Katalin Solymosi as the Chair of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) was invited to organize and host a panel at the inaugural Hamburg Science Summit 2024, to be held on 19 September, 2024. The event organized by the Körber-Stiftung and the Ministry of Science in Hamburg was dedicated to Europe’s technological sovereignty, and concluded with the presentation of the highly prestigious Körber European Science Prize on 20 September 2024 to Erin Schuman. For the detailed programme and further details see here.
The Hamburg Science Summit brought together experts and decision-makers from science, politics, business, and think-tanks from across Europe. Driven by the vision of a competitive and self-confident Europe, it aimed to strengthen Europe’s position as a hub for science and innovation. This year’s Summit focused on Europe’s technological sovereignty. Key questions discussed included: How can Europe remain competitive in crucial fields such as AI, energy, or medical technologies? In which fields of technology, if any, should Europe strive for scientific and market leadership? What kind of financial and political conditions are needed to promote Europe’s technological sovereignty? Researchers, policy experts, innovators and representatives of institutions were invited to participate.
Participants of the panel hosted by the YAE at the Hamburg Science Summit (Photo: Virág Vas)
The panel hosted by YAE was entitled “Embarking on a PhD and an academic career in Europe – What are the prospects?“. A diverse set of panellists was chosen to represent all career stages – from doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers to young principal investigators and senior high-profile researchers involved also in the work of funding agencies – and related researcher associations (e.g. Eurodoc, MCAA, YAE and Academia Europaea as well as the European Research Council).
The panellists – Katalin Solymosi (Chair, Young Academy of Europe), Eystein Jansen (Vice-President, European Research Council, Academia Europaea), Nadine Ritter (University of Copenhagen), Farah Islam (Board Member, Marie Curie Alumni Association) and Karl Kilbo Edlund (Board Member, European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers) – discussed the following questions important for the situation of the future generations of the European academic landscape under the current global challenges: How attractive are doctoral training and research careers in Europe for the X, Y and Z generations? What initiatives can we take to attract and retain the best talents in Europe? How can we improve doctoral training and career prospects to overcome issues such as precarity, the unidirectional brain-drain within Europe, the relatively low salaries, and the constant publish or perish competition leading to poor mental health in academia?
Panelists of the YAE hosted session at the Hamburg Science Summit: Eystein Jansen, Farah Islam, Nadine Ritter, Katalin Solymosi and Karl Kilbo Edlund. (Photo: Nicola Spaldin)