 Okay, welcome everybody to this press conference announcing our Young Scientists of 2019. So welcome. The Young Scientists community was established by the World Economic Forum to really bring together unique perspectives from some of the future leaders of the scientific community. So we wanted to make sure that the annual meeting of the new champions is not just about those in the tech community, it's not just those in business, but we're really bringing together, those who are really focused on cutting-edge research who are thinking differently, so that way they can not only learn from each other, but also interact with our other communities here across the World Economic Forum. And so I have the privilege of being joined here by three of those, four of those leading Young Scientists. Only day one here. And so I'd like to introduce each of them. They're going to then give a brief statement on what they think it, what it means to them to be a part of this community, what it means to be a role model as a scientist, and then we're gonna open it up to Q&A for some of our journalists who are joining us here in Dalyan. So I'd like to welcome Ying Liu from Peaking University, Ruth Morgan from University College London, Sabrina Schultz from the Smithsonian Institution, and Benjamin T. from the National University of Singapore. So thank you very much. I think let's kick off. Who would like to go first? I don't wanna pick on anybody. Would anyone, who would like to go first? Easy choice because it's ladies first, right? Yeah. Ladies first. Should we go with Sabrina first? Sure, we can go with Sabrina first. Yeah, so I am so pleased to be here and be part of this community and to specifically be talking about scientists as role models because I think that scientists should be role models for the public. I think that the public needs leaders who they respect and admire and trust and that we fit the criteria in that we solve problems and we share knowledge and we protect truth and we serve society. But I do think that we face challenges in accessibility and communication. I think that we need to make ourselves in order to be role models, visible. We need to be verbal about our work in a way that's easily understandable to the general public and I think that that is a lot more difficult than it seems. I'm fortunate that I'm a scientist at the largest natural history museum in the world and so I've got amazing support and so many opportunities for outreach but a lot of scientists don't have that advantage and so something that I've tried to do with my work is to help create opportunities for other scientists to engage with the public on matters of public health and so I'm the curator of an exhibit about emerging infectious diseases and the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health and we have a main message of One Health but the supporting message of working together so we showcase 42 scientists and other experts in the exhibit so that the public can see faces and read stories and have quotes that show them what these people do and why it's important. We've also created that space so that scientists can volunteer to interact directly with the public, with activities and conversations. We've got over 100 volunteers of epidemiologists and virologists and biologists and finally, I think most importantly, the Smithsonian for the first time has created a free customizable, translatable do-it-yourself version of this exhibit so that those experiences can happen in any community in the world and that's already happened in over 100 locations in the first year and so I think that these are examples of how we can be accessible and we can increase our communication and that is really important because, well, one, in some ways it's more impactful than some of the typical research products but also I think it just feels really good and it allows us to actually see the way that we can make difference. Very much, Benjamin, over to you. Great, well, I think Sabrina sums up really well. For me as an academic faculty in the National University of Singapore, for me personally, I feel like role models require a driving force and for me, my driving force is to really coach and mentor the next generation of STEM leaders. Personally, I'm involved, of course, in really challenging science, for example, restoring touch to amputees or paraplegics who have, you know, unfortunately lost the ability to navigate surroundings like us normally and that ability to create technologies that impact people is kind of important but what really hits me and what I'm really passionate about is to coach this next generation of STEM leaders that, you know, in everything that you do, you want to strive to be cutting edge but at the same time, you really need to think about sustainable technology consumption. All of us have, I can bet that probably more than half the room has more than one mobile phone. So what happens to all these waste, you know, when they get destroyed? Another thing that we're trying to do is also to develop technologies that can self-repair. Can your mobile phone, when you crack it, self-repair and I think so we can potentially reduce the 40 million tons of e-waste generated every year. So for me, being able to coach and teach students about this importance of, at the same time, driving cutting edge technology but also sustainability is important as a role model and as a role model, we almost cannot slip up and so, you know, but I kind of take up the challenge and because I really feel passionate about leading the next wave of innovators, right? I mean, we are still young scientists but not so soon anymore in the next 10 years. So it's important to keep this pipeline of leaders going forward. Thank you very much, Ying. Yeah, so I'm currently a system professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Peking University. We work on cell biology, especially we want to understand how our cells sense and respond to different nutrient and energy levels. I think understanding those fundamental biological pathways would facilitate our understanding and also provide therapeutic potential for the treatment of age-related disorders and metabolic syndrome. So I'm really proud of myself and I'm really proud I'm a scientist because I think we work together to provide solutions for everyday life and also to create new knowledge to understand or to answer the mystery of the universe and also I think we are trying to increase the quality of our lives. So I'm really proud of that. But