Science is done by scientist, a profession often overlooked, undervalued and many times considered not “a real job.” However, scientists in all areas of research helped to create the world that we live in today. Every human-made product today is mostly based on the thoughts, experiments, and analysis of scientist.
Development of scientist is not an essential topic in our society and is not considered to be a priority. But if we do want to keep our modern lifestyle and further develop new opportunities for the future, we need to emphasize the selection, training, and employment of future scientists in a viable environment. Preservation and further development of quality of life not only includes proper funding for research but also mentoring of young minds to become the scientist.
The SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience) at the Scintillon Institute in San Diego is such an example. In his program, top high school students join labs and learn from the scientist working on specific projects. The aim is to identify and motivate talented students to have an insight into scientific research and groom those interested as future scientist that will be thought leaders in their research.
An article in Nature emphasizes the importance of undergraduate mentoring for the future of science.