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SAEON's Graduate Student Network is growing

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SAEON’s Graduate Student Network is preparing to host the first SAEON Student Symposium in Cape Town in September. (Picture © UCT)

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Dr Gina Ziervogel is a postdoctoral researcher based at the University of Cape Town’s Climate Systems Analysis Group and working with the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Oxford office. She focuses on issues of adaptation to climate variability and the role of different information sources and institutions in facilitating adaptation. (Picture © SABC News)

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Prof Steven Chown is the Director of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology based at Stellenbosch University. He is engaged in biogeographic and macroecological studies, the physiological ecology and macrophysiology of insects and other taxa, and to a lesser extent systematics. (Picture © US)

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Dr Guy Midgley is the Chief Specialist Scientist in the Global Change Research Group at the Kirstenbosch Research Centre of the South African National Biodiversity Institute. As a plant physiologist he became interested in climate change through trying to understand how rising carbon dioxide and UV-b radiation would affect plant success in an ecological context. (Picture © SANBI)

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Dr Angus Paterson, Manager of the SAEON Elwandle Node is well known for his knowledge and expertise in science management and his broad-based understanding of the functioning of the South African coastline. With a strong academic background, previous working experience in research and six years’ industry experience, he has been able to establish a critical link between the three sectors. (Picture © Mitzi du Plessis)

- By Nikki Stevens, GIS/Database Manager of the SAEON Ndlovu Node in Phalaborwa and member of the GSN Committee

SAEON’s Graduate Student Network (GSN) is getting ready to host the first SAEON Student Symposium at the University of Cape Town in September. The 45 delegates who will be attending can look forward to highly professional and interesting poster abstracts which have been received from students representing a wide range of disciplines and institutions.

Prominent speakers at the Symposium will include the dynamic quartet Prof Steven Chown, Dr Gina Ziervogel, Dr Angus Paterson and Dr Guy Midgley:

Date Speaker Topic
Plenary speakers 11 September Prof Steven Chown Long-term environmental research
12 September Dr Gina Ziervogel Socio-economics and climate change
Field trips 12 September Dr Angus Paterson Marine
Dr Guy Midgley Fynbos
Workshops 13 September Dr Guy Midgley Fynbos
Dr Angus Paterson Marine
Dr Gina Ziervogel Socio-economics

GSN spiralling upwards and outwards

The GSN is at an all-time high as far as student membership is concerned, with no less than two new students from different institutions wanting to join the network on a daily basis.

Students visiting the GSN website will notice that it has been updated. Diane Southey, a member of the GSN Committee, has taken over the role of keeping the website up to date. Diane has also implemented an exciting new plan to offer students the opportunity to link their names to a webpage containing their academic profile. If they do not have one, the GSN will create a webpage for them.

Another plan that is in the pipeline is to profile a few students each month to introduce them to SAEON and GSN members, thereby encouraging more networking of graduate students within the GSN.

For more information on SAEON’s Graduate Student Network, visit www.saeon.ac.za/students.

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