I also think, so, well, I think humanity is now entering into the scientific age and there's no turning back. So I think the world needs us. And two years, sorry, four years ago, UN set up this 17 sustainable development goals and I think as a scientist we can contribute a lot in order to achieve those goals. And I also think science nowadays also face great challenges as well. For example, I think one of the challenges is that scientific disciplines have been prioritized. And as a scientist, I think we need to go out and we need to popularize the science and also we need public understanding and public engagement from that. So in addition to my research area as a role model, I also try to reach out and participate in a lot of outreach activities in China. We mainly like to, for example, we have launched an online course called Life Sciences for Elementary Grades because I think childhood exposure to life science or other STEM subjects is one of the most important factors for children to explore in the future and also pave the path for a scientific career. And also I participate in the TV shows and social events such as our active forum to share my own experience as a female scientist. Because I think young girls, they need more encouragement. And also I'd like to, or maybe I want my effort can change the perception of what female scientists look like and what we do. So I hope my effort could empower the young girls to break the barrier and to pursue their interest in science. A tough act to follow. I agree with everybody to my left. I think what we see in a very complex world now is that there are lots of very big challenges that are not going to have simple solutions because they are so complex. And I think that's where science has a significant role to play partly because science is so diverse in and of itself but also as scientists, I would say we can take on a role of wanting to be the communicators between the science world and the policy world and the public. And I suppose from my point of view, I'm a professor of crime and forensic science at University College London. And we have a very, very specific remit to address a very significant societal issue in terms of how science is used in the justice system. And I would say we take that incredibly seriously. So we want to be making sure that all of our research is casework informed and that it brings together the key stakeholders who have a role and a voice in that scenario. And I guess just one example of how we've been trying to really get the science to where it needs to be to make a difference in these big challenges has been working with those in parliament and advocating for the need to address the serious challenges that science is facing in the justice system, particularly in the UK, but it's a global issue. The nature of science and justice is a global one. So I think ultimately, as scientists, we're in an incredibly unique position in terms of being able to rub shoulders with people who have a scientific background and we appropriate similar methods but we have completely different fields. And I think that really equips us to then be able to go into the world and hopefully be really excellent communicators of what the science can tell us, the kinds of answers that science can give. But I think, importantly, the limitations of science currently, where there are things that we don't know that we could know that warrant investment even if potentially they don't have ostensible economic value, they potentially have huge value to society. So I would say that's something that we are uniquely placed to be able to do and it's amazing to have opportunities to speak about that and to engage with a completely diverse group of people and see where real world challenges are at and see where the science is at and see where we can bring those two together. Well, thank you very much for your initial comments and I think you can agree with everyone in the room. We're really happy that you're a part of this new community and providing all these additional viewpoints to the annual meeting of the new champions. I'm gonna be very selfish and ask the first question to the group and then we'll open it up to everybody. For those who are in the scientific community who are not as active as you guys and gals are, what advice would you give to them to maybe help them take that first step to sharing more, to engaging with the public more, to not being afraid to kind of get out there and go whether it's on social media or anything like that? Where would you suggest that they start? Twitter is always a good place. Well, definitely I think taking advantage of some of these new social media tools is definitely almost a must in today's hyper-connected economy and also more of the reach that you can have is just tremendous. So with one tweet you could reach basically almost other than half the world. I mean, the penetration rate of the internet keeps increasing. One challenge for me when I kind of started trying to do outreach is, and communicating some of my science is, I have to be able to draft what I care about in a way that other people can relate to. And you have to find, so one advice is to really find a message that you genuinely is really interesting. It may take a few days or even months to distill what you really care about, but it's a process, right? So you've got to start. And so one easy way is to actually look up current some of the scientists that have a lot of media outreach and see what they're doing and maybe just say hi to them, right? And it's so easy to do that these days. Yeah, I mean, I certainly agree. Social media, science Twitter is actually fantastic in a professional way, I think, for many of us. Not only interacting with each other, but also communicating about our work and commenting on others and really allowing the public to see how our conversations can happen and how we can actually engage with the research products. And I also agree that in terms of just finding opportunities maybe through other people or certainly I think that it's something that is difficult to make time for and to find the energy for when it's not valued traditionally in the same way as our publications and the other ways that we tend to communicate and disseminate what we do. But it is important and it is difficult and I think there's also a lot of opportunities to get training. There are books out there and there are also people who make a living at doing this and so much other content I think that you can find to