Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, has taught over 400 high school students in its Introduction to Genomics student program, InGen.
InGen was founded by the Genomic Core team of Sidra Medicine in 2023 with the goal of providing access to real-world research environments to students and helping them in the making of future career choices in science and research. The program, in collaboration with Qatar's Ministry of Education, received 11th and 12th-grade students from 35 schools across the country.
Who was led by Iman Al Azwani, Senior Research Specialist at Sidra Medicine, who said: "Our InGen programme has been a fantastic opportunity for the students to work alongside researchers and scientists. It also gave them a practical insight into what being in a lab and research environment would look like.". It is actually important because it gives them the needed information and background about making a good decision with regards to studies and their future career paths in science and research.
The Biosafety Level 1 Laboratory is dedicated to the InGen programme by Sidra Medicine. Here, students get to learn theoretical and practical components regarding genetics, including DNA extraction, DNA quality checking, and DNA amplification.
It will provide a possibility to take experiments from the everyday life of a student back into a safety-controlled environment and thus enrich understanding of more complicated genetic mechanisms.
"It's been a transformative experience for our students", said Majida Tamimi, Director of STEAM and Practical Applications Programs, The International School for Medical Science and Engineering. It did not only open them to the exciting field of genomics but also gave them practical, hands-on experiences that sparked their interest in pursuing careers in science and research. Our students benefit so much from the very structured, yet theoretically and lab-work-oriented approach adopted by the programme, which would indeed shape their futures academically and professionally. We look forward to continued collaboration and hope more students can be added to this incredible opportunity.
The co-operation with the Ministry of Education and Sidra Medicine on the InGen programme has been a huge success", averred Sara Al Shreim, Director of Curriculum and Learning Resources Department at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. "It closes the gap between learning in the classroom and real-world scientific research, providing students with a unique opportunity to engage with the latest genomics technologies". "This program fits our vision of bringing to light a new generation of scientifically literate students thoroughly equipped to contribute to the future of healthcare and research in Qatar," Dr. Sara Tomei, Acting Director of the Integrated Genomic Services Lab at Sidra Medicine, said. "By sharing InGen's framework and successes with other institutes, we believe they can replicate and adapt the student model to train more high schoolers". It will be a great chance for all of the industry in wider collaboration and the drive for inspiring careers in the life of future young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030 is also an important part of our development strategy.
