October 17th, 2000 - STN Meeting #1
Science
& Technology Network -> Events
-> October 17th - STN Meeting #1
- Science & Technology Network FIRST MEETING
- October 17th 7:30-9:00 PM
- International Affairs Building 501
- First meeting for STN, organizational meeting to discuss goals, events,
and the form of our new student group. Seeking students to help act as
contacts for specific fields within Science & Technology, especially
those interested in helping collect information on events, projects, and
career opportunities.
Event Summary
Overall attendance was quite low for the first meeting with less than ten people
coming to the meeting. That no food was provided, some students had classes
during the evening, others had left campus for the day, and that some recruiting
events were going on at the same time may all have reduced potential attendance.
The formal agenda for the meeting was abandoned for a more general discussion
of goals and possible events for the new student group were discussed. Some
of the main points of the meeting are mentioned in list format below:
- Professional Organizations - Membership in professional organizations
should be encouraged as a fairly cheap but highly effective method of networking,
source of event information, and information about jobs and internships in
the field.
- SIPA STP Concentration Career Event - The SIPA Science & Technology
Policy concentration will be having its own career event on December 12th
with alumni returning of SIPA and Columbia returning to talk about their careers
in Science & Technology
- Group Attendance to Key Off-Campus Events - The suggestion was made
that certain events be singled out for group attendence, especially those
which are not on campus but would be interesting to many people.
- Short Workshops - The suggestion was made that short 2-3 hour workshops
be given to introduce students to the basics of some skill or some area of
Science & Technology. Specific examples included "Introduction to
Web Design" and "Introduction to Intellectual Property". These
workshops, rather than focusing on an issue or some research by a scholar,
would be simple and straightforward introductory talks on one area that might
interest a wide variety of people
- Organizing Events - Ideas for events included organizing a small
conference in the spring, the idea of a 4/5 part lecture series on one issue
in Science & Technology from the point of view of: Technical Advancements
in the Field, Business Opportunities Arising from the Innovation (Also may
be divided into management and financing?), Legal Issues arising from the
Innovation, and then perhaps a discussion panel of students to discuss or
debate one aspect of the issue. A suggestion for "File Sharing"
to be one appropriate topic was made.
- Attracting More People - As the attendance was quite low, the need
for eventual funding through possible fund-raisers was brought up. Also, to
attract more people, events would definately be necessary, and meetings might
need the offer of some refreshments to lure hungry students.
- Research Projects - The suggestion was made to get in touch with
companies to offer the services of a group of STN members to do research projects.
One suggestion was to target international companies which might not have
much information on some aspects of the American market.
- Volunteers to Find Events - The suggestion was made to find volunteers
in STN to forward event announcements from the various departments, institutes,
and other professional organizations to stn@columbia.edu for distribution
to STN members.
- Internship Panel - The suggestion was made that STN should organize
an internship panel made up of students willing to talk about Science &
Technology related internships they have recently had. In order to attract
more students, this should perhaps emphasize internships which weren't entirely
dependant on specific skills such as science, computers, or law but might
attract a wider range of students.
- Company Visit - The suggestion was made that STN organize company
visits so that we may observe research, production, and the daily workings
of a Science or Technology company up close.
Report by Konrad Lawson, October 19th,
2000. If something was left out which you would like to add, please mail
STN.
Last Updated:
October 19, 2000
Email: stn@columbia.edu
