By the beginning of the 2000 decade, the debate on Biotechnology in Mexico focused mainly on transgenics and on the potential of this discipline to transform society.
It wasn't long before the biotechnological movement in the country, the remarkable potential of young scientists and the positivist zeitgeist reached the north of Mexico and led the students of the recently founded Bachelor in Genomic Biotechnology to get together and form the association SEBIOGEN in 2005, which soon changed its name to AsEBioGen.
The challenges that faced the association were two in special: to let know what is the profile and the skills of the Genomic Biotechnologists and to consolidate its graduates in the economic activities of the country.
During the past eight years, there have been considerable advances, the most remarkable being the organization of the Biotechnology congress GENOBIOTEC, held every two years, and the gradual integrations of the graduates of this program in academia and the job market.
Nevertheless, those two challenges and others related to them are still standing, but the vision and the will of the Biotechnology students from the UANL also is.
I believe that, beyond being the so called future, we are a reality already. - Francisco Balderas, Treasurer at AsEBioGen
What distinguishes Genomic Biotechnologists the most is their proactivity and their commitment to science. A Genomic Biotechnologist, in my humble point of view, can perform any role in the economy of the country, since it is an elite student and can adapt to different situations and occupations that might be directly unrelated to Biotecnology and Genomics. - Diego Cuerda, Academic Coordinator at AsEBioGen
AsEBioGen today
Every two years, the members of the AsEBioGen are elected by the Genomic Biotechnology student community at the UANL. The present members come from different parts of the country and have been already a year in service.
Perhaps some biotechnologists at the UANL remember seeing them in the halls in a seemingly perpetual hurried state or maybe at the benches, discussing vividly and very serious looking; some othersmay remember them from the iGEM UANL team; there are always new challenges for the coordinators of AsEBioGen.
They are Paulyna Magaña (General Coordinator, from Acapulco, Guerrero), Porfirio Quintero (Network Coordinator, from de Córdoba, Veracruz), Francisco Balderas (Treasurer, from Monterrey), Heber Torres (Outreach and Image Coordinador, from Monterrey), Diego Cuerda (Academic Coordinator, from Torreón, Coahuila) and Luis Fernando Leal (General Secretary, from Monterrey).
Each AsEBioGen generation has an authentic perception of their mission, in accordance to the present context and from what they inherit from previous generations. Under the premise that, knowing the people better, we will be able to understand the organization and their goals better, lets get into the opinions of this AsEBioGen generation.
About the AsEBioGen
For Francisco Balderas, "AsEBioGen is, at the same time, a responsibility and an honor; an honor because I am representing the student community and a responsibility because I must represent them properly".
Porfirio Quintero, Heber Torres and Diego Cuerda are more motivated for the possibility of attaining common goals and working for common causes. Accordingly, Porfirio Quinterro tells us that AsEBioGen for him is "a community of reciprocal support among Biotechnology students" and Diego Cuerda says that "[AsEBioGen] is an association that allows the biotechnoogists to unite under a common goal for reaching great things". Heber Torres, makes us see that the association is a "great opportunity to make public what we, the biotechnologists, are and it is also the privilage of representing my colleagues, since they put their trust in me as the Outreach Coordinator.
Luis Fernando Leal shares to us his vision for service: "for me, AsEBioGen is the opportunity of providing my colleagues my complete willingness to support them in what is possible for me and, why not, also an opportunity of personal growth and academic development".
Finally, Paulyna Magaña says tha: "AsEBioGen has turned into something more. I have learned a lot during this year we have been together and now it is like a small family. After all, we are all colleagues, we have known each other for semesters and, even though each has a different personality, we have learned to get along and put our difference aside. That is why I think that being in this association is being part of something bigger, because we are all here to dedicate our time and efforts to our colleagues, our career, our fraternity".
About the service to the
biotechnologists student community at the UANL
All of the coordinators of the associations agree on that it is a supporting point for the student community, in which they can rely for help and guidance.
But not only that.
Diego Cuerda is also conscious that the association can help the biotechnologists not only with their present activities, but also for their future ones, and tells us that he expects the association to be "a point of support, where more opportunities, whether academic or work related, are generated".
Furthermore, Luis Fernando Leal and Francisco Balderas make us see that it is also a way to consolidate the vocation and the integration of the Biotechnology student community. Francisco tells us: "[I hope that] they pride themselves of being biotechnologists, of the support among students and the willingness to transcend that we have; I hope that they feel more and more proud of being what they are". Meanwhile, Luis Fernando says "[I expect the association] to be an ensign, and even more than association, we have always tried to be a big family".
About the biotechnologistsSobre los Biotecnólogos
The coordinators of the association know very well who are the Genomic Biotechnology students and the great potential that they have to get into in the economic life of the country. Undoubtedly, the association has taken this into account for the organization of the GENOBIOTEC 2013 congress.
Diego Cuerda tells us that the Genomic Biotechnologist is a versatile and high-perfomance human resource: "What distinguishes Genomic Biotechnologists the most is their proactivity and their commitment to science. A Genomic Biotechnologist, in my humble point of view, can perform any role in the economy of the country, since it is an elite student and can adapt to different situations and occupations that might be directly unrelated to Biotecnology and Genomics."
Porfirio Quintero let us know that the biotechnologists have a number of competitive advantages: "their specialized knowlege and their autodidact skills. In the era of Biology, Genomic Biotechnologists have the potential of contributing to the development and implementation of technology in a country plenty of opportunities". .
Heber Torres is sure that "all the Genomic Biotechnologists have a great potential and a lot of ideas that can contribute with great technological advancement to almost any field of industry, as well as the great vision of not conforming with what is already there right now, that innovation potential. I feel that there are many opportunities for development in the country where Genomic Biotechnologists can make their path".
Paulyna Magaña tells us: "something that I frequently see in my colleagues and me, is that will to always go on, to grow, to become better; I see there is a thirst for knowledge as well. In a way, there is also internal competition, but it does not take place in an envious way; it is a healthy competition for standing out. We Genomic Biotechnologists are known for our accountability and our entrepreneur soul, since we are creating an are of economic development for the country. Mexico is experiencing a proliferation of Biotechnology companies and their number is expected to keep growing in the years to come. We will see us not only as researchers, but also as entrepreneurs.
For Luis Fernando Leal, what characterizes a Genomic Biotechnologist is that mentality that looks for trascendence. Finally, Francisco Balderas make us see that the biotechnologists our country needs are already in formation: "I believe that, beyond being the so called future, we are a reality already."
-MLS
