Making the Different Fields of Biology Accessible to All

The scientific popularization colloquium La biologie dans tous ses états was set up by biology students at the Université du Québec à Rimouski as a means of bridging the ever-widening gap between scientific learning and other spheres of society, especially ordinary citizens outside the scientific community. Over the years, it has become an irrefutable tool for promoting the scientific professions and research and its 2007 edition, which attracted 350 participants more than half of whom were from the general public, brilliantly demonstrated its true scope and relevance.

Aimed also at graduate and college students, La biologie dans tous ses états 2007 explored the theme The future of our resources: Knowledge, decisions, action… towards sustainable development? In order to examine the subject in depth, the colloquium was centred around three principal activities: an opening evening featuring guest speakers, including Richard Desjardins, exhibition booths showcasing student research projects and a day of lectures during which graduate students were able to talk about their work. During the colloquium, over thirty presentations were given by student researchers.

“At the moment, explaining the type of discoveries made in laboratories every day has become a major stake for our society. It is now vital that the views expressed by scientists be clearly heard and understood by everyone. Popularization has thus become an indispensable tool for specialists who must explain their work to the general public,” points out Richard Vézina, the project’s spokesman.

Touching on such subjects as marine life, oceanography, physiology and molecular biology, the La biologie dans tous ses états colloquium has become an exceptional platform for scientific education thanks to student commitment.

“The biology students who participate in this activity will remain the true ambassadors of the world of science because they promote the importance of transmitting knowledge and of stimulating public debate while contributing their scientific views,” maintains Jean-Pierre Ouellet, dean of graduate studies and research at UQAR.

In an age when the planet is undergoing climate change and environmental upheavals, the dedication of these students to organizing an event such as this is part of a natural process of taking collective responsibility for a global problem. By ensuring that the public is well informed while making a point of establishing a reliable and credible communication channel between politicians and scientists, the UQAR students vigorously demonstrate year after year the values that stimulate them.

“Throughout my career, I have rarely had the pleasure of participating in an event entirely planned and organized by students from one faculty. Orchestrated like a military operation, the colloquium hits the bull’s-eye,” stated journalist Mario Masson.

La biologie dans tous ses états