A good place to start this month is with our Women in Science working group, which released a much-anticipated book on Motherhood in Science. This is a deeply personal book detailing the challenges that mothers face in academia. You can download the book here.
As 2020 continues to change how we live and work, one outcome has been an uptick in videos that we as an organisation have produced. To help better organise them, we have introduced a Feature Tab on our homepage to allow our videos to be quickly accessed. You can check out the video gallery here.
An update on our Global State of Young Scientists in Latin America and Caribbean countries working group, as well as news from our members and alumni and Young Academies and similar initiatives rounds out this issue.
Anindita Bhadra (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India) and Michael Saliba (University of Stuttgart, Germany) On behalf of the GYA Executive Committee
Beate Wagner (Managing Director)
On behalf of the GYA Office
GYA member Marian Nkansah (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana) has been named to The Analytical Scientist's Power List 2020. Read more here.
GYA member, Sandeep Kaur (University of Delhi, India) recently published an article titled "Sustainability Transformations and Covid" on the science blog Corona Sustainability Compass by the German Environment Agency jointly with Future Earth, the International Science Council, and Foundation 2°.
On the occasion of the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on 7 September 2020, Meghnath Dhimal (Nepal Health Research Council, Nepal) participated as a panelist in a discussion of air quality management in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.
GYA alumni Hans Hilgenkamp (University of Twente & Leiden University, the Netherlands) and Rees Kassen (University of Ottawa, Canada) have been invited to join the Global Future Council (GFC) on Scientific Collaboration, installed by the WEF. More information is available here.
GYA alumna Anina Rich (Macquarie University, Australia) has recently been featured in a variety of media discussing her work into synaesthesia, including this Macquarie University article and video, this American Scientist article, and this video interview by our friends at traces.dreams.
Please use this form to send us your stories and accomplishments - we'll include them in social media and in the newsletter!
Global State of Young Scientists in Latin America and Caribbean countries update
In October, members of the Global State of Young Scientists Latin America and Caribbean countries (GloSYS LAC) Working Group met to discuss project funding, country selection, the impact of COVID-19 in the everyday life of early-career researchers (ECRs) and the potential ways of including this issue in the current focus of the GloSYS LAC study.
Several applications have been sent to potential funders and others are in preparation. The WG members agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic affects the careers of young scholars in various ways, but its implications for the collection and analysis of empirical data in Latin America and the Caribbean are still uncertain.
The selection of focal countries to study in the GloSYS LAC research project is still in process. The rationale for selecting countries is based on the size and characteristics of their research and higher education systems, as well as practical elements such as field access, current partner institutions, networks accessible through the working group members and local support. According to these criteria, the country selection currently entails Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala and Panama.
The WG members involved in this discussion generally agreed to include Brazil, Colombia and Panama. While the Argentinian Young Academy and TWAS are interested in the project and do collaborate with the GYA, there are few networks in that country. By contrast, several GYA members are based or originally come from Chile, which may place this country as a relevant case to study instead of Argentina.
Cuba stands out among the Caribbean countries because of its investment in scientific production and gradual development of research capacity. But there might be potential difficulties for collecting data, accessing research participants, ensuring unbiased responses and safeguarding the anonymity of research participants. Guatemala is also a relevant case because it has been barely addressed in the literature and there is much to discover regarding the state of young scientists. Still, research participants might also be difficult to access, thus requiring significant effort to develop networks in that country.
GYA and NYAs organise New Voices in Global Health at the World Health Summit
GYA Global Health working group members and members of National Young Academies organised and contributed to a New Voices in Global Health session about “Perspectives and responses of young scientists to the coronavirus pandemic” at the digital World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, in October 2020.
See here for a brief report.
National Young Academies
Young Academy Finland policy brief on science advice
Webinar: The role of Young Academy in the development of Africa
A number of GYA members spoke at the Cameroon Academy of Young Scientists (CAYS) webinar on “The role of the Young Academies in the development of Africa’’ in October. See here for a brief report.
