/ SNI INSight
Make Nano Visible: In 2023, INASCON will once again be held in Basel
From 22 to 25 August, the International Nanoscience Student Conference (INASCON) will be held at the University of Basel. The event, which is expected to attract some 100 guests from all over the world, is being organized by a team of eight nanoscience students and doctoral researchers at the university.
A conference organized by students for students — that was the idea of the first International Nanoscience Student Conference (INASCON), which was held in Silkeborg (Denmark) in 2007. Since then, nanoscience students from Europe and further afield have come together for this conference 18 times in eight different countries. Under the motto “Make Nano Visible,” the 2023 event will be the third time that the conference is hosted in Basel.
Alexa Dani is a master’s student in Basel and is in charge of communication as part of the organizing team. “We’re not only concerned with visualizing nanostructures using various microscopic methods,” she explains. “Indeed, the effects and benefits of structures and phenomena on the nanoscale also make nano visible — and that’s precisely what we want to talk about at the next INASCON.”
In addition to eight scientific sessions addressing wide-ranging aspects of the nanosciences, the event will feature an “opportunity fair” at which companies and academic institutions can present themselves. There are also plans for excursions and communal dinners aimed at facilitating interdisciplinary discussions and networking between participants.
“Organizing a conference is a feat of strength. The fact that a team of undergraduate and graduate students from the nanosciences is committed to INASCON for just this purpose is not a given. But the team will soon experience that the in-depth engagement with the content and the speakers is very rewarding.”
Professor Christian Schönenberger
The organizing team still has a great deal to do before interested early career researchers come together for this interdisciplinary exchange at the University of Basel’s Pharmazentrum in August. At present, Valerie Bendel, Mathias Claus, Alexa Dani, Timon Flathmann, Luca Forrer, Rahel Kaiser, Elaine Schneider and Lukas Schneider are meeting once a week to discuss details and make decisions. Between these meetings, the organizers work on the program and logistical questions such as accommodation and catering, as well as sponsoring, finances and communication.
The SNI team and Professor Christian Schönenberger are supporting them in these efforts, and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming many dedicated young nanoscientists to Basel in summer.
Further information: