Novartis’ BioCamp addresses issues of aging with students

More than 60 university students from 25 countries are scheduled to attend Novartis’ 11th annual Biotechnology Leadership Camp this week in Basel, Switzerland. The theme for this year’s 3-day seminar is “healthy aging.”

Experts from Novartis will give presentations on topics such as regenerative medicine and eye health and aging. The aim of “BioCamp” is to help business and science students understand trends and challenges in biotechnology and life-sciences; they will also receive lessons in starting and running a biotech company, according to a press release.

“A rapidly expanding aging population and the rise of chronic diseases are forcing changes in healthcare,” Joseph Jimenez, CEO of Novartis, said in the release. “These changes also offer an opportunity to rethink the model for treating patients. All health care system stakeholders need to collaborate and align on the common goal of improving outcomes, instead of focusing on their individual transactions. This is the only way we can control costs and provide care for an aging population.”

During the program, students are given the opportunity to visit Novartis laboratories and learn about researchers’ understanding of the physiology of hearing and balance disorders, muscle wasting and vision loss in older adults. On the final day of the seminar, participants work in groups to present business cases before a panel of experts. Three individuals and one team will be selected as winners based on their contributions, leadership, performance and teamwork, according to the press release.