Waking up at six o'clock in the morning to offer help late into the evening and night has been a routine for Hao Na, a volunteer at the ongoing World Biomaterials Congress.

The prestigious five-day global forum that opened on June 1 in Chengdu attracted renowned experts from 57 countries and regions.

"It was past 11 o'clock at night when we returned to school from the conference center on the opening ceremony day," said Hao, a freshman student at Sichuan University's National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials.

The long hours do not appear to bother her at all because she values the opportunity to listen to presentations by the world's top scientists and researchers.

"I can learn more about the latest progress in science," she told China Daily during a break as she sipped a cup of coffee while wearing a volunteer's green T-shirt.

"You see I'm not always working. Sometimes the meeting room I'm assigned to serve is not booked for panel discussions - then I can go somewhere else to choose any topic I'm interested in to listen to," she said.

Almost all her schoolmates from Sichuan University are out in force for the global biomaterials gathering.

"We are uplifted and excited to experience the high-level academic atmosphere," Hao said.

She said she is "full of fantasies" about her own career possibilities after graduation and the future development of biomaterials research.

"Around 300 volunteers are working," said Jiang Qing, a professor at the biomaterials research center, who is in charge of the volunteers group.

"The meeting is a rare opportunity to approach so many academic leaders in the biomaterials field," Jiang said.

"We wish that more of our students could participate, learning more about frontier research in this field, getting a clue about how to run an academic report, and even communicating with global experts face to face," he said.

Such an experience is especially important to undergraduates that comprise the major force of the current volunteer group, the professor said.

With exams approaching, some could not volunteer. Otherwise, the group would be even bigger, Jiang added.

Some 700 students applied to join the volunteer group with about half of them accepted, including four foreign students.

Most of the volunteers are studying majors related to the meeting including polymer materials, life sciences, chemistry, basic medical science and pharmacy, as well as exhibitions and conferences.

"They are real volunteers, with no pay or any other compensation except free lunch," Jiang said.

Their work has won wide praise from the meeting's participants. Nicholas A. Peppas, president of the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, said this year's event has been "the best ever" with the services offered by the "very exciting and enthusiastic young people in green" a contributing factor.

As one of the organizers, the university even issued 40 passes to two local high schools to encourage younger students to get involved in the event.

wangxin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/05/2012 page7)