The International Student Science Conference 2023 was held from the 12th to 17th of May, by PLC Sydney, as a part of their 135th anniversary celebrations. The conference was attended by 60 delegates from 7 schools from Australia, India, Germany, Italy and Taiwan. It provided students with the opportunity to interact with like minded students from around the world, and understand their scientific motives and beliefs.

A major part of the conference was students presenting their research projects, which gave them exposure and experience in designing and conducting their own research. The Doon School Teams presented ‘Bioplastics’ and ‘Impact Forces on a ball in a varying density solution’ to all of the delegates, which was followed by a Q&A session.

Three keynotes by Professor Veena Sahajwalla (University of NSW), Associate Professor Ziv Hameiri (University of NSW) and Professor Katherine Belov (University of Sydney) revolving around the themes sustainability and protecting our environment also featured.

The conference also included various interactive activities such as a solar car race, where students engineered their own solar powered car, and raced them. Another popular activity was genome sequencing, where students were provided large amounts of data and they were supposed to process and analyse it.

The delegates also visited the University of Sydney, where they got an opportunity to work in their labs and interact with undergraduates from various fields, learning about their work. Visiting Toronga Zoo was also a wonderful experience, where delegates saw animals such as koalas and kangaroos, enriching their knowledge about Australian ecosystems and dangers faced by them.

Apart from these places, the delegates also visited places of importance such as the Opera House and Botanic Gardens, to learn about Australian Culture and traditions. All the delegates also presented a cultural display, showcasing famous food/clothing or heritage of their country. The Doon School delegates first presented the story of Ramayana, which was followed by a display of Kabaddi, showcasing India’s oldest sport and one of the most influential stories. The boys were escorted by Dr. Srinivas Swamy (SSW) and Mrs. Ruchi Sahni (RHS) to the conference.