Medical research funding has been flat for the last several years. But in reality (that is, when inflation is taken into account), it has actually fallen substantially, up to 30% over 10 years! In this episode, I discuss this issue and it’s effects on science faculty, universities, and health and medical research as a whole.
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2 replies to "Science and Grants Podcast, Episode 2"
Hey Morgan,
I listened somewhat to you podcast despite my final exam on Wednesday. I think I need to listed the first half of it again but the second half of the talk was quite interesting. I agree with your opinion about group B student. But still it difficult to implement the idea you said in your talk. I think the first responsibility of creating interest in molecular biology in student is faculty. You are right we should focus on creating interest then just worthless talking on the topics. But do the faculties are ready to integrate such activities in their syllabus? Are they ready to reduce exams (MCQs or essays) to 20% and put some molecular biology related interesting activities that covers 80% of the grade? You are right if the students are not interested in the subject, then it lot of pain throughout the semester. Its kind of torture to the students and never think up making that field as their professional career.
I have seen some faculties who want to show their smartness making exam hard. They hardly care about what the students have learned or whether the students have understood the topics. Again my message is not about making exam easy and let student hanging out in bar for whole semester without doing nothing but what I want to say is- faculties should know how he/she have taught and to what degree the students are ready to bear the complication of the topics. It good to trick or brain strom the students in exam but it should be torture in the name of bold exam. This will just end up students without knowledge. What they come up with is disinterest in the subject and never think up his career in that field though they can be a good scientist and have skills to do good science.
I remembered a news which was published in nature. I searched it but couldn’t find. It was about the trainned students in genomics in China. I just wanted to know your opinion on that training. Anyway I will post it if I found that news.
Thank you for the nice talk.
Sorry for some typos.