Für Forschungs­talente von morgen

This year, the International Summer Science Institute (ISSI) program took place virtually. It was therefore not possible to work in the laboratories of the Weizmann Institute. Nevertheless, we participants were able to work on exciting and captivating research projects.

There were five groups, each working on a different cutting-edge research project together with a supervising mentor. My group worked on cellular heterogeneity in viral driven cancers supervised by Dr. Michael Mints. We not only got to learn a lot about the interesting mechanisms and pathways in cancers driven by viral infections but also about coding and extracting the most useful and interesting information from the data gathered from single-cell RNA sequencing. All of us did not have much experience with coding beforehand, which may be why we were even more excited and proud about having the first plots from our custom-made code.

Despite of the living in different time zones, we were working well together. My group consisted of six members living in the USA, Mexico, the UK, Germany and Switzerland. Therefore, we mostly worked in two teams: the North Americans and the Europeans. But still, there were many great moments when we worked together with all six members. Working with the other group members was a lot of fun, even though we were not in the same place. Sometimes I almost forgot that we were not in the same room.

Besides the projects, we had daily meetings on zoom with scientists talking about their fascinating research. It was amazing hearing from them how they got to the position they are in now and what they have experienced doing science. An integral part, contributing to the feeling of being a community, was our Discord server. We spent a lot of time playing online games, talking in the voice channels and just chatting at any time of the day. One big advantage of an international virtual program is always having someone who is up and awake.

Some fun activities on the server included, three truths and one lie, real-time mafia game, sending pictures from “outside the window” and asking questions about our countries in the “is it true that” chat. Towards the end of ISSI, it felt like we knew each other pretty well, even though we haven’t met in person.

Even now, several days after the ISSI program, we’re still in contact through our Discord server and write almost as much as we have during the program. It even doesn’t really feel like the program is over because we are all still connected and it will probably stay that way for some while 🙂

How many places in the world exist where three young people from three different continents can go for a hike, and casually start a conversation about epigenetics?

When I first heard about the ISSI I could hardly believe such a program existed let alone that I would be a participant one day. Even a month after coming back from Israel part of me still can’t believe it. When I heard about my project assignment, I was extremely excited, but I had no idea just how much I would love working on it. Our mentor, Yana, explained everything we did in great detail and really let us participate in lab work.

Before I came to the Weizmann, running a PCR was about the most exciting thing I had done in the Lab. Using a confocal microscope, running an LC-MS, or doing agroinfiltration was simply overwhelming. Seeing how much I enjoyed myself, Yana offered me to spend more time in the Lab. I ended up staying longer almost every single day. I remember being told that “all doors are open” at the Weizmann by almost everyone I met that had ever been there, but I did not truly understand until I experienced it myself. It took no more than a curious glance and people would start to explain their projects. Thanks to this, I ended up learning about much more than just what I was working on.

One of the first things that comes to my mind when I think about the ISSI is the night we spent in the desert. It was near the end of the camp, all of us were fairly sleep-deprived, and we knew we had to get up at 4:00 am, to hike up to Masada, so the sensible option would have been to go to sleep. However, Josua, Tal and I decided to stay up. We lay on our backs, feeling the warm desert rocks beneath us that had stored the scorching heat of the day and looked at the clear sky. We counted shooting stars and talked quietly until it was time to leave for the hike. When we walked back to grab our backpacks, we even saw a desert fox, disappearing into the dark without making a sound. We hadn’t exchanged more than a few sentences before that night, but by the end of it we were true friends.

However, it was not just the Lab work or the trips that made the ISSI so special to me, but small things like casual conversations about physics while swimming in the pool or trying to imitate each other’s accents and learning more about different cultures. We stayed up late almost every night, playing games, or talking, until we started to doze off. By the end of the summer camp all of us had become very close.

When I will have finished school next summer, I’m going to travel for about half a year, and hopefully visit as many of my friends from the ISSI as possible. I also hope to go back to the Weizmann Institute during my gap year and I’m currently looking into the visiting students program the Weizmann offers. I would like to thank the Swiss Society of Friends of the Weizmann Institute and everyone involved in the ISSI, especially my great mentor Yana who opened a whole new world to me in plant science.

