Biotechnology and Life Science
Helix wishes to promote Biotechnology and Life Sciences, and aims to host or provide information about relevant events in UiT and other places to our members. Besides our conference and networking engagement we also aim to connect students in academia with the industry through company presentations and visits.
Story
The organization was officially founded 22nd of April 2013 by one of the first biotechnology-students at UiT, with Erik Kjærner-Semb as leader. However, because of few registered members and broken a board, the organization fell silent from fall 2014. The only “active” member which was left, was Ole Christian Hagestad, who’s is currently pursuing his PhD. He took care of all the documentation of the organization during its inactive years.
While the organization still was inactive, something interesting happened. In 2016, the number of applicants to the Biotechnology-programme increased double folded, causing the relevant student mass to increase further. Now was the right time to kickstart the organization again, and as did the first-year student and sitting leader Najam Zubair with the faculty administration and Ole Christian. A new annual meeting took place, and Helix had a new board as of fall 2016. The board had Najam Zubair as leader (second year), Anja Sjøvoll as vice-president (finished with masters), Sharifa Buchana as PR-responsible (second year), Lindsey Martinsen as events-responsible (finished with masters) and Kasthoori Suppiah as financial executive (third year).
“Our cells engage in protein production, and many of those proteins are enzymes responsible for the chemistry of life.”
Activities
- Promoting biotechnology and lifesciences
- Updating and informing students about events and other relevant activities at UiT.
- Conecting students in academia with relevant businesses.
- Organising company presentations and visits.