BSI Summer School 2011

"Procreation
 Has its inherent risks
 Like lifting a grandchild
 And slipping a disc."

(poem we received from almost-faculty member Philippa Marrack from Denver, USA, who unfortunately had to cancel her attendance at the Summer School at very short notice – for the reasons alluded to in the poem – including her keynote lecture with the promising title “Sex and B cells!” Our special thanks go to Peter Parham for stepping in for the keynote lecture and David Wraith for agreeing at very short notice to fill the suddenly vacant slot in the autoimmunity session)

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"I am from Barbados where the sun is always shining and the temperature is always above 25^oC, and yet here I am, cold and wet, wearing four layers of clothing and trekking along behind a colleague from India who is wearing more clothing than I am and a colleague from Wales who is wearing a T-shirt. We are in undergrowth (kind of like in Jurassic Park), it is dark and damp and then suddenly there is sunlight (minus the warmth), we are in a clearing, on the right there is are golden ears of wheat bowing in the wind and on the left the ocean with the sunlight glistening on the waves; the lighthouse looms in the distance as a silhouette; it’s absolutely breathtaking." (Kim Quimby, bursary winner from Barbados)

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"I had a great time in Wales. I was very impressed by the lectures of Ken Murphy and Graham Anderson.  The poster session was also great.  A lot of people were quite interested in my work and I received many helpful comments.  It was very nice that the speakers were present during the poster sessions and coffee breaks and were always willing to answer all our questions.  In general, the summer school was very motivating!  The only bad point is that, even when trying very hard, we couldn’t see any ghosts.”  (Damya Laoui, bursary winner from Brussels, Belgium)

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"The Summer School had something for everyone. The three-pronged succinct sub-themes (Killing bugs, self and tumours) delivered by the erudite Faculty members helped to eliminate the anxiety associated with learning complex details of immunology, especially for beginners. The lecture sessions were most appealing to me as it helped me re-shape my ideas. On a lighter note, it was great having an exchange with the great names we previously only got to read! There can only be a few better places and better ways to spend the summer holiday. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity offered by the bursary and I hope to make the best out of the experience.” (Evaristus Mbanefo, bursary winner from Nagasaki, Japan [and winner of the Miltenyi prize draw for a bottle of bubbly!])

"Having just finished my undergraduate studies my personal highlight was to chat to Ken Murphy, the author of the immunology undergraduate bible, while having a walk along the beautiful coast of Wales towards the lighthouse. Together with the moody weather, the presence of Sir Andrew McMichael gave this summer school a truly British feeling for all the international students and was a memorable experience!" (Sophie Wehenkel, bursary winner from Luxembourg)

"The tutorials after the ‘Killing Self’ lectures were really enjoyable, it seemed lots of people in our group were enthusiastic about these topics which lead to interesting debates. The discussions on this topic were made even more memorable by Kenneth Murphy’s insights into the controversial questions that should be put to the speakers that day at question time.” (Rosie Doble, poster prize winner from Leeds, UK)

"Visiting the BSI Summer School 2011 was a great experience for me as a medical student. Not only I broadened my horizon regarding the manifold possibilities of doing research in immunology, but also I gained insight how different diseases are investigated by immunologists. Besides it was very interesting to see how they are searching for effective therapies, which we will use later in our clinical daily routine in the hospital. In addition the exchange with the speakers and the other immunologists was very profitable for me in respect of my own projects." (Sebastian Siebelmann, poster prize winner from Lübeck, Germany)

"Frances and I had a most stimulating and enjoyable time at St Donats, where we were much impressed by the students, faculty, organisers and venues. A round two would take very little persuasion." (faculty member Peter Parham from Stanford, USA)

"It was a great experience for me in a very congenial atmosphere. Look forward to meet again!" (faculty member Kees Melief from Leiden, The Netherlands)

"Thanks again for inviting me, and I’m glad the students enjoyed the meeting, you put in a huge amount of effort." (faculty member Graham Anderson from Birmingham, UK)

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"I particularly liked how the students were forced to ask questions with the tutorial and question time set up. Very nice location also! Thank you!" (anonymous delegate)

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"Each theme lacked basic introductions, although the killing tumours session not so much as the others. It would have been helpful to have the first session each day dedicated to going over the basics and covering different cell types." (anonymous delegate)

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"It was good that we get to hear about new and unpublished data but it is important to make sure that we get the basics cleared up and sorted first. Otherwise it would be too confusing. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of HLA haplotypes and immunology." (anonymous delegate)

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"The speakers were great and there was a lot of knowledge exchange going on! Just the way it was taught could have been a little bit more optimized." (anonymous delegate)

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"I thought everything was ideal for a PhD student/early postdoc summer school. I wasn't expecting anything extravagant and I had a great time." (anonymous delegate)
 

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"The accommodation was very basic but the place was brilliant!" (anonymous delegate)

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"It was an excellent meeting, I hope to be back there in 2 years, would be great to have it at St Donat's castle again." (anonymous delegate)