The future of European science is in the hands of the next generation of researchers. However, policy makers are not paying enough attention to supporting the next generation and the voice of young scientists is not always taken into account. In this session the microphone will be given to the next generation of researchers and issues of importance for young researchers will be discussed. The issues have been selected based on the results of a European large scale survey and by the speakers’ experiences.
To set the scene, the results of a survey that Euroscience is currently carrying out among more than 30,000 young researchers in Europe will be presented. The findings will be commented on by Ruth Muller whom has taken the career of young scientists as a topic of her research. Further, Dorthe Bomholdt Ravnsbæk, the winner of the European Young Researchers Award 2010, will share her experience doing research in an interdisciplinary environment. Finally, Natalia Borkowska will talk about how the Young European Biotech Network communicates the interests of young researchers to policy makers.
The session will conclude with a discussion about the working conditions of young researchers, more specifically about mobility seen from three different perspectives: geographic (moving between countries); sectoral (moving between academia and industry); field (moving between scientific fields). Finally, the main barriers to successfully pursuing an academic research career will be discussed and the audience will be encouraged to suggest practical remedies.