International Cell Research Organization

ICRO devotes a large part of its effort to advanced experimental training of younger cell biologists. The means chosen was the training course which offers intensive experience in the laboratory to the young scientist.

This choice was made at the expense of symposia and congresses, which are more beneficial to established or mature researchers than to beginners, are more expensive in terms of travel costs and have potentially a greater variety of financial resources, including participation fees. These meetings are extremely useful for updating scientific information and entertaining international contacts. However, by comparison intensive training courses provide more opportunities to make long-lasting friendships through the daily sharing of life at the bench for several weeks with colleagues and instructors.

 

Instructors in these courses are generally pioneers in their respective fields and as a result, course participants learn to carry out experimental work under conditions as similar as possible to those in real life.

 

The typical ICRO/UNESCO course is designed for young scientists who have completed their academic training and are beginning their careers in research, but occasionally more mature workers, who desire to learn a new technique or to approach a new field, can also profit by attending.

 

Course subjects include molecular biology, microbiology developmental biology, in-vivo and in-vitro cell differentiation, immunology, cellular and molecular genetics, regulatory mechanisms, bioenergetics, virology, neurobiology at the cellular level and modern plant cell biology, with special emphasis on potential applications in biotechnology.

 

ORGANIZATION OF TRAINING COURSES

 

ICRO created a tradition by avoiding in these courses the formation of a majority national group: participants from the host country are limited to one-third of the total. In a typical course a teaching team of 5-10 members instructs 15-30 students. Instructors and students work full-time for 2-4 weeks in the laboratory. They take their meals together and if possible are housed together. Social activities sufficient to indicate warm hospitality are encouraged.

The scientific program often starts with one day of refresher lectures to update the scientific background and to alleviate difficulties inherent in the heterogeneity of the audience. Following this, lectures introducing experiments alternate with lectures of a wider scope to integrate the topic into a more general framework. Discussions about the experiments are complemented with seminars given by participants on their research results and projects.

 

Students are selected by the teaching staff on the basis of their scientific qualifications and on the basis of their perspectives to utilize their newly acquired knowledge. Accepted candidates are provided with board and lodging and with partial or total travel support according to needs and availability of budget. At the end of the course, students receive a certificate and are requested to fill in a questionnaire to evaluate course quality.

 

The language of most courses has been English. A special effort has been made to offer Spanish-speaking courses in Latin America, and French-speaking courses in Africa. Nevertheless, due to the presence of the local supporting personnel, many English speaking courses have in reality been bilingual. Course teachers generally hand out a course manual, which is highly appreciated by the students and used by them and their colleagues, once they are back in their home laboratories. A few course organizers have made a special effort to issue the course manual as a book, but the extra effort involved by the authors is large and this practice did not gain general acceptance.

The funding by UNESCO covers as a rule only a fraction of the costs of a course. Course organizers and ICRO Executive Members usually raise the rest by addressing various sponsors. Occasionally ICRO co-sponsors courses originating from other initiatives, provided that the scientific criteria and the international character of the courses are in conformity with ICRO standards.