I have always been a big fan of Israel, whether it’s because of its interesting history or its fascinating culture. Growing up, my father would tell me amazing stories of the time he spent living in Israel. So naturally, once I heard of the International Summer Science Institution and the opportunity they give to a selection of students, my interest was sparked. After speaking briefly with a friend who attended ISSI in 2016, I knew I wanted to go. From that point on, that was my main goal in school, to get good enough marks to get the opportunity to be a part of something so special.

Naturally I was ecstatic, when I was informed that I was one of the 73 students from all around the world that got accepted. My expectations were very high as I knew that this would be one of the best months in my life. Normally, when you go into something with such high expectations, you walk out of it feeling disappointed, because nothing can live up to the unrealistic standards you built up in your mind. This was different. Not only did this experience meet my expectations, it completely blew them out of the water. It was without a doubt the best month of my life – I learnt so much from the incredible people I met in Israel, whether it’s was the staff, my amazing mentor or my peers, all of which I consider lifelong friends now.

During our four weeks stay at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, no moment was unused, no time wasted. During the week our mentor would guide my lab partners, Elina and Gean, and me through the various assignments and projects we would complete during our time there. Together we mainly explored the mechanisms of the iron transport from mother to fetus. To do so we had to use various techniques and machines, which we all knew from theory, but to put that theory into practice and see it in action, was very interesting. After a long day at the lab, we would return to our youth village, where we would either attend an interesting lecture by one of the professors at the institute, work on other, smaller projects we were assigned to, or partake in one of the various social activities they had planned for us. These included for example an Israeli Falafel night with a dance party, the chance to perform our various talents in front of the President of Weizmann Institute or evening trips to Tel Aviv and Rehovot.

Even after those interesting, but very long days we would stay in the center of the youth village or in our clubhouse to play games or simply to talk. Whether it was about science or any other topic, these talks, that lasted long into the night and well past our bedtime, are one of my fondest memories of the month. The resulting state of sleep deprivation was just another thing we bonded over.

But the majority of the most memorable moments happened on the weekend excursion all across Israel. Exploring the amazing countryside, culture and history of Israel, is an experience by itself, but doing so with so many bright young people is a memory I will always cherish. We travelled all over the country, from the Galilee over Jerusalem to the Negev desert. We got to see Haifa and the Bahai Gardens, partake in a Druze feast, visit Yad Vashem, experience Jerusalem’s Old City and traditional markets, visit the desert and look at an unobscured night sky, go snorkeling at a coral beach near Eilat and go swimming in the Dead Sea. The hikes we went on in the Galilee and in the desert perfectly demonstrated the diverse landscape of Israel. During all the excursion we had multiple discussions and lectures that taught us more about Israel’s history and gave us all a deeper understanding of the Palestine-Israel conflict and Judaism as a whole.

At the end there was a real sense of community which is why saying good-bye was incredibly hard. Hardly anybody slept in the last 24 hours, as everybody wanted to maximize the spent with one another. We were brought together as strangers by our mutual curiosity and love for science, and are separating as, hopefully, lifelong friends. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that this was an unforgettable summer.

I want to thank the Weizmann Institute and Swiss Society of Friends of the Weizmann Institute for giving me and my fellow Swiss ISSI alumni this opportunity and allowing us to have the experience of a lifetime.

Unser Abenteuer begann im Juni 2017, als wir 8 Frauen uns am Flughafen Zürich trafen und uns zum ersten Mal sahen. Wir alle waren gespannt, was uns in Israel erwarten wird. Viele Gedanken gingen mir und vermutlich uns allen durch den Kopf.

Für viele von uns war es das erste Mal, dass wir längere Zeit ohne Eltern in einem unbekannten Land etwas unternahmen. Neben den freudigen Erwartungen mischten sich manchmal auch skeptische Gefühle – wir mussten uns einfach überraschen lassen. Im Nachhinein bin ich erstaunt, wie rasch die 28 Tage verflogen – der Abschied nahte viel zu früh.

Ich erinnere mich gut an die ersten Eindrücke, nachdem wir im Campus ankamen. Glauben Sie mir – alle Zweifel waren im Nu verschwunden und ich wusste, dass meine Bedenken unbegründet waren. Es war ein magischer Moment als ich realisierte, wie perfekt alles für uns vorbereitet und organisiert war. Ich fühlte mich sehr glücklich in einer wunderbaren, inspirierenden Umgebung voller Blüten und Bäume, in einem Park der zum Spazieren und zum Gedankenaustausch einlädt. Rückblickend genoss ich jeden einzelnen Moment, sei es im Labor, während den Vorlesungen oder nach der Arbeit beim Gedankenaustausch mit Freunden.

