Ten young scientists on their way to the USA – it’s finally possible!

 

For the seventh consecutive year, the Lundbeck Foundation is awarding Pre-Graduate Scholarships for Danish medical students to study in the USA. And last year’s recipients, who were prevented by COVID-19 from travelling, can finally pack their cases.

Ten highly motivated Danish medical students are currently heading for the USA to hone their skills in the San Francisco area of California.

They have a ten-month-long research and education programme ahead of them, either at Stanford University or at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) – two of the USA’s finest universities.

The secondment is ‘all inclusive’, since all of the students’ expenses are covered by the Danish American Research Exchange (DARE) – a study and research programme which the Lundbeck Foundation created in 2015 and has funded ever since.

In a “normal” year, when there are no restrictions on travelling the world, five DARE students fly to San Francisco. However, COVID-19 put a stop to the plans of the five who should have moved to the US in 2020.

Now, at last, they can pack their bags and will leave together with the five 2021 recipients of the scholarship.

The Lundbeck Foundation has rented a house in Noe Valley, a central location in San Francisco. The house has two large apartments, and the ten students will live here during their entire stay. 

In order to be considered for a DARE fellowship in California, students must be reading medicine at a Danish university, have gained a Bachelors degree and possess above average talent.

Another requirement is completion of a research project during the US stay, and the project must also lead to at least one publication in an international journal.

For this to be possible, the project must be approved before departure for the US, and both a Danish and an American mentor must be lined up.

Students will also attend classes at the American university at which they are enrolled during the DARE stay.

Entrepreneurial environment awaits

Denmark has eight Innovation Centres around the world, one being the Innovation Centre Denmark in Silicon Valley, California. One of the aims of these centres is to promote partnerships between Danish and overseas universities, and between Danish research and business developers abroad.

The centre in California oversees overall coordination of the DARE programme, and, at the same time, is responsible for ensuring that the Danish medical students become acquainted with the entrepreneurial environment in Silicon Valley during their stay.

This environment largely focuses on transforming ideas and research into business models, and the DARE participants will be introduced to the art through meetings with investors who specialise in just that.

Afterwards, they must tackle the challenge faced by all former DARE students: ‘The Ten Dollar Challenge’.

The object is to invent a medical treatment or product that costs no more than 10 dollars, or just under 70 Danish kroner.

The students compete in teams and, in addition to the honour of winning, the victors receive a cash prize: 10 dollars! It’s all about the honour.

The 2021 DARE Students:

Johan Anker Chrom Allerup, medical student at the University of Copenhagen – and new student at Stanford University.

Mette Borbjerg, medical student at Aalborg University – and new student at UCSF.

Mustafa Ghanizada, medical student at the University of Copenhagen – and new student at Stanford University.

Line Louise Jensen, medical student at Aarhus University – and new student at Stanford University.

Freja Tang Severinsen, medical student at Aalborg University – and new student at Stanford University.

The 2020 DARE Students (Going in 2021):

Rasmus Hagn-Meincke, medical student at Aalborg University – and new student at Stanford University.

Sophie Nyholm Henrichsen, medical student at Aalborg University – and new student at Stanford University. 

Cathrine Korsholm, medical student at the University of Copenhagen – and new student at UCSF. 

Anna Sophie Lebech Kjær, medical student at the University of Copenhagen – and new student at Stanford University. 

Rasmus Henrik Reeh, medical student at the University of Copenhagen – and new student at UCSF.