Editorial: My experience as EPS Young Minds in the CMD27- EPS-DPG spring meeting
The 2018 joint meeting of the German Physical Society (DPG) and the European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Divisions took place in Berlin from 11th to 16th of March 2018.
EPS Young Minds was invited to the special EPS 50th anniversary session. I had the chance to present the EPS Young Minds history, from the project’s birth to the current state of 49 sections.
EPS Young Minds participation in this event targeted useful skills to shape physicists’ future careers. It also offered a fantastic networking opportunity for young physicists across Europe.
To begin with, EPS Young Minds organised an outreach session. The emphasis relied on the importance of communicating science to the general public.
EPS president Rüdiger Voss introduced “The role of outreach projects in a researcher’s career”. Roberta Caruso gave an overview on the “EPS Young Minds Project and outreach”. Two fascinating successful outreach projects were presented. Sarah Schulz talked about “DPG Physics for Refugees” and Barbara Capone provided an overview on “Sunshine for Palestine”.
The participants showed great attention throughout the motivating presentations.
It is known that only a small percentage of Physics PhD students will get an academic position. EPS Young Minds organised an event to debate and advertise different career options for physicists. In the form of a discussion panel, the audience engaged with diverse speakers in a round of questions and answers.
The first session focused on academic career paths. Among the invited speakers were early-stage postdocs Aline Dinkelacker and Fatema Tanjia. Moreover, group leaders Antigone Marino, Andy Thomas and Jean-Jaques Greffet reviewed their career-steps. Moderated by the post-doc Andreas Mayer, the open discussion provided guidance on academic career planning. The relevance of soft skills or international experience generated a lot of interest.
The second session offered a more contrasting view on non-academic profiles. The speakers presented other professional opportunities than the general “industrial role”. I had the honour to moderate this session, as I’m currently a PhD student but also an aerospace engineer with previous experience in industry. Speakers Mathieu Grisolia and Luis Prill Sempere work on innovation and start-up creation. Lucia Santa Maria is a data scientist and Benjamin Sheard an editor and publisher.
The good mix of experiences and backgrounds helped to motivate the audience. The transition towards the new positions and its relation to physics were key topics. The career events were very successful, with a high attendance and participation. I remember receiving extremely positive feedback following the sessions.
In summary, EPS Young Minds essential role in the CMD27 was to promote outreach activities and provide career advice. As a young physicist and a person with a different background, I found these events really inspiring. Looking at the future, I am positive that EPS Young Minds will deliver the best outcome once more.
Araceli Venegas Gómez
Member of the EPS Young Minds board
Visit the conference website: http://berlin18.dpg-tagungen.de/index?set_language=en&cl=en