Ich interessiere mich für Naturwissenschaften – dies war der Grund, weshalb ich mich für das 4-wöchige Sumer-Camp am Weizmann Institut bewarb. Ich wollte meine Fachkenntnisse erweitern und vertiefen. Heute kann ich sagen, dass dieser Wunsch nicht nur in Erfüllung gegangen ist, sondern meine Erwartungen bei weitem übertroffen wurden. Mir wurde im Verlauf meiner Labortätigkeit bewusst, welchen enormen Beitrag die Wissenschaft für unsere Gesellschaft leistet, dass Fortschritt und Weiterentwicklung moderner Technologien nicht selten auf Grundlagenforschung beruhen, die am Weizmann Institut von grösster Bedeutung ist.

Neben der intensiven Auseinandersetzung mit unserem Forschungsprojekt wurde mir immer stärker bewusst, wie viele grossartige Leute am Weizmann Institut arbeiten und wie viele interessante Kolleginnen und Kollegen ich im Verlauf des ISSI kennenlernen konnte.

Die einzigartige Kombination von Wissenschaft auf höchstem Niveau und der Möglichkeit, ein internationales Netzwerk unter uns Jugendlichen aufzubauen, basierend auf persönlichen Freundschaften, die sich im Lauf der Zeit entwickelten, ist grossartig. Die Chance, mit 80 Jugendlichen aus der ganzen Welt zusammenarbeiten und sich austauschen zu können war einzigartig – vielleicht eine once-in-a-lifetime Erfahrung, die ich nie vergessen werde.

Wir verstanden uns auf Anhieb, verbunden durch die gemeinsamen Interessen an Naturwissenschaften. Die jeweils 4 SchülerInnen unterschiedlicher Nationalitäten, die in einem Häuschen zusammen wohnten, wurden schnell zu einer ‚Familie’. Nicht selten entwickelten sich tiefe Freundschaften. So lernte ich verschiedene Schulsysteme, Weltanschauungen und Lebensstile kennen. Oft tauschten wir uns aus über Gott und die Welt – es waren immer bereichernde, oft auch lustige und nicht selten inspirierende Gespräche, die sich bis spät in die Nacht hineinzogen.

Während unseren Ausflügen lernten wir die Vielfalt und Schönheit des Landes Israel kennen. Israel ist so vielfältig und bereichernd, nicht nur in sozialer sondern auch in kultureller und landschaftlicher Hinsicht. Ich lernte eine offene, tolerante Gesellschaft kennen, die sich stark unterscheidet von den Vorstellungen, die uns nicht selten durch die Presse in der Schweiz vermittelt werden.

Der letzte Sommer hat mich verändert. Ich habe mich in verschiedener Hinsicht weiterentwickelt, fühle mich beflügelt und glücklich, ich konnte meinen Horizont in verschiedener Hinsicht erweitern. Es war mir nicht bewusst, dass dies in diesem Ausmass jemals möglich sein könnte.

Das Abenteuer ist zu Ende, was bleibt sind Erinnerungen und eine tiefe Verbundenheit zu grossartigen Menschen, zum Weizmann Institut und zum Land Israel. Ich danke Ihnen aus tiefstem Herzen, ihnen allen, die mir die einmalige Möglichkeit gaben, am ISSI teilzunehmen. Hoffentlich werden auch in Zukunft viele Jugendliche aus der ganzen Welt Gelegenheit erhalten, am Weizmann Institut ähnlich prägende Momente zu erleben.

I had the chance to take part at the International Summer Science Institute at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. My time at the Weizmann institute was in different point of views a wonderful and unique experience.

First of all: Science! During my time at the Weizmann Institute I worked in the lab of Dr. Neta Regev-Rudzki about cell to cell communication in malaria. I learnt a lot about malaria and biochemistry in general. My mentor, Mrs. Meta Heidenreich, was very motivated in explaining us things and giving us the opportunity to work practically in the lab. She invested a lot of her time in working with us and everything was perfectly organized and planed. For me, it was also very important to get an insight in the daily work of somebody who is studying biochemistry, because I am probably going to study this subject later on.

