The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant difficulties in research, particularly for early-stage researchers. In-person conferences and events in our field have been cancelled, and it has become difficult, if not impossible, for early-stage researchers to present their work to our wider scholarly community, receive feedback and advice from more senior scholars, and start building their networks of contacts. Researcher and emma member Ivana Kostovska (imec-SMIT-VUB Vrije Universiteit Brussel), recognized the need for this initiative and submitted the idea to the Emma board and as a response, we launched emmaConnect.
This initiative proved successful and we decided to implement it bi-annually on a structural basis.
With emmaConnect, we connect our early-stage researchers with more experienced scholars in an informal and temporary setup. This could take the form of a single or multiple online conversations in which the research and/or the career path of the early-stage researcher would be discussed. This could also, potentially, lead to research collaboration with the more experienced scholar and his or her team, or, possibly, involvement of the early-stage researcher in online meetings of other researchers at the advanced scholar’s university.
We are grateful that many experienced scholars were willing to share their expertise and knowledge with early-career researchers in the first and second editions of emmaConnect. Some of the best examples of collaboration based on emmaConnect were presented at the pre-conference event at emma 2022 in Munich. The third edition of emmaConnect focuses on enhancing the knowledge of early-stage researchers about developing distinctive academic profiles that enable them to engage effectively with the right networks, build a compelling personal academic brand identity, and extend the reach and impact of their research output. We are happy with the experienced scholars who volunteered for this edition.
For more information on #emmaconnect2024, click here.
To enroll, fill in this form and send it to Denise.voci@aau.at.
If you have any questions about #emmaconnect, please contact Denise Voci (Denise.voci@aau.at).