On Wednesday 13
th of June this year, the East-Midlands Local Section and The University of Nottingham will play host to the second Younger Members Symposium.
Following on from the success of the inaugural YMS in Manchester in 2010, this event aims to showcase some of the best research from across academia, industry and chemical education from the future leaders in these sectors.
I have been fortunate to have a played a role in both the inaugural YMS and its successor (and so yes, I'm a little biased), and I must say I am again impressed with the dedication, professionalism and passion shown by the organising committee.
As you can see from the
website, there will be parallel sessions hosted in three very broad themes: academic research, industrial research and education and outreach. A criticism often levelled against such broad symposia is that the lack of focus makes it hard to justify the finical and time commitments in attending, as there is simply no chance that every speaker at the YMS will be an expert in your particular area of research!
Whilst this argument has some merit, I believe that discipline specific meetings, conferences and symposia are a dime-a-dozen; both nationally and certainly internationally. What the YMS provides is the more rare opportunity for young chemists to broaden their horizons before deciding on the next step to take in their career. In this respect, I am especially excited to see the “Outreach and Education” theme included in the programme. There are so many career opportunities available in this area for young chemists, and I believe it is vital to sample this diverse sector before deciding whether to pursue a career in academia or industry.
A similar argument can be made for industry itself. Undergraduates, postgraduates and postdocs have, for better or worse, only experienced the academic side of chemical research for the most part. Whilst we have been inundated with a lot of bad news regarding the state of chemical industry in the UK, this often represents the tendency of the mainstream media to highlight only the “bad” news. Whilst certain sectors of the chemical industry in the UK and worldwide are indeed under pressure at the moment, other areas are quietly going about their business; and doing a very good job of it. Other sectors are contracting in the UK, but expanding elsewhere in the world and
vice versa. By setting up a separate session dedicated to industry, the YMS 2012 committee hope to put this sector in its rightful place, on equal footing with academia, and give its younger employees the opportunity to highlight their good work. The organising committee is committed to ensuring that abstracts from industry or academia that are lacking in detail due to IP concerns will be treated fairly.
Crucially the YMS offers young scientists the opportunity to meet with their peers and form the networks they will need to advance in whatever career path they choose to follow. Contacts made at the YMS 2012 will hopefully be with chemists at a similar stage of their career, able to provide the most relevant advice and insight and hopefully resulting in genuinely “life-long” collaborations.
I believe the fact that the keynote speakers for the YMS will be Prof. David Phillips, in addition to the commitment shown by our industrial sponsors, speaks volumes as to the high regard held for the overall aims and objectives of the symposium by the RSC and senior management across the chemical industry.
I would strongly urge (for what it is worth!) all early-career chemists, from any discipline and background, to join us in Nottingham for a single day to savour the success’ and sample the potential of their peers and their profession.