Beside science another impressing experience was travelling around in Israel. Israel is a country with very interesting cultural and natural aspects. I have not known much about Israel and the Jewish culture before. The trips gave us the opportunity to visit different places in Israel. The trips were full of surprises and organized perfectly. One of my favorite places was Jerusalem. I am deeply impressed by the long history of this city. Strolling through the colorful markets was an amazing experience. For the first time in my life I saw the desert. Hiking in this landscape was splendid – in spite of the heat. I also will never forget the night we spent outside in the Negev desert.

Finally, meeting the other participants and the staff was a great experience. During my four weeks in Israel I had the opportunity to get touch with people in my age from all over the world. I learnt a lot about the situation of young people in other countries. I made a lot of friends and had a lot of interesting talks. Everybody was very open-minded and there was all the time a very positive atmosphere. I hope I will stay in touch with some of the people from the ISSI also in the future.

Everything in these four weeks was organized perfectly. The whole staff was very engaged in making these four weeks as great as possible. I felt save and knew that if would have a problem they would help me.

After all I can say that the ISSI 2016 was a really intense but also a unique and magnificent experience. I have had a really good time in Israel, which I will never forget!

How can you summarize all the unbelievable experiences of a whole month in a few words? I am going to approach that issue with focusing on some of the most impressive and sustainable memories which I made during this summer camp.

On the day we arrived at the institute I was totally stunned by the beauty of the surroundings and the facilities. Green lawns and colorful flowers welcomed us as we entered the main gate of the Weizmann campus. What is more, this inspiring environment did not cease to fascinate me. Simply equipped with my camera I spent many hours just indulging in the wonderful work of dozens of gardeners and other staff members. Whether trees which produced cotton or others with wound, root-like trunks the singular character of the plants has to be emphasized.

My most valuable memories certainly derive from the experiences which I made with students of other countries. Due to this special selection of young people there was some unique group spirit which accompanied us during the whole period of the camp. Most of the students were fairly mature and open-minded which was perfect for interesting conversations of all sorts. I particularly enjoyed the discussions about astronomy and philosophy for it is quite difficult to find peo-ple of the same age who are passionate about that. The social activities as ping-pong or soccer tournaments, our nightly outings to Rehovot with its inviting bars or at last my four awesome roommates made this stay to a perfect combination of science and fun.

Finally, what I surely will never forget is the fourth week which we spent in the desert. Although the schedule was quite tough it was an unbelievable experience. On the one hand it was a unique opportunity for me to approach Israeli nature and wildlife. Starting from encounters with black scorpions or griffon vultures to a bath in a refreshing oasis and eventually a night beneath a clear sky of stars: The impact of such a journey on a person who is passionate about nature cannot be described with words. On the other hand the trip was a very good possibility to intensify the bonds which we formed with each other during the preceding weeks.

I want to give an example regarding the night sky experience I already mentioned: Me and two other students from Germany were very keen about photography and firmly determined to better use the few hours sleep for astrophotography. It was an impressive atmosphere as we were sitting some distance away from the night camp amidst the quiet desert and supporting each other to accomplish as good pictures as we could of the Milky Way. This was just one of all these little experiences which really made our assembly of students that wonderful.

The month is over but all the beautiful and inspiring memories rest. I just want to thank you for enabling our little Swiss science group to be sent to that summer camp. It is a real enrichment and I am convinced that future Swiss representatives are going to share my excitement.

Returning from Israel left a hole within me; after an entire month packed with unique experiences, sitting at home and slowly easing back into daily routine feels odd. There is an incredible amount of reasons why I am intensely grateful for your support of the ISSI and I would like to highlight a few.

One predominant reason for applying for the program was the scientific part. I expected to come in touch with the way a postgraduate or doctor would work and think. Indeed, the project I was assigned to did not disappoint me in that respect but opened up an entire field of mathematics, the Lie algebras. Working in a group of three and being taught and supervised by a mentor was challenging and equally rewarding. There is one memory that shows clearly the joy of mathematics: Jared, one of the students on my project, and I were pondering on the solution of a problem all morning. We knew that only one link was missing and that we were very close. Queuing up for lunch, all of a sudden, I realise how we could use the Kronecker delta, turn to him and hastily explain. It worked flawlessly and we both felt the excitement of having persevered and reached the solution. It was thrilling.

As it would turn out, the impact the social interactions had on me was far greater than I had expected. Before I left, people would tell me that I would have an exceptionally great time with the other students, but I dismissed it, since I could not imagine how close we would get. There are countless memories of new friendships made, which was especially gratifying, because we all shared a common interest and were from many different countries. We also shared a persistent lack of sleep after the first night, since no one wanted to miss out on the long conversations.

