by Emma Lière (ERCIM Office)
ERCIM organized an online community event for its fellows and guests for the second time on 4 November 2022.
Due to high demand and real interest, ERCIM decided to renew this event, which was originally organised during the pandemic in 2021. The main objective remained the same than for the first community event, namely to promote and improve the interaction between fellows. For this second edition, not only fellows but also their coordinators and representatives of ERCIM members were invited. A total of 59 participants met online to exchange ideas and get to know each other.
Several constraints were taken into account when designing this event. One was the diversity of the audience, which consisted of postdocs from all over the world who were not at the same stage of their fellowship. Another was the duration, which should not be too long for an online event, but allowed for the presentation of 36 posters. In addition, this event should be free of charge for all participants. By using the innovative online platform “Gather Town” all these parmeters could be taken into account.
Four virtual rooms were set up for the heart of the event, the poster sessions. These sessions allowed to showcase the remarkable scientific work of ERCIM postdocs and help them find common points of interest. Three host institutes (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, VTT and Inria) had a stand where they could also present their organisations. In addition, Professor Keith G Jeffery gave a very interesting talk on "Open Access".
The results of this community event far exceeded expectations. An anonymous post-event survey showed that for all participants who responded, the programme met their expectations, the event was useful and new contacts were established.
The event was organized by Emma Lière, coordinator of the ERCIM scholarship programme, with the support of Catherine Riou and moderated by Monica Divitini, NTNU, Chair of the ERCIM Human Capital Task Group.
http://fellowship.ercim.eu
Testimonials
"The ERCIM Fellowship Programme Community Event exceeded my expectations. It was the second time I participated in this event. Not only did I meet new people, but I also received research assistance with new insights. Emma and Catherine did a great job in bringing all ERCIM community members together on the Gather Town platform. I would enthusiastically recommend this event in the future."
Shipra Singh, ERCIM Fellow at NTNU
"As a participant in the ERCIM Fellowship Programme Community Event 2022, I gained very useful insights from the keynote sessions, while meeting other ERCIM fellows was also very interesting, especially because it provided a platform for visibility of ERCIM fellows among fellows as well as a networking opportunity for further interactions and possible collaborations. Finally, the Gather Town app platform provided an eco-friendly virtual space and made the interaction during the poster sessions very intentional and engaging."
Aderonke Favour-Bethy Thompson
"Many thanks for providing such an excellent and interactive online platform - 'Gather Town' - to meet other ERCIM fellows and exchange ideas. Overall, it was a fruitful and fun way to share research ideas with other ERCIM fellows. The ERCIM fellowship is a great opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research and build a network with internationally renowned researchers. My sincere thanks go to the ERCIM staff, especially Emma and Catherine, who are excellent administrators, unpretentious and always helpful. Once again, thank you very much!"
Nitin Muchhal
