by Nivedita Bhadra
BioSoc, which is now in it’s seventh year, works hard to enhance the value of degree courses across the Biosciences, encouraging connections to industry and between coursemates.
Nivedita, the BioSoc President takes us through the process of getting BioSoc affiliated with IBMS.
“I didn’t know much about affiliations until Dr Jill Shepherd asked during one of her 9 am Investigation of Disease lectures on a Monday morning at the start of the semester if anyone from BioSoc was present in her lecture (a question that took most of us by surprise as it is not very often that professors talk about societies. As most of you have probably guessed, yes, I was there in the lecture. A few of us put up our hands. She then suggested that we could consider getting BioSoc affiliated with the IBMS (Institute of Biomedical Science) as it would help source speakers and sponsors for society events and we would be able to access promotional items and literature for our society.
After that, I got in touch with Jill again and she signposted me to the IBMS website where I found their Public Engagement email. The first step was sending an email expressing interest in getting BioSoc Affiliated with the IBMS followed by filling in a few forms and paying a small student membership fee as one of the requirements was that someone in the committee had to have IBMS membership. The whole process took around a month, at times without much communication and long periods of silence from their side. During these slightly frustrating times Jill reminded me to stay calm and be patient as these things often take time to process.
Being affiliated with a national accrediting body such as IBMS is important as it establishes a connection between our society and the local IBMS region and branch, with opportunities for attending events and networking. The regional IBMS career events will be free to attend for the society members so they will be able to grow academically and professionally as they learn about the different job opportunities available. There will also be opportunities for students to contribute into IBMS guidance, careers advice and publications. Lastly, the affiliation will help to promote BioSoc’s news and events as well as set up links to local employers.”