Finally got around to completing the attached report on YMS 2014.

It was, as usual, a pleasure and a privilege to work with a team of fantastic early-career chemists to put on this symposium for our peers. Over 200 delegates from 10 countries attended and The University of Birmingham was buzzing.

I firmly believe that attending these broadly themed conferences is critical for the development of chemists in their early career stage. The sheer wealth of career options available in chemistry is staggering and often you only consider the career paths that your friends and supervisors are following. Seeing the various places your chemistry experience can take you can open your mind to new possibilities.

Additionally, I firmly believe that interdisciplinary science holds the key for future ground breaking discoveries. It is all well and good to keep up with the competitors and experts in your field - but everyone in your field will be doing the same. It is only be attending the talk or reading the paper that nobody else has read, that a truly unique idea can spark in the mind.

It can be difficult to convince your supervisor of these pros to such a conference - after all, it can be difficult to see the immediate benefit to your current work. But take a look at some of the feedback we got from "reluctant" attendees - the benefits are there to be had!

Plans are already afoot for YMS2016, which will hopefully be held in Scotland. So keep an eye out and starting getting your abstracts ready!!