Wits young scientist to attend Nobel Laureate meeting
BRAAMFONTEIN – Wits University students to rub shoulders, learn from and engage with Nobel Laureates.
Wits University master’s students to attend the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in 2021.
Wits University’s School of Economics and Finance has congratulated Daniela Lamparelli and Gracious Nyoni for being selected to represent Wits and South Africa at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. The pair of Witsies form part of scientists nominated by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) to attend the seventh Lindau meeting in economic sciences in Germany. Lamparelli and Nyoni and additional South African scientist will be among 373 young scientists from 60 countries who have been selected.
The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, which have been held since 1951, are a forum for young scientists from all over the world to have an in-depth exchange with Nobel Laureates. The meeting usually takes place over five days and comprises a programme of lectures and panel discussions. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 meeting has been postponed to 24 to 28 August 2021.
The students from the university’s School of Economics and Finance shared their excitement over the invite. *Nyoni expressed, “I am honoured to have been given a chance to interact and share my research with some of the best minds in economics. I have no doubt that this experience will allow me to tackle my career with confidence going forward.” Lamparelli, who wishes to own an economics consulting firm, says she is looking forward to engaging with the Nobel Laureates and learning from other participants. She stated, “I am certain I will learn a lot from them and I hope to make some valuable contributions to the discussions as well.”
Professor Himla Soodyall, executive officer of ASSAf, was pleased with the inclusion of the nine South African scientists and what it will enable them to do. She said, “They have an opportunity to discuss current economic matters and recent discoveries in their field and engage with Nobel Laureates and other young scholars in their fields.” Soodyall hopes the scientist will take advantage of the interactions they will be exposed to and use the opportunity to build networks for future collaborative research.
*This article was corrected on 23 June 2020, after the Northcliff Melville Times had mistakenly attributed the a quote to the wrong person. We apologise for the error.
