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Roche Carolina, S.C. Governor's School for Science and Mathematics Partner for International Research Exchange Scholars Program
May 21, 2009
The South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) Foundation is pleased to announce a new collaborative with Roche Carolina, Roche Mannheim and the Johanna Wittum Schule in Germany to create the Research Exchange Scholars Program: A Roche International Science Education Initiative (RESP).
The program, which is being launched with support from research-based healthcare company Roche, provides six-week internships abroad beginning June 5 with three GSSM rising seniors traveling to Germany. The students; Emily Harruff of Columbia, Lily Elsner of Due West and Alice Chang of Summerville; will live with local host families and conduct college-level research in areas including applied microbiology, botany and cyto- and neurophysiology.
In August, three students from Germany's Johanna Wittum school, a high school specializing in biotechnology education, will travel to South Carolina, where they'll reside on GSSM's Hartsville campus and work as research interns alongside established professors at the University of South Carolina whose projects cover a broad spectrum of topics in cell and molecular biology.
"In a traditional foreign exchange program, students live abroad for a designated period of time in an effort to immerse themselves in another country's culture and language," said Dr. Murray Brockman, GSSM president. "In this global economy, GSSM is taking that one step further and into the scientific community.
"Students will learn the cooperative, international nature of scientific research. They will discover how to work around language and cultural barriers to arrive at a shared understanding of a new phenomenon."
GSSM students have engaged in scientific research for the past 20 years through the school's nationally recognized Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI) --- a graduation requirement for all rising seniors. SPRI allows students to spend six weeks in corporate R&D labs across the state or at research universities such as USC, Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina, under the direct supervision of mentor scientists. During the internship, students conduct research on a college graduate level in fields in which they have a specific interest such as cancer research, biomedical experiments, alternate fuels or computer science.
"The university and the Governor's School have had a long and enduring partnership for the purpose of mentoring aspiring young scientists and researchers," University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides said. "We welcome the opportunity to expand this partnership to an international dimension and to have these students work with some of our best researchers."
Until now, students have been paired with university and corporate labs in the United States only and primarily in South Carolina. International research has long been a key objective of GSSM's strategic growth plan.
Thanks to the new RESP initiative and Roche's support, GSSM is now able to take the strength of one of its finest programs and expand it to provide intriguing research opportunities abroad for South Carolina's best and brightest students.
"Roche was a natural fit for the RESP initiative," Brockman said. The international pharmaceutical leader's investment supports talented students who take active interest in the life sciences, while helping establish an international exchange of young scientists from two important biotechnology areas.
Both GSSM and the Johanna Wittum School are located near well-established Roche sites: The pharmaceutical production site in Florence, S.C. and the diagnostic and pharmaceutical facilities in Mannheim, Germany.
"As a global healthcare company, Roche is pleased to have an opportunity to facilitate an international experience for the next generation of pioneering talent," added Pete Mazzaroni, Roche Carolina Manager of Public Affairs.
"Roche Carolina has been a longtime supporter of the Governor's School and involvement with this international exchange program allows us to elevate our commitment to developing a competitive workforce in South Carolina."