Once, on the trip to the North, I did not sleep the entire night because together with Roy, a student from America, I talked throughout the whole night. There really was no time when the participants would not try and sit together in the clubhouse or play ping pong outside, watch a film or explore Rehovot.

The trips were an integral part of the summer camp, with the week spent in the desert being the most memorable. Beautiful hikes, looking for scorpions in the night, having stunning views on the desert or Eilat, climbing Massada or sleeping under the stars made the week unforgettable. One of my favourite memories from there is the night that we slept under the stars, since before we went to bed, we hiked a little bit and then lay down. Then, our guide, Rei, who was not just knowledgeable but also very friendly and quickly an important part of the group, showed us the different constellations with a beam while we were lying down in the still warm sand.

Obviously, as you surely have read and heard in the news, the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated while we resided at the Institute. It was probably in the second week that the first of many rocket sirens started, but in spite of the scary situations, I never felt unsafe. The staff took care of us and made sure we were fine throughout the entire month. Regardless of the special situation, I would like to commend the staff for having been both helpful and fun to be around. They also showed us the best way of dealing with the situation: carry on living. This is starkly illustrated by memory of the evening at the president’s house, where his speech was interrupted by the sound of sirens. We stayed in the safest place in the house and despite everyone being nervous and unsettled, we decided to go forward with the planned musical performance. It was a special moment when everyone joined in to sing Hallelujah that I will not forget.

I hope that although this is nowhere near an accurate description of the summer camp, it has given you a sense of what it was like for us during July 2014. I’d like to thank you so much for your support and hope you will continue making such experiences possible for future students.

When I attempt to recall everything I experienced in Israel, my mind is flooded with countless unforgettable memories and pure happiness. I’ve made so many friends for life, with whom I had the opportunity to conduct real research at Weizmann and to discover the country of Israel. I’d like to show my greatest thanks for enabling me to participate in the ISSI 2014.

Before takeoff heading to Israel, it already felt like we Swiss participants had known each other for ages as we could immediately relate to one another and were headed to the greatest adventure together. Although I had heard and read a lot about ISSI and Israel, none of my expectancies met what we experienced even closely. After arrival, we immediately were welcomed warmly to the Youth Village by the counselors and the other teenagers from across the globe and dived into the world of Weizmann. I could hardly believe I was so fortunate to make all these wonderful friends who come from completely different cultures but still have so much in common: The fascination for science and the eagerness to discover the world.

For the scientific part of the program, my two lab partners and I studied how «SARAF», a negative regulatory protein for calcium signaling processes, affects the proliferation rate of mouse embryonic fibroblast cells and the movement control in mice. As our lab work consisted of two main experiments, we utilized a broad array of scientific methods such as the infection and transfection of cells, immunohistochemical staining and locomotion experimenting with mice. Our mentor, our supervisor and all members of the Reuveny lab kindly introduced us to their scientific research with great patience and were always there to advise us if we happened to encounter any obstacles. I am extremely grateful to have had such great lab partners and lab members who motivated me even more to become a researcher in biology or chemistry with their passion for their research.

Despite the special security situation, we were still able to make our wishes to the Western Wall, discover the history of Caesarea, go snorkeling in Eilat, sunbathe in the Dead Sea, go hiking in the Galilee, the Judean and Negev desert and so much more thanks to the ISSI coordinators› planning. A memory I greatly cherish is the concert we held at Chaim Weizmann’s house with the president of the Weizmann Institute during repeated alarms. Everyone was singing the «ISSI fourteen» song we composed together, holding hands while seated on the floor in the safest area of the house. There are millions of people in the world that have to deal with military conflicts, but nevertheless try their best to continue with everyday life. The situation surely was unfamiliar to me at first, but at the same time it was very bonding among us participants and made me realize how fortunate we are.

My favorite part of the program, however, was the night hike and sleeping under the stars in the desert. It was so incredible to gaze at shooting stars together with the other participants and the counselors, which have become like a family to me. We’ve experienced so many things together and will surely stay in touch in the future.

In short, ISSI was the best summer in my life. I would like to thank you for making this incredible month at Weizmann possible. This experience has changed the way I see the world and opened many doors for me. The Weizmann Institute of Science felt like home; a place I would have loved to stay for a couple of years longer. Now I am certain the world of research is where I want to be.