German Junge Akademie argue for reduction in academic travel
The Junge Akademie (Germany) have published a “Proposal for promoting sustainability in academia through the reduction of travel”, arguing for more sustainability in science and discussing concrete proposals for a change in academic travel culture aimed at individual scientists and researchers, funding bodies, conference organisers, universities and research institutions. See the statement here.
Young Academy of Europe elects new Board
The Young Academy of Europe (YAE) held its 2020 annual general meeting online in October. As part of the meeting, the André Mischke YAE Prize 2020 for Science and Policy was awarded to Grant Hill-Cawthorne, Head of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) in the UK, and adjunct Associate Professor in Global Health at the University of Sydney, Australia. In his acceptance lecture, Hill-Cawthorne offered an excellent example of science advice in practice, which can be viewed on the YAE YouTube channel here.
The YAE also elected a new Board for 2020/21, with Gemma Modinos as the new Chair and Moniek Tromp as the new Vice-Chair.
Formal Launch of Young Scientists Forum in Nepal
The Young Scientists Forum Nepal (YSFN) was officially formed by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in March 2020 and was formally launched in September 2020 in the presence of the Honourable Girirajmani Pokharel, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Government of Nepal and Vice-Chancellor of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology.
The seven founding members of the Forum include GYA member Meghnath Dhimal (Nepal Health Research Council, Nepal). Minister Pokharel highlighted the role of young scientists in promoting science technology and innovation in Nepal: “I am confident that this young scientists forum will create a network of young scientists in Nepal and collaborate on various scientific fronts”.
Four NYAs jointly organise research poster competition
GYA Co-Chair Anindita Bhadra (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India) and EC NYA portfolio lead Lahcen El Youssfi (Khenifra Superior School of Technology, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Morocco) spoke remotely on the occasion of the awards ceremony for the first-ever young academy International Poster Presentation Competition in October 2020, which was co-organised by the National Young Academies from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. For details, and also to see the winning submissions, see here.
NYAs and COVID-19
GYA's COVID-19 page highlights work of Young Academies
The GYA has established a page on its website (https://globalyoungacademy.net/covid19/) to act as a repository for Young Academies to link their work on COVID-19. This includes any statements or information dissemination activities, initiatives to support scientists to coordinate and facilitate institutions or governments. Please contact info@globalyoungacademy.net or tweet with the hashtag #covid19ya if you want to share what your academy is doing, or want to contact other Young Academies for joint activities, or an exchange of experience and best practices.
Start preparing your submission to Open Research Europe
The European Commission’s new Open Access publishing platform, Open Research Europe, will be formally open for Horizon 2020 article submissions from the end of November 2020. You can start to prepare your research for submission by reading the article guidelines for the platform which are now online and cover research in Science, Technology and Medicine, Social Sciences and Humanities.
World Data System
The 2020 editiion of the World Data System Members’ Forum was recently held online as part of the WDS-supported international symposium "Global Collaboration on Data Beyond Disciplines" (23–25 September 2020). The Forum attracted around 240 registrants, including almost 100 World Data System (WDS) Member Representatives.
Videos of the 2020 WDS Members' Forum and pre-recorded lightning talks submitted by WDS Members are now available on the WDS YouTube channel. The WDS strongly encourages you to look through the WDS Members' lightning talks.
Open access to JRC Research Infrastructures
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) opens its scientific laboratories and facilities to people working in academia and research organisations, industry, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and more in general to the public and private sector. More information is available here.
IAP landmark survey on predatory academic journals and conference
As a vital part of its study on Combatting Academic Predatory Journals and Conferences, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is inviting all researchers, in any discipline, in any country, at any stage of their career, to participate in a landmark survey designed to gauge the extent and impact of academic journal predatory practices and help the IAP recommend effective ways to combat them and protect researchers everywhere.
Please complete the questionnaire hereby30 November 2020; please also share it through your professional networks and with your research community.
