Workshops
Early researcher career
Edurne Estévez 1,2, Daniel Morant 3, Isabel Fernandes 4,5
Young AIL, from the Iberian Association of Limnology
Email: [email protected]
Young AIL, from the Iberian Association of Limnology
- Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
- Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Spain
- Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), University of Minho, Portugal
- Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability (IB-S), University of Minho, Portugal
Email: [email protected]
Early career researchers (ECRs) are the base that will sustain future science. Starting a scientific career can be exciting, intellectually challenging and a way of meeting new people, amazing places around the world and making new scientific discoveries. However, it can also be an intimidating process for those that begin it.
In this workshop we aim at making an overview of the benefits and challenges of a scientific life and provide hints on how to be a successful researcher, particularly focusing on how collaborative research projects can contribute to this goal.
The workshop will be divided in two parts: an initial set of presentations of the different aspects of a research career followed by a round table in which the participants will share their experience and vision.
Presentations will start with a description of the perks of a scientific job as well as the obscured parts of it (e.g. frustration, unproductivity, unsuccessfulness). Techniques to deal with them as to achieve a healthy work-life balance will be provided, illustrating how developing a mentoring network can contribute to it. The workshop will then continue exploring the skills that can contribute to success as a researcher and how these skills will also be useful when alternative career paths other than academia are considered (e.g., private companies, governmental agencies, consultancy). In this sense, collaborative research projects can be highly beneficial to pave the way in the research career. This workshop will focus on projects conducted on freshwater ecosystems and specially on those launched by European Freshwater Associations such as the Iberian Association of Limnology (AIL) and the European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) since these projects are exclusively managed and conducted by ECRs and have a strong potential to boost their career. We will specifically deep in the benefits and challenges of early career collaborative projects as described in two recent papers: “Collaborative Projects: Unleashing Early Career Scientists’ Power”1 & “Early-Career Coordinated Distributed Experiments: Empowerment Through Collaboration”2.
The workshop will conclude with a round table in which participants at different stages of the scientific career will share their experience. Those leading and participating in collaborative projects will expose how these experiences have impacted their career. ECRs will have the opportunity to express their concerns, ask for advice and discuss actions and strategies that will help them navigate the beginnings of a research career.
In this workshop we aim at making an overview of the benefits and challenges of a scientific life and provide hints on how to be a successful researcher, particularly focusing on how collaborative research projects can contribute to this goal.
The workshop will be divided in two parts: an initial set of presentations of the different aspects of a research career followed by a round table in which the participants will share their experience and vision.
Presentations will start with a description of the perks of a scientific job as well as the obscured parts of it (e.g. frustration, unproductivity, unsuccessfulness). Techniques to deal with them as to achieve a healthy work-life balance will be provided, illustrating how developing a mentoring network can contribute to it. The workshop will then continue exploring the skills that can contribute to success as a researcher and how these skills will also be useful when alternative career paths other than academia are considered (e.g., private companies, governmental agencies, consultancy). In this sense, collaborative research projects can be highly beneficial to pave the way in the research career. This workshop will focus on projects conducted on freshwater ecosystems and specially on those launched by European Freshwater Associations such as the Iberian Association of Limnology (AIL) and the European Federation for Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) since these projects are exclusively managed and conducted by ECRs and have a strong potential to boost their career. We will specifically deep in the benefits and challenges of early career collaborative projects as described in two recent papers: “Collaborative Projects: Unleashing Early Career Scientists’ Power”1 & “Early-Career Coordinated Distributed Experiments: Empowerment Through Collaboration”2.
The workshop will conclude with a round table in which participants at different stages of the scientific career will share their experience. Those leading and participating in collaborative projects will expose how these experiences have impacted their career. ECRs will have the opportunity to express their concerns, ask for advice and discuss actions and strategies that will help them navigate the beginnings of a research career.
- Bodmer, P., et al. (2019). "Collaborative Projects: Unleashing Early Career Scientists’ Power." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 34(10): 871-874.
- Pastor, A., et al. (2020). "Early-Career Coordinated Distributed Experiments: Empowerment Through Collaboration." Frontiers in Education 5(13).