Biomedizone is a globally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a learning space for students so they can learn about biomedical fields through hands-on, accessible research platforms.
As the supervisor for several BioMedizone chapters from locations such as Kenya and Singapore, I can attest to the strides, ambitions, and achievements of these pioneering leaders. A diverse network of student podcasters, content creators, managers, and future pioneers in biomedicine contribute to this organization’s success as well as its wide reach with ten international chapters.Through their persistent efforts via multiple venues of media including a podcast, Biomedizone has reached 3000+ students from over 25 countries.
Biomedizone was co-founded by three high schoolers from different parts of the world united by their initiative’s mission statement; as per their platform, Biomedizone seeks to: "provide students with opportunities for biomedical research and education through webinars, research positions, various internships, a catalog of self-paced courses in nearly every topic of biomedicine, research competitions, outreach, summer camps, mentoring programs, passion projects, career guidance, and collaborations with corporations and other student organizations."
Out of other co-founders Anvi Palav and Audrey Tjandra, I interviewed Lara Karaalp, who is also the Director of the Biotechnology Department.
Now, let’s get to the official interview and learn more about the origins and future goals of this changemaking nonprofit!
Question: What was your inspiration for starting your organization?
“Our organization started when Audrey, one of our founders, wanted to start a nonprofit for students aiming to provide biomedical opportunities for students, especially in undeveloped countries," Lara said. "These students didn't have access to as many biomedical opportunities as some students in other countries such as America had due to pricing or just due to sustainability. Audrey went out and reached out to people on Discord and said how she was looking for partners.
Back then, we didn’t have as many initiatives as we do now because we were becoming an official nonprofit. It's a struggle to build a team if you're not too big, meaning that it's hard to find good executives. It's good to find management and social media skills. For our first actual project, we were starting a research competition which we promoted a lot through Instagram.
I feel like that's when we began to be heard and I came along, but me and the other co-founders worked a lot to create initiatives and try creating opportunities for students. The three of us were able to strive in different departments and overall become a collaborative team.”
Image from Biomedizone's Instagram Post summarizing Camp Biomed
Question: What major issues or complications have you faced, and how did your team overcome them?
Lara detailed a situation that occured during one of BioMedizone's impressive summer workshop trainings, where students interested in specific medicine topics could log into a webinar-style lesson delivered by a professor in that field. However, a disastrous communication mistake required quick thinking and improvisation from Biomedizone's talented executive team.
“I think [the professor] was going to teach neurology, but she didn't show up to the meeting at all. It was horrible because she got the timeframe mixed up. We were stressing out because there's about 50 people waiting last second.
So, during this time we're also having course creation so I had to quickly change our entire slideshow originally done for neurology. We learned how to develop and adjust on the spot because we had no idea that person wasn't coming and if there are a lot of waiting high schoolers, rescheduling becomes another issue because we have an audience from different timezones.”
Question: What goals does your organization have for future projects, and where do you see yourselves expanding over the following years?
“We have a few more self paced courses that we hope to come out of this original list- about fifty. These courses will allow students to have a free education in some topics such as neurology, physical Ed, and biotechnology. They are actually produced by college and high school students who have expert knowledge and research for the topics,” Lara said.
“Another thing that I'm super excited about are medical games and flashcards on our website…which is a feature I haven’t seen in many other organizations, kind of like Quizlet.”
The Biomedizone team also has advice for aspiring young innovators and youth who want to make a difference in their community or on a global scale:
Lara and her team shared their inspiring story so they could reach their target audience: aspiring young people who might want to change their communities for the better. Once, she believed large-scale change couldn't be possible with all the societal barriers, but paired with technology and strong teamwork, she affirms that anything is possible.
“Be really passionate about your organization. Get excited for the ideas you have, and be proud because if you do something, there's a higher chance it is going to be better than if you do nothing.”
Relevant Social Media
Instagram: @biomedizone_
Email: info@biomedizone.org
Website: www.biomedizone.org
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