NitroEurope - Young Scientists' Forum

News

Communicating Nitrogen Research: Working with the media to develop effective strategies

The second workshop focussing on the communication of nitrogen research will be held in London from 24th to 26th January 2011.  The central theme of the event will be the development of strategies to communicate the results of NitroEurope and the European Nitrogen Assessment (from NinE) through discussions with media professionals and scientists with media experience.  Based on these discussions, a "Nitrogen Information Pack" will be developed through group work and an action plan for communication activities in 2011 drawn up.  Participant accommodation, breakfast, lunch and travel costs (up to a maximum of 400 Euros travel costs per participant) will be funded by the organisers. Places are limited to 25 and, in the case of over-subscription,  selection will be based on the responses to the questions on the application form.  Due to the short notice of the workshop, the application deadline is 10th December 2010. 

Opening Nitrogen Science to the People was a success!: To find out about the activities and outputs of the workshop, please read the event summary here.

The NitroEurope Young Scientists recently held a 2-day workshop, NitroResolution 2008, which combined group and plenary sessions with leisure activities and excursions in southern Estonia. The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss future research challenges, ways to improve current research methods and how best to communicate results with the general public.

What is the Young Scientists' Forum?

The Young Scientists' Forum (YSF) is a way for PhD students and other young scientists within the NitroEurope project to collaborate, discuss and exchange ideas. The YSF was initiated at the NitroEurope kick-off meeting in Garmisch, March 2006 and a summary of the discussions was presented at this meeting.

What does it do?

The YSF sets its own agenda and therefore the activities of the YSF will inevitably evolve during the lifetime of NitroEurope. The Garmisch meeting highlighted the following areas where young scientists have an interest:

• Small collaborative projects between young scientists from different institutes/countries. (These can be submitted to the NitroEurope Scientific Steering Committee, which has a small budget allocated for such initiatives.)

• Input into the design and execution of the NitroEurope Summer Schools

• The establishment of training networks and mentoring schemes

• The communication of NitroEurope science to school children

• Ways to highlight the work of young scientists within NitroEurope

Who can join?

We haven't set an age limit to joining the YSF because it is impossible to define what is a young scientist (without making other scientists feel old). A broad definition would be anybody doing a PhD or has completed a PhD within the last few years. Basically, if you feel that you are still on that steep learning curve and would benefit from discussions with other young scientists then the forum is for you.