The EURAXESS Biennial Conference was recently held in Katowice, Poland. 200 EURAXESS network colleagues from over 43 countries and 9 international hubs attended the event. 3 days of presentations, networking, workshops, discussions and planning took place. As well as celebrations for the 20th year of the EURAXESS network.
Representatives from the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth all gave speeches at the opening of the conference.
There were panel sessions on:
- Launch of revamped EURAXESS and the ERA Talent Platform
- The evolution of EURAXESS
- EURAXESS Newcomers’ session
- EURAXESS latest insights
- Keynote: The future of research careers
- Involvement of EURAXESS in national ERA Action Plans
As well as 16 workshops, including topics:
- Navigating the Researcher's Journey: Challenges and Good Practices in Mobility
- Addressing Precarity – Researcher Career Frameworks and Tenure Track in Mobility
- From Lab to Launch: Supercharging Research Careers Through Scientific Start-up Entrepreneurship
- Well-being with a Focus on the Mental Health of Researchers
From the UK, representatives were present from Bangor University , Bournemouth University , University of Strathclyde , Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) and Vitae.
Sarah Cunningham of Bangor University said: "This was my first time attending a EURAXESS Conference and I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I found it to be a great opportunity to meet with colleagues from all over Europe and find we all face similar issues and challenges. I hadn’t previous appreciated the level of resources and support available from the EURAXESS Network, at these sessions, but also on the newly launched webpages so this is something I will be exploring in more depth and sharing with colleagues at my institution. The speaker sessions and workshops provided a great insight into research ecosystems and activities within Europe and highlighted to me the benefits of collaborative working and creating strong networks. Special mention also to the organising team in Katowice and the catering which was amazing."
Ainar Blaudums of Bournemouth University said of the conference: "The EURAXESS biennial conference was an amazing opportunity to meet colleagues serving the research community in other countries across Europe and beyond. This event with a busy day-to-day agenda was invaluable for me personally and professionally as I got a much deeper insight into EURAXES as an organisation, its values, and its objectives." Ainar also said "My everyday work at Bournemouth University is to assist academics in applying for EU funding. As a contact point for the EURAXESS network, I mainly help academics find talented young researchers and promote exciting externally funded research positions at the university."
Photos from the conference can be viewed here.