their projects, and writing scientific reports and papers. At the close of the institute, successful participants will receive a certificate of completion and a letter of recommendation from a sponsoring professor.
The VTLCI will assist VBI in promoting the program through its international contacts and university partnerships. “We will be actively showcasing the GSRI to some of the most prominent universities in the world, seeking their best undergraduate talent for participation in this unique, highly selective program,” says VTLCI Director, Don Back. “We aim to attract this talent to Virginia Tech later on for their graduate work.”
For more information and to apply, please visit: http://gsri.vbi.vt.edu.
About the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute
The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech is a premier bioinformatics, computational biology, and systems biology research facility that uses transdisciplinary approaches to science, combining information technology, biology, and medicine. These approaches are used to interpret and apply vast amounts of biological data generated from basic research to some of today’s key challenges in the biomedical, environmental, and agricultural sciences. With more than 240 highly trained multidisciplinary, international personnel, research at the institute involves collaboration in diverse disciplines such as mathematics, computer science, biology, plant pathology, biochemistry, systems biology, statistics, economics, synthetic biology, and medicine. The large amounts of data generated by this approach are analyzed and interpreted to create new knowledge that is disseminated to the world’s scientific, governmental, and wider communities.
About the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute
Part of the Office of Outreach and International Affairs, the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute (VTLCI) supports the university’s engagement mission by leveraging international partnerships and programming to attract the best and brightest students and professionals from around the globe. Through its efforts, the VTLCI exposes domestic students to other cultures, values and languages, enriching discovery and learning and contributing to the diversity of the university community. VTLCI has locations in Blacksburg at the main Virginia Tech campus and in the National Capital Region at the university’s Northern Virginia Center. The institute hosts over 500 students per year from over 30 countries spanning the globe, served by over 50 professional faculty, instructors and staff.
Contact:
Tiffany Trent
ttrent@vbi.vt.edu
540-231-6822
