School of Pharmacy Early Career Researchers (ECR) Research Away Day
4 June 2024
UCL School of Pharmacy (SoP) held the Early Career Researchers (ECR) Research Away Day at UCL East Campus, on 17 May 2024, bringing together early career researchers, senior researchers, and industry professionals to explore diverse career path options.
The Research Away Day began with an enlightening welcome speech from Professor Cate Whittlesea, the Divisional Director at UCL School of Pharmacy, who introduced the wide elements of science undertaken at the School of Pharmacy and emphasized the importance of exploring different career path options as well as taking advantage of the services available. The agenda was packed with presentations and interactive activities which enabled participants to not only network with industry experts and peers in an inclusive environment, but also discuss a wide range of topics beneficial for career development. Speakers shared advice on beating imposter syndrome and tools for self-evaluation. The Royal Society of Chemistry additionally shared their funding opportunities and networking events to help ECRs to advance in their career. “I hope the participants enjoyed learning about the other options out there for career exploration and that they start to consider their career options for the future.” - Kerry McElroy, stakeholder development manager at Prosper. The day continued as participants engaged in an interactive panel discussion on the transformative impact of open science and open publishing on research practices and career development. The session encouraged a dynamic exchanged of ideas and raised the awareness of building a positive culture of transparency in scientific research. A highlight of the event was the poster and flash talk presentations given by PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from the School of Pharmacy. This provided a platform for early career scientists to showcase their work and gain valuable feedback from their peers and professionals. “It was great to meet people from different sections of the School of Pharmacy. I enjoyed learning about other people’s research that is completely different to mine.” - Eve Carter, a postdoctoral research fellow from the Pharmaceutical & Biological Chemistry Department. The day was concluded as two early career researchers were awarded for delivering the best poster presentation and the best oral presentation. The event underscored the importance of such initiatives in fostering collaboration and career development for PhD students and researchers within the School of Pharmacy. “Learning about the UCL framework and speaking to people who are currently doing the job that I would like to do is really useful for me to move forward in my career.” - Emily, a final year PhD student at the event. Professor Cate Whittlesea, reflecting on the day, said “I strongly encourage the whole ECR community to get together and to support the committee in determining what to do next.” She again assured the ECR community that the School is supportive and committed. “I look forward to helping them as much as possible throughout their journey.” The UCL School of Pharmacy extends heartfelt thanks to the ECR Research Day organising committee for making the event a resounding success. Special thanks to all the amazing speakers who helped our ECRs decide on their future career steps: Meghna Nag Chowdhury, Kerry McElroy, Rebecca Lever, Stuart King, Andrew Beckerman, Eve Carter, Banaz Jalil, Simon Duke. Appreciation should also be given to Sifan Hu and Soniya Notani (PhD students), who volunteered their time in capturing the event’s highlights and sharing them with a broader audience.
ECR Research Away Day | UCL School of Pharmacy - UCL – University College London ECR Research Away Day Highlights on X: https://x.com/shozeb_haider/status/1791387885851062365?s=46&t=QpxrRXK1qX9l2h-8t1G5hw Prosper – Career development model for postdoc: https://prosper.liverpool.ac.uk/ Royal Society of Chemistry: https://www.rsc.org/ |