Early-career researchers lament potential loss of Europe ’s largest transdisciplinary science conference

EuroScience Open Forum gave early-career researchers an opportunity to interact with policymakers and scientists from across Europe. EuroScience Over the past 2 decades, the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) has brought together scientists, policymakers, businesspeople, journalists, and citizens to discuss European science and its broader policy and societal implications. For early-career researchers, it has offered a unique platform to network beyond their own field, access career development resources, raise awareness of the issues they face, and build up momentum to tackle them. But as the preparations for this year’s ESOF edition in June in the Polish city of Katowice are in full swing, the future prospects of the largest European conference of its kind are all but certain. On 26 January, the European Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (EuroScience), which created the conference and owns the ESOF brand, filed for bankruptcy. Now, all signs are pointing to this year’s event as the last one, at least in its current form. “It is an enormous loss” for early-career researchers in Europe, says Fernanda Bajanca, a clinical research manager at the University Hospital Center of Toulouse. Coordinating sessions at ESOF in 2018 gave her experience with large-scale management that “helped me redefine my career,” she says, while interacting with policymakers “boosted my interest in volunteering and being active in th...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news