The Graduate Student Association

The LMB has an active Graduate Student Association (GSA), run by and for students, which aims to create an atmosphere of fellowship and collaboration among students. It also seeks to increase awareness of students and their particular needs and to act as a unified voice in discussions with the LMB leadership. Student volunteers run the GSA but work closely with the Postgraduate Manager and Director of Studies.

The GSA members organise a student-lead Graduate Student Symposium, an international conference with local and invited international speakers. In recent years the Symposium was organized as a joint venture with leading international research institutions. This year the Graduate Life Sciences symposium is jointly organised by PhD students of the LMB and Vienna BioCenter (VBC), and will be held from the 12th to 14th July 2023.

The Inter-Institute Symposium, includes students from LMB and neighbouring institutes presenting their own work. Both events give the student organisers valuable experience in event management, communication skills and teamwork, while all the student attendees have the opportunity to network with fellow students and world-class scientists.

The GSA has a budget to invite their own speakers to talk on topics such as alternative careers in industry, scientific publishing, or ethical issues, and organises regular student journal clubs and social events.