2018 BDC Engage Symposium

On Friday, April 6^th, 2018, the BDC Engage Symposium marked the culmination of a year’s worth of academic efforts in the Biomedical Discovery & Commercialization program. The annual event brought together faculty, students, and industry members to showcase the program’s successes over the 2017-2018 year.

The event offered BDC students a chance to hone both their networking and communication skills—essential tools they will need for success in the workplace. Third-year students delivered poster presentations and pitches from an entrepreneurial perspective, while students from the fourth-year and Master’s cohort gave talks on their capstone thesis and internship experience, respectively. The event provided students with a platform to share their professional experiences with an interdisciplinary audience, a unique feature of the program. “The annual BDC Engage symposium is always an inspiring showcase of the great strides our program makes, especially through the featured student projects. It’s also a unique and valuable collision of students, faculty, and industry professionals from the commercially-oriented biomedical/health sciences ecosystem,” said Daniel Celeste, a fourth-year BDC student.

BDC Engage is one of many opportunities the program offers students to ensure they thrive in a field where science and business intersect. “The symposium embodies the uniqueness of the BDC program in a single event. It connects us as driven and hardworking students with industry members, world-renowned researchers, and business ventures,” said Hamdi Abdo, the incoming 2018-2019 BDC society president. Abdo also spoke positively about being able to contribute to the success of the day. “…Getting to be a part of [BDC Engage] was fantastic!”

Professors, biomedical researchers, and industry professionals were highly impressed with the multidisciplinary training offered through the program and the quality of work students produced.  “I was particularly happy to see such high levels of professionalism, technical knowledge, passion, and competence in the subject matter,” said Professor Aadil Merali Juma, assistant professor from the DeGroote School of Business. “I am convinced that we have the best students in this program and that the work being done will make a difference in the field of medicine and management of non-communicable diseases, in the decades ahead.”

The BDC Faculty and Staff wishes everyone a happy summer and looks forward to reconvening for the 2018-2019 year in the fall.