Using Scientific Meetings to Enhance the Development of Early Career Scientists

The oceans play a crucial role in the global environment and the sustainability of human populations, because of their involvement in climate regulation and provision of living and non-living resources to humans. Maintenance of healthy oceans in an era of increasing human pressure requires a high-level understanding of the processes occurring in the marine environment and the impacts of anthropogenic activities. Effective protection and sustainable resource management must be based, in part, on knowledge derived from successful research. Current marine research activities are being limited by a need for high-quality researchers capable of addressing critical issues in broad multidisciplinary research activities. This is particularly true for developing countries which will require the building of capacity for marine scientific research. This paper reviews the current activities aimed at increasing marine research capacity in developing and emerging countries and analyses the challenges faced, including: appropriate alignment of the research goals and societal and policy-relevant needs; training in multidisciplinary research; increasing capacity for overall synthesis of scientific data; building the capacity of technical staff; keeping highly qualified personnel in marine scientific research roles; cross-cultural issues in training; minimising duplication in training activities; improving linkages among human capital, project resources and infrastructure. Potential solutions to these challenges are provided, along with some priorities for action aimed at improving the overall research effort. AbstractThe oceans play a crucial role in the global environment and the sustainability of human populations, because of their involvement in climate regulation and provision of living and non-living resources to humans. Maintenance of healthy oceans in an era of increasing human pressure requires a high-level understanding of the processes occurring in the marine environment and the impacts of anthropogenic activities. Effective protection and sustainable resource management must be based, in part, on knowledge derived from successful research. Current marine research activities are being limited by a need for high-quality researchers capable of addressing critical issues in broad multidisciplinary research activities. This is particularly true for developing countries which will require the building of capacity for marine scientific research. This paper reviews the current activities aimed at increasing marine research capacity in developing and emerging countries and analyses the challenges faced, including: appropriate alignment of the research goals and societal and policy-relevant needs; training in multidisciplinary research; increasing capacity for overall synthesis of scientific data; building the capacity of technical staff; keeping highly qualified personnel in marine scientific research roles; cross-cultural issues in training; minimising duplication in training activities; improving linkages among huma...

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“…This mode can create opportunities for networking, knowledge transfer and mentoring (Urban and Boscolo, 2013).…”

Section: Grants To Attend Meetingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mentoring can take place remotely, but is most commonly used as a component of scientific meetings (Urban and Boscolo, 2013). At scientific meetings, it can be helpful for early-career and more senior session chairs to be paired, so that early-career chairs can learn from their more experienced colleagues.…”

Section: Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing human capital for successful implementation of international marine scientific research projects

Morrison

Zhang

Urban

et al. 2013

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…3 Mutual influence of technology, organization, and policy/ planning on people and actions (Evans 1997). Arrow a represents technology first influencing action; which leads to b action influencing the organisation; c organisation in turn influencing action; d action influencing technology; e policy & planning influencing action; f action influencing policy & planning; and finally technological and organisational change of Urban and Boscolo (2013) in using scientific meetings to enhance the development of early-career scientists. Whilst Urban and Boscolo suggested organizing short workshops either before or after major conferences, the workshop described in this paper, developed using the "Smackdown" methodology, was sufficiently long to warrant its own calendar slot and also had funding available for travel and catering.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of a “semantics smackdown”

et al. 2016

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Within the field of ocean science there is a long history of using controlled vocabularies and other Semantic Web techniques to provide a common and easily exchanged description of datasets. As an activity within the European Union, United States, Australian-funded project "Ocean Data Interoperability Platform", a workshop took place in June 2014 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to further the use of these Semantic Web techniques with the aim of producing a set Linked Data publication patterns which describe many parts of a marine science dataset. During the workshop, a Semantic Web development methodology was followed which promoted the use of a team with mixed skills (computer, data and marine science experts) to rapidly prototype a model ontology which could be iterated in the future. In this paper we outline the methodology employed in the workshop, and examine both the technical and sociological outcomes of a workshop of this kind.

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“…Engaging in scientific meetings and with the scientific community in a field has long been considered critical to the success of an early career researcher (Urban, 2013). Support and mentoring for meeting attendance was the cornerstone of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Multicultural Program efforts to increase diversity in the field (Cuker, 2016).…”

Section: Travel In a Scientific Careermentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey on early career travel support shows geographic, career stage, and indigenous status inequality in access to polar science events

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Scientific meetings, conferences, field schools and workshops provide essential networking and training opportunities for early career researchers, but in highly international fields like polar sciences, attending these events can involve extensive travel. We surveyed Association of Polar Early Career Scientists members and other early career members of the polar science community to investigate the geographic and international variability in travel support relative to costs across the early stages of a researcher's career (Masters students, PhD students, post-docs and those in faculty or permanent research positions). 190 respondents from 38 countries answered questions on the perceived availability of different types and sources of travel funding and described up to three events they attended over the last two years. We found that the cost of attendance prevented nearly three-quarters of respondents from participating in at least one career-relevant events in the preceding two years. Due to insufficient research funding, early career researchers frequently have to top up partial support with personal funds. Increased event-based travel support would help to reduce out of pocket expenses, as would the timely notification of a travel award to benefit from early bird registration and cheaper travel and accommodation. Replacing the more common practice of travel reimbursement with a travel advance would remove another barrier to attendance. Large disparities in what kinds of expenses are covered exist between geographic regions and funding mechanisms. Addressing the disparities in travel support for career-relevant events will promote diversity and foster inclusion in the next generation of polar scientists.

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Using Scientific Meetings to Enhance the Development of Early Career Scientists

Cited by 11 publications

References 2 publications

Developing human capital for successful implementation of international marine scientific research projects

Developing human capital for successful implementation of international marine scientific research projects

Experiences of a “semantics smackdown”

Survey on early career travel support shows geographic, career stage, and indigenous status inequality in access to polar science events

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