even get I guess an interest in it or maybe develop skills that you think you may have and that may help you direct those skills towards an audience that might be particularly good for the messages and the goals that you have. I totally agree. So we don't have Twitter here but we use WeChat and Weibo so another way of the social media. So I would think just don't be shy and try to explain your own story or your research study in a common way so the public can understand. I think that's the first baby step that you can go. Yeah. I think, yeah, I would add don't be afraid of failure. I think the thing that holds us back often is not knowing if it's gonna work out or if we're gonna fall flat on our faces and the thing I've learned is that until you try you don't know what you're good at and you don't know what opportunities might be out there so definitely don't let fear hold you back and then I guess the other thing I would say is I've learned so much by the questions that people ask me when I'm talking about my work with non-specialists. It's helped me refine what I'm doing. It's helped me refine where our focus needs to be. It's informed a lot of the research questions that we ask. So I think of it as a two-way conversation and if you can have that conversation it's just exciting where that might go and where your research could go as a result. Yeah. And I find that people are quite excited to get to talk to scientists. They actually, I think that in a lot of situations you couldn't ask for a better conversation partner or audience to talk about your work that people are looking for role models in many cases. Maybe they don't have enough or they don't have the ones that really embody everything that they value or wanna see in a person and scientists have a lot of that and I think we forget that. Thank you. I'd like now to open this up to questions from people in the room. Do we have any questions people would like to ask? In the back. He's coming. Yanwei from CGTN China Global Television Network. Two simple questions but maybe have your expertise in that. One is about ethnic issues. We see scientists trying to push boundaries which is part of your job but on the other hand there are certain ethnic issues that the society have to be accustomed to or you have to work with the society as well. So as young scientists particularly pioneering spirit I guess, how would you see that issue, the issue of so-called ethics while you're pushing the boundaries of science? That's one thing. The other thing is I guess we're all born of this internet generation. So I would assume that when you are doing your research you tend to be a bit different, I don't know with your previous generations of experts and the scholars professors. So how do you see that difference if there is any and how do you think what is the best way to do it from your perspective? Thank you so much. Thank you very much for the question. Thank you. Is there anyone who wants to jump in first? Well, I think thank you. Those are really tough questions but also very good ones. I think ethics is something that we all care about, right? I mean definitely we have to have integrity. I mean I think that's sort of the baseline if you don't have that nobody's gonna believe what we are saying. And we have to hold, as scientists, we definitely hold ourselves to a much higher standard. At least for me, I'm sure definitely everybody else in the Ruhua scientists do that. And we should not let, of course, there's always gonna be a few bad eggs sometimes but I think that as a whole being a scientist and holding ourselves to a higher standard is sort of the prerequisite. The other thing is ethics is an evolution in fact, a process. If you look at many of the changes that we're having in the last two or three decades, you talk about internet generation, I was born without the internet. And you know, iPhone came in 2008 when I started my PhD career, you know? So the trajectory and growth of connectivity is definitely disrupting hopefully more constructively the how people see and view how some of the artwork should be done and also communicated. As for previous generation versus our generation, I think it's so exciting to be in the current era. There's so much tools that we have now to look at objects from the, even smaller than a nanoscale and some of my colleagues work on co-atom technologies, Lohuan chain from NUS. This is some pretty amazing stuff we're doing and it's fantastic to be this generation, frankly. But at the same time, it's great to learn from the wisdom of the previous generation. I mean, they grew up without the tools and yet they have also managed to achieve a lot. So I feel like it's very important for, there should not be a generation gap between scientists. And one of the key criteria of science is to be as open as possible and it's something that I hope we can take away from as we continue to evolve as a human race and to better ourselves and to improve society. Thank you. Bruce, go ahead. I think on the ethical issue, it's an area very close to my heart. In forensic science, the boundaries of the technology innovations are, well, I don't think there are any boundaries anymore. It's a very exciting space, almost limitless opportunities. And I think one of the things that I reflect on is that we have technological abilities and often we think of them in isolation. And actually the way we can be thinking about it in ways that ensure we are mindful of the ethical implications is having people at the heart of that technology. So not just designing solutions that fix a problem in isolation, but actually thinking about the problem in a holistic way that incorporates the people involved. So how do people make decisions? How do people interact with evidence, say? And then how can we drive our technological innovation in a way that brings people together with that innovation that leads us to a place where we're not going down pathways, where we're potentially losing privacy and autonomy and potentially equality. And I think that's something that is across the board. It's very personal to me in forensic science, but I think we see that across the board, that if we bring people into that conversation with the technology innovations, then we start seeing the creative innovative solutions that actually have impact in the real world and are doing the good that they intend to do. Sabina or Ying, any additional points? I can say a bit more to the second question about the older versus new generations. And I think