Early Career Researchers Workshop
Informatics Europe aims to nurture talent and cultivate a diverse pool of future leaders with a broad understanding of the discipline. As part of this effort, we organise again at ECSS 2024 the "Professional Development Workshop for Early Career Researchers" on Monday, 28 October. The workshop will be chaired by Dimka Karastoyanova, University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and Irene Vanderfeesten, KU Leuven (Belgium).
This year’s workshop will focus on mentoring and support for PhD Students and PostDocs on their paths to academic careers. The workshop program will cover subjects like what opportunities there are for a career in academia and what steps are necessary to establish a sustainable career path through several presentations on these topics. We will also give the floor to PhDs who recently completed successful PhD projects to share insights and experiences about their paths. Furthermore, selected ongoing PhD student projects will be presented during the PhD Symposium, where a panel of senior researchers will provide feedback and guidance, as well as in individual mentoring sessions to presenters. Last but not least, participants will get a chance to exchange insights with their peers and further develop their support network.
Accepted manuscripts, selected by a peer-review process based on the PhD Symposium manuscript submission, will be considered for the poster session, to be held during the closing day cocktail event with all ECSS participants. Accepted manuscripts will also be considered for publication in the post-proceedings.
Workshop Rundown
11:00 - 11:05 Welcome and Introduction
11:05 - 12:30 Session 1: Navigating a Research Career in Academia
Presentations dedicated to insights that will support PhD Students and Postdocs in identifying the best practices in obtaining the skills, networks and tools to navigate the different stages of their career development – from a PhD position, through post-doctoral research to an assistant professor position. Participants will enjoy presentations on topics like:
- How to prepare for an academic career?
- What are the career opportunities in academia?
- What skills are required?
- What should early career researchers know to find the most suitable PostDoc and Assistant professor position?
- What actions support your next career step?
- What is the role of a mentor and how to select one?
Details of the presenters will follow.
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 -16:00 Session 2: ECSS PhD Symposium
Details of submission for the PhD Symposium will follow.
16:00 - 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 - 18:00 Session 3: What makes a PhD Project a Success?
Several presentations will be given by recent PhD graduates, who will share their insights and experience about their PhD projects, what kind of support they received from their supervisors, organization, support activities, and peer network, and what helped them navigate through the ups and downs of a PhD trajectory. At the end of the session, a plenary discussion with the presenters will take place.
19:00 - 22:00 Welcome Cocktail including the Early Career Researchers Poster Session
