Guest bloggers Ioanna Sigalou and Rowan Watson, President and Secretary of the Staffordshire University Biology Society, describe how the society was set up.
Staffordshire University BioSoc and Simon Watt
It’s no lie that every beginning is hard, especially when it comes to things that require people with different opinions coming together to share ideas! Things get hectic very quickly, which can make starting a new society an overwhelming thing to be a part of. It takes an enormous amount of effort individually and as a team to make things happen, but fortunately, young scientists are born for challenges and all that’s needed is a trigger.
For us at Staffordshire University, the trigger was the first ever Biology Week, held by the Society of Biology. It was a great opportunity to promote biology and create our BioSoc. We took part holding our first pub quiz and first documentary night which were a real success. Next thing, we had people interested in becoming part of the society! We then had to deal with filling in papers, planning a budget and upcoming events, including weekly documentary nights and monthly pub quizzes.
The ball was finally rolling, but we wanted to go a step further. So we organised our very first public lecture, bringing Simon Watt, an evolutionary biologist to talk about his work presenting on, and behind the scenes of Inside Natures Giants. The lecture was a great success, giving the audience intriguing information and encouraging people to think deeper about many environmental issues affecting animals and habitats.
It didn’t come easy for committee members to organise a public lecture, but we created a memorable event, driven by the words of Henry Ford: ”Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
So why join or even start a BioSoc at your university? For us it’s more than for social events, creating professional connections and obtaining new knowledge, it’s about people from different backgrounds coming together and forging long lasting friendships.
After all, being a scientist is more than generating knowledge; it’s also about sharing it and inspiring others.
For regular updates of our events, meetings and other interesting facts follow us on twitter: @staffsbiosoc or follow our blog.
The Staffordshire University Biology Society Committee is: Ioanna Sigalou (President), Sarah Welch (Vice President), Rowan Watson (Secretary), Tom Flint (Treasurer), Sara Sturdy (Creative Director), Katlin Kurg & Chad Holmes (Social Secretaries)
Are you part of a student biology society or keen to set one up? Register for free with the Society of Biology’s BioSoc network for a range of benefits. Click here to see a list of the BioSocs in our network.
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