What is EFYR?
Since 2011, early-career European freshwater scientists have had their forum within the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences (EFFS): European Fresh and Young Researchers (EFYR). EFYR gives a voice to early career researchers (ECRs: i.e., undergraduate students, PhD candidates and early postdocs) in EFFS, bringing matters of importance for ECRs to the attention of the senior board of representatives. We aim to create a network that supports communication and collaboration among junior researchers and that establishes links between young and senior researchers.
Right now there are 4 representatives for contact Zeynep Ersoy zzeynepersoy@gmail.com;
Nabil Majdi nabil.majdi@uni-bielefeld.de;
Fredric Windsor Fredric.Windsor@newcastle.ac.uk;
and Vanessa De Santis vanessa.desantis@irsa.cnr.it, but everyone is welcome to get involved within EFYR. We intend EFYR to follow a horizontal structure, where everyone can participate. If you have any activity in mind or you think that EFYR can help you somehow, don’t hesitate to contact us. So far, we have mainly organised activities that promote the interactions between junior and senior researchers at the biennial SEFS meetings. We have also organised workshops and seminars on topics of general interest, to contribute to the development of young researchers, and different research activities (Collaborative European Freshwater Science Project for Young Researchers- “FreshProject”, the best PhD thesis award). We are always open to suggestions from young researchers.
Where you can find us?
We have representation in social media, where all news regarding EFYR are posted and discussed. You can follow us on Twitter and read our posts on our blog. Through the website, young scientists can follow all the updates, access useful information about EFYR activities and other important issues (e.g., jobs and scientific advances), as well as interact with other young scientists within the federation and share their opinions. All those who want to join the group are welcome to access any of those social media platforms where they can actively participate in EFYR.
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EFYR during SEFS 9 in Geneva
In July 2015, the Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS) took place in Geneva (Switzerland). There, EFYR organized a course of scientific writing and publication process, fostered the award for the best European PhD, created the award of the best oral and poster students’ communications, and organised non-scientific get-together activities such as a music activity that got together senior scientists like Elisabeth Meyer and Leroy Poff with young researchers to perform some popular songs related to rivers and lakes. We also had a stand during the conference to announce all the ongoing EFYR activities and invited all students and anyone interested to join the EFYR 2015 meeting. Attendees to this meeting actively participated and were highly motivated in developing new initiatives or in improving the existing ones to enhance collaboration among young freshwater scientists in Europe.
EFYR during SEFS 10 in Olomouc
In July 2017, SEFS took place in Olomouc (Czech Republic). We organized academic paper publishing debates where, in an informal environment, young researchers had the opportunity to learn from the experiences of senior scientists. We started to create a list of contacts across Europe, so far, we are ca. 50, consisting of 65% PhDs, 26% postdocs, from 12 countries. We brought some freshwater costumes and many participants took funny pictures. We organized a “freshwater quiz” awarded with excellent Czech beer and organised the best poster and oral presentation awards!
EFYR during SEFS 11 in Zagreb
In July 2019, SEFS took place in Zagreb (Croatia). We organized a workshop entitled “Still waters run deep: past, present and future careers in limnology” based on 143 answers from 28 countries to an online survey. The results from this survey provided insights into how academic careers in limnology has changed over time and how they will be in the future. As results suggested, there have been great changes in the career paths. Many people worked in several countries before getting a permanent position and the time needed to get a permanent job varied across countries (on average 7.5 years).
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After the presentation of the results, early career researchers discussed tips on how to succeed in their careers and possible opportunities outside academia. We also organized a sports event in one afternoon in Zagreb where we had a lot of fun playing basketball and football, getting ready to fill our bellies with tons of Croatian beer and ćevapčići (grilled dish of minced meat found traditionally in the Balkans) at a local pub. We were present with our stand and organised the best poster and oral presentation and the best PhD thesis awards.
EFYR during SEFS 12 in Dublin
In July 2021, SEFS took place virtually in Dublin due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the difficult times faced by all of us, we started the conference by organizing an online workshop focusing on mental health and well-being where early career researchers had the opportunity to perform a mindfulness practice and meditation organized by Helena Cuculić (Mindfulness Croatia). After the practice, four senior scientists from academia and outside academia talked about their experiences in the challenging academic world and how to overcome these challenges. Finally, to give the chance to early career researchers to have social contact despite the virtual meeting, a social event was organized in which groups of 5 people were shuffled in virtual rooms and were given a few minutes to present themselves and exchange some words. Attendees to these activities greatly appreciate these initiatives. As in previous editions, we organized the best poster and oral presentation awards. Next SEFS will be held in Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK) in June 2023, we will hopefully be there, with our stand organizing activities and workshops, we are looking forward to seeing you all there!
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