Aiming at “Bringing together industry and academia”, this event will: – present the exciting research opportunities in large industries, SMEs and start-ups – encourage and stimulate the dialogue between young graduates and the entrepreneurial world, to close the gap between industry and academia.
Don’t miss the opportunity to interact with major physics-based companies involved in energy production, biophysics, soft matter, machine learning, transportation and quantum technologies.
The European Physical Society (EPS) Young Mind Programme will contribute to RPER 2021 through a Forum dedicated to the employment of young physicists in Europe.
Ph.D. students and Post Doctoral researchers are now welcome to register: The registration fee does not exceed €16 and includes lunch on September 17. One night’s lodging and dinner will also be offered to attendees living outside the Ile-de-France region upon request, but the number of places is limited.
On 7 May 2021, the EPS Young Minds Leadership Meeting took place online. It was the first gathering of the whole YM community since the leadership meeting 2019 in Erlangen. 55 section delegates, representing 21 countries and vastly different career levels ranging from bachelor students to postdocs, attended the meeting and made it a large success.
The meeting included two parts, the first taking place on Zoom and the second on the virtual interaction platform Gather Town. On Zoom EPS YM programme manager Ophélia Fornari welcomed the participants and provided an overview of new functionalities for section management on the EPS website to the participants. She was followed by Richard Zeltner, YM Action Committee Chair, who gave a wrap-up on the years 2020 and 2021 from the YM perspective and highlighted the numerous section activities that were carried out despite the ongoing pandemic. He also gave an outlook on the plans for the rest of the year and 2022 and thanked the members of the Action Committee that left the programme over the course of the last two years, in particular Petra Rudolf who handed over the EPS presidentship, and thus the position in the YM Action Committee, just in April. As the third speaker, Luc Bergé, current EPS president, presented his agenda and his plan to establish the EPS Forum to the YM community. The first part of the meeting was concluded by a panel discussion on career advice for young scientists. The discussion on topics ranging from the role of professional media platforms for personal branding over the difference of working in academia and industry to the importance of aligning career choices with individual aptitudes and talents was very much appreciated by the young minds and certainly a highlight of the event.
The 2021 Young Minds Leadership Meeting brought together more than 50 section delegates from 21 different countries in the virtual realm.
After the panel discussion, the meeting transitioned to Gather Town, where the participants could engage in more informal activities. During a speed networking event, the participants had the opportunity to refresh old connections and to establish new ones within the YM community. This was followed by a Physics Quiz, in which the participants teamed up in small groups and tested their knowledge, not only on physics but also on Trivia and on questions of popular science.
Considering the large number of participants and the very positive feedback that we received during and after the meeting, the event was a large success. Moreover, for the sections that started their activity in 2020 and 2021 the meeting was a great opportunity to gain more insights into the programme and to connect with the network. Even though, we are very much looking forward to connect with the YM community physically again in 2022.
Finally, we would like to warmly thank our panelists Gabrielle Thomas, Lucia Santamaria, Luc Bergé, Chang Kee Jung and Petra Rudolf for their contribution to the panel discussion. We also thank Florian Schorn and Dominik Rattenbacher from the Erlangen section hBar Omega for providing the Gather Town Environment and their contribution to the Physics Quiz.
Recents years have seen increasing awareness of the stress and strain that, in particular, the early stage of an academic career can put on students and young researchers. To address this problem and to contribute to the further dissemination of knowledge and awareness EPS YM organized a webinar featuring Dr. Andrea Welsh, Postdoctoral Fellow & Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh, and advocate for this important topic. In her talk she discussed the current situation, provided a review of the scientific literature and sketched solution tools for both the community and individuals. With more than 30 participants in the webinar, and many more following the live stream on social media, the event has been a great success. Many thanks to Andrea for her time and effort.
