European science conversations
by the community, for the community
After 2008, the global crisis had hit the Greek economy for good and affected academia and its funding. My attempts to fund my R&D work through EU and National projects, or via outside collaborations, were unsuccessful. Despite these setbacks, Greek artificial intelligence scientist Nikolas Nanas decided to turn his PhD work on adaptive information filtering into a real world application that became the NOOWIT magazine platform.
The European Union needs a million more researchers over the next decade and it plans to devote 3% of GDP to R&D by 2020 to keep up with its main economic competitors and be a knowledge-based economy, according to this year’s European Commission Researchers’ Read more […]
Republika Srpska, the Serbian entity in the highly ethnically and politically divided Bosnia and Herzegovina, has a new science strategy, complete with an action plan to internationalise its currently dismal science, link it to industry and boost funding Read more […]
The largest conference in your field is right around the corner. You might have the prettiest poster and the most tantalising talk, but unless you fully recognise and seize the vast and critical opportunities presented there, your conference experience will be a bust and your career will be negatively affected.
Recently, a newly minted science doctorate asked me for some help finding a job. He had applied for hundreds of advertised openings, both postdoc and non-academic positions, but to no avail. So I asked him about his networking strategy. “What networking strategy?” he replied, clueless to what I was referring. I spent the next hour emphasising the importance of networking in finding hidden job opportunities and communicating your value to decision-makers. I outlined for him a customised networking plan which would enable him to meet and interact with professionals who have the power to hire him for the jobs he so desperately wanted. When our meeting concluded, I asked for feedback on the career consulting session – “Did you find our discussion helpful?” I inquired, thinking I was up for a major pat on the back. “No,” he said instantly. “You didn’t tell me where I can apply for a job or places where there are more advertisements for jobs.”
Michael Conway discusses the UK’s drastic shake up to University funding and student fees.
So you’ve got a theoretical PhD… but what next? There are some career possibilities which combine the advantages of university and industry.
Every year dozens of students complete science communication courses – but are there enough science journalism and writing jobs to go round? As the end of my science communication course was looming, the main concern I had was to get a job. A year Read more […]
EuroScientist journal 