that one of the major changes that we see is in the diversity of scientists in our community, the people who are actually training the next generation, the future generations. Students are finding a lot more mentors and leaders and instructors and professors who they can relate to in ways that in previous generations maybe weren't as likely. Also, we are working across disciplines in ways that were previously not done. In our young scientist community, just yesterday, we had this activity where we were all going based on a category of interest or skill to meet each other, to speak. And I think so many of us didn't know which one to go to and we just decided, well, I could go here or here, but I'll go here. And to have those conversations at those interfaces and to be able to speak across those boundaries and even sit at the intersections between them, I think also creates more opportunities to mentor and engage with students in so many different ways. So for the ethics issue, I think it's our job to explain to the public what we are trying to do and what we are going to do. But I think it also, well, at certain point, it needs policy decision, but the policies should be made on the basis of a scientific understanding. So that's my point. For the second question, I think our generation, I think international collaboration is a big thing happening right now. And with the internet and other development, we can easily send emails and we can easily communicate with other faculties in different countries. So it actually helps us to establish international collaborations with different labs. Thank you very much and thank you for the question. Is there another question in the audience? Yeah, we have one in the front row. The microphone's coming your way. For Zhongwen. I will be using Chinese. Channel one, channel one. I work for a media with Chinese government authority. In the previous news release, we heard that there are more females among the young scientist communities. And I'm also happy to see three out of the four of you are ladies. So my question is from female young scientists. Sorry, I'm a little bit nervous. For female young scientists, in terms of science and innovation, what inherent advantage do you have? Or a little bit private question, how can you balance your work and your life? That's my question, thank you. For the room, if I could sum up the question, it's being a female scientist has many advantages, things we know. What can you describe, what those are, and then how you can balance, I think balance is a question everyone has. How can we better balance our work and our lives in general? Ruth, would you like to start? I think this is something that it is not just a female issue, it is actually a community issue. And I think, I don't know about you guys, but I definitely am here because I've had fantastic male and female colleagues and I've been given opportunities and I've had support. And I would see that it's a sign of how well our community is addressing this challenge together, that there are three of us here and lots of women within the Young Scientist program. So I think balance is something that every single person struggles with, particularly in science. It's one of those areas that because we're passionate about what we do, it can be very difficult to establish balance and it's something we've been talking about a lot, even in just one day. So I think I would just say it is something for the whole community to work on and I would like to thank the community I've been working with for working so hard at it and getting us to where we are and let's keep going because there's still a long way to go. Ying, do you have anything to further to add to that? Yeah, so I think the first question advantages. So in terms of science, I would think a female scientist would be more patient and pay more attention to the details when we are doing experiments. That's yeah, what I feel. But for the second question I would like to add is first of all, I think we need family support. That's very important for me. And also, I think, especially in China, the culture and the perception is like, well, it's really harder for female scientists because they expect you to spend more time with your family. And the thing that I'm trying to do is try to increase my work efficiency and try to shorten my work time but spend more time with my family. Sabrina, any thoughts? I suppose that I feel that the best qualities of the scientists don't map to gender and that there's so much individual variation that I couldn't say that there are any inherent advantages that I have for that particular reason or others. But yeah, I mean, to the point that everyone said, I think that certainly I've had mentors and supporters, just from all, in all different ways, all different types of people. And that's just been so valuable and that's something that needs to be embraced and continued. And then as far as balance, how one balances, again, that's so hard to say. That's an individual situation and I'm not sure how one would do it or how I do it or if I do it. Only that when you're doing science, I think you are so rewarded. It's such a gift to be able to do it and I think that there are so many moments of joy and discovery and it's a privilege that I think makes it hard to even feel the weight of an imbalance should you have one. Great, I'm not sure if I should add anything but my wife is a female scientist. Why not go for it? So my wife is a female scientist. So I mean, it's perfect, I have fantastic female colleagues so I also at the same time for speaking from a male perspective, I really do try to balance gender equality as well in my group. I try to have at least a 50% ratio because I really think that this diversity between genders help generate tremendous creativity and it's something that I feel that as a male scientist, we should definitely encourage this kind of structure in science. I've benefited, my previous supervisor was female, she's fantastic, she balances the work-life balance. I'm learning from her, so I have no complaints at least from my point of view. Well, I think we can all agree that this is a very impressive panel except for myself, I clearly can't do math but I think I'd like to say thank you very much for your time, thank you for your insights and sharing with us your thoughts and also letting us get a glimpse into your work. I think it's very fascinating. So thank you very much and thank you to everyone who's here and on our live stream. Thank you. Thank you.