EPS YM is delighted to announce the webinar series “From PhD to CEO – Making an Exciting Leap into Business”. In each of the six sessions a young researcher will share his story on how he set up a business. The event is a collaboration with The Optical Society. Registration for the individual sessions is possible via the OSA website
Dear Young Minds,
We are happy to see that despite the unclear situation around the Corona pandemic many sections are very active and have applied for an activity grant. We are currently evaluation the applications. Notifications will be sent around in mid August.
The current pandemic has impacted many organisations, leading to decreased productivity of many fields and delay in projects. Naturally, the Young Minds project has been affected as well. However, it has also opened the possibility to experiment with novel ways of communication and exchange, for instance webinars.
We are glad to share our positive experience with the very first webinar organized by the Action Committee: “Bringing visibility to your event though photos: DOs & DON’Ts” hosted on June the 9th covered aspects on creating media content that attract and tells stories, especially focusing on the connection between science and people. The event was moderated and hosted by Hripsime Mkrtchyan, YM Action Committee member, and the speaker was Francesca di Franco, PhD student at Leon Berard Cancer Center in Lyon and former member of the Naples YM section PONYS. Francesca has an extensive experience as a photographer, especially in scientific events such as science fairs, congresses and workshops. During the one hour long webinar she shared her know-how on the production of multimedia contents to maximize the impact of science-related activities on social media. The webinar and its record has been viewed by more than 100 followers, and is now uploaded in our YouTube channel, making it available for the wider community.
Francesca di Franco, former member of the YM section Naples, will discuss how catchy media content can be created without the use of professional instrumentation.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected also the YM program in several ways, among the others the annual Leadership Meeting had to be postponed. This does not mean, however, that our yearly appointment will be skipped. For the rest of the year, we are planning a number of online seminars covering a range of topics from outreach to professional development and networking, with speakers coming from different backgrounds all over Europe.
First up is Francesca Di Franco, PhD student at Leon Berard Cancer Center in Lyon, and former member of the Naples YM section PONYS Physics & Optics Naples Young Students. Francesca has an extensive experience as photographer, especially for scientific events such as science fairs, congresses and workshop. She will share her know-how on the production of multimedia contents to maximize the impact of science-related activities on social media.
The YM Action Committee welcomes Hripsime Mkrtchyan (left) and Tanausú Hernández (middle). Richard Zeltner (right) has been elected as the new chair and is following Roberta Caruso, who did not run for another term, into office.
While the annual leadership meeting and the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of EPS YM have been postponed due to the Corona-pandemic many sections all over Europe are active despite the challenging situation, and some are even testing new and innovative formats to e.g. perform outreach activities via online channels.
Of course the Action Committee is active as well in managing the project, and has assembled for an online meeting last week. Among others the meeting brought the election of a new chair: Richard Zeltner will succeed Roberta Caruso, who did not run for another period, to the office. Many thanks to Roberta for years of dedication and leadership. But this was not the only personal change: Araceli Venegas-Gomez and Giorgio Nocerino are leaving the committee to follow new challenges, and Hripsime Mkrtchyan and Tanausú Hernández, who joined early this year, were formally introduced. Many thanks to Araceli and Giorgio for their valuable contributions over the years and all the best for their future, and welcome to Hripsime and Tanausú.
Following the discussion with section representatives, and in view of the YM 10th anniversary, we are happy to announce that EPS will grant free membership to all BSc and MSc students involved in the YM program.
To access the benefit, follow the instructions here.
The YM Action Committee is currently looking for a limited number of motivated candidates to join.
The Committee members are engaged in the management of the whole project, including the approval or rejection grant applications and the definition of the strategic long-term goals for the future development.
If you are interested, please send an email to ac(at)epsyoungminds.org with a one-page (maximum) application stating your motivation, your experience within the projet and other experiences you beleieve are relevant. A previous history within Young Minds or similar programs is not mandatory but highly appreciated.
Deadline for applications is November 30th, notifications will be sent out by the end of December.
