10 tips for newcomers

1. 1.Start early

   Before any registration opening, before any people joining the team, before you have your trainers, even before the end of the previous Giant Jamboree you should be already planning for your team. You have so many things to plan and you have so many tasks ahead of you. Search for people and find your lab space immediately. Just start early.

2. 2.Think about the money in advance

   Money will not come on its own. You have to find it and ask for it. Most reliable source are the universities and most abundant source are the corporations. Both of these plan their budgets very much in advance, so they need to know that you need the money. So go and tell them very early. Like immediately after New Year’s break. Or even earlier.

3. 3.Make your team’s success a public effort

   Even if all your above efforts seem in vain, do not despair. The whole idea of having such young students working on actual cutting-edge science project instead of drinking all summer long seems very sexy to the society. So you may appeal to everybody to help you a little bit, instead of waiting for the big money. You are going to be surprised how much money you are going to raise through small PayPal donations and even by just selling T-shirts in the street. Also the consumables you need are not that many after all, and there are numerous labs that could spare some of their stockpiles to help you. But to achieve that, you have to convince everybody that you are working for a noble cause. First, create yourself an NGO. Then talk to the journalists, spread the news. Have your grandma be proud of you and discuss your participation with the neighbors. Have politicians come and take photos with you. Finally, go in the streets, sell T-shirts or whatever you invent. Become the news of the day.

4. 4.Get to know each other ASAP

   Financial resources are important, but human capital is THE resource. So if you are going to be one team that works on the same task for the months to come, you really need to know each other well. Even like each other, if possible. So go to parties together, hike together, hang out together the moment you are collected as a team. Better resolve any personal issues before you have to really start working hard.

5. 5.Make sure you ALL love the project

   Scientific work, especially in Biology requires a lot of efforts, so you need people to be really excited about the project. Discuss it as long as it takes until everybody is happy with it. Otherwise it won’t work.

6. 6.Follow the deadlines

   Young people are used to a carefree life style and they tend to try to avoid efforts. Especially intelligent young people. So you have to learn to kick your own but and be really careful about not missing any deadlines, or you might screw up just because you have forgotten to fill a form. The organizers usually send reminders, many of them, but you cannot rely solely on their efforts. Learn some discipline.

7. 7.Ask for help

   Whatever happens, no matter how lost you feel, especially when everything is going wrong, do not panic. Help comes from unknown directions. You just need to ask for it. Ask everywhere and everybody. Learn to have faith. And patience.

8. 8.Work, work, work

   Even if you have provided for everything, you still need to get the project done. So work all the time and work hard. Summer is for vacations and all your friends are at the seaside, but you need to carry on working. This is the only way to have good results. No other option. And do not forget that you are going to have your next Halloween in Boston, MA.

9. 9.Try to make money

   Once the project is clear and you have some work done, think of the people this project is going to be useful for. Maybe some businesses could profit from your idea. Contact them. Explain them. Let them understand. You may never know. Maybe this is the shortest way to your first startup and possibly a future career. You have made a lot of efforts. Try to get paid for them.

10. 10.Be cool

    Whatever happens. Practical problems always have their practical solutions. Just sit down, think and do your best. In the end of the day, no one is going to die, are they? So just be cool. Always.