Genre Scientific Forum Country United Kingdom | Frequency Yearly Inaugurated 1959 | |
Location(s) Imperial College London Founder Rt Hon Lord Nathan and Philip S. Green MBE | ||
The London International Youth Science Forum (formerly the London International Youth Science Fortnight) is one of the oldest residential science conferences in the world, hosting approximately 500 students from 65 counties all over the world in London, the United Kingdom. Students interact with "experts at the top of their fields" in a world-class program of lectures, with access to premier research centers, scientific laboratories and leading educational institutions, including Cambridge and Oxford universities.
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Participants at the forum are often winners of national or international scientific competitions, but the conference also emphasises inter-cultural communication through various social events, and in 2016 LIYSF was granted UNESCO patronage.
The overarching theme of the 2016 conference is "Great Scientific Discoveries".
Reception
The Forum has received numerous warm receptions. David Cameron, former British Prime Minister, described LIYSF as "a fantastic opportunity for young scientists from all over the world to come together... and engage in a programme designed to educate, stimulate and inspire". The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Irina Bokova, notes that LIYSF exhibits commendable understanding of "how science and culture go hand in hand, while sharing knowledge and experiences".
History
The idea of a science forum that would bring together top science students from many countries was most evidently considered after World War Two, when this idea was realised in the form of student exchanges between different schools and communities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Czechoslovakia. In 1959, writing that "out of like interests the strongest interests grow", Philip Green initiated an co-ordinated programme housing all participants in one location, the University of London.
In the next decades, the conference expanded across the globe, starting from the United States of America to Eastern Asian countries. The initial goal was to "put science into perspective and to encourage those attending to be aware of the needs of the world and what was happening in disciplines other than the one they were studying"
From 1971 to the 21st century, LIYSF has attracted a range of a wide range of notable presidents, including four Nobel Prize laureates, and innumerable distinguished speakers and lecturers.
Top speakers attend each year and have recently included; Professor Fiona Watt, Lord Robert Winston, Professor Sir Roy M. Anderson, Professor Mark McCaughrean, Professor Lesley Yellowlees, Professor Dame Carol Robinson, Professor John Ellis, Professor Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith and Professor David Phillips (chemist).
Support
Support is given primarily given by, amongst other organisations and groups, The European Commission, the British Council, Education UK and the GREAT Campaign.