Delhi doctoral student Nehul Saxena bags top honours at Novartis International BioCamp in Switzerland

Nehul Saxena, currently pursuing her doctoral studies at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi was selected among the top three students at the Novartis International Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) that recently concluded in Basel, Switzerland. Other two individual toppers were from England and Switzerland. Students were evaluated by a jury on their contribution, performance, leadership and teamwork.

Ranjit Shahani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Novartis India, said, “Novartis BioCamp offers young talent the opportunity to interact with leading scientists and to look at entrepreneurship as an option. India has some very bright talent and it’s truly heartening to see a young woman from India win accolades at such a high level. I do believe innovation is the way forward for our country and I hope that Novartis through BioCamp will draw more young people to research, thereby generating new ideas around scientific innovation and improving patient outcomes.”

Workshops and presentations were led by leading scientists and members of top management at Novartis including, among others, Rolf M Zinkernagel, a Nobel laureate and member of the Novartis AG Board of Directors, and Prof Susan Gasser, Director, Friedrich Miescher Institute of Biomedical Research.

BioCamp students interacted with Novartis scientists and executives who lead the company’s approach to drug development and learnt about new breakthrough medicines to address patients’ unmet medical needs. The programme is designed to help students understand trends and challenges in the biotechnology and life science sectors as well as gain first-hand experience about starting and running a biotech company.

BioCamp is an international forum for science and business students from around the world to learn, exchange ideas and work together in a highly competitive business environment. Previously hosted in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Cambridge, Massachusetts, this year’s seminar marked the fourth time the International BioCamp was hosted at the state-of-the-art Novartis global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Since launching BioCamp in 2004, Novartis has introduced more than 500 top graduate students to the research-oriented life sciences industry and entrepreneurship.

EP News Bureau – Mumbai