Early Career Microbiologists’ Forum Update
Issue: Imaging
13 February 2018 article
What’s new for 2018? Committee members, networking events and the Summer Conference
The ECM Forum Executive Committee has been expanding! We have recently welcomed Grace Russell as our second Undergraduate Representative, after Amiee Allen stepped down in September. Grace hopes to use her one-year term in the role to develop a new network for undergraduate microbiologists where they can access career opportunities and enhance their university experience. Society Champion Colman Ó Cathail is now the new Finance and Operations Representative, and will be working closely with the Finance and Operations Committee to monitor the ECM Forum budget. In addition, Dr Helina Marshall has been selected as the first representative who will focus solely on Publishing, with Andy Day continuing his term working with the Policy Committee.
The Annual Conference in Birmingham is approaching rapidly and you should by now have found out whether you have been chosen to give an offered oral or present a poster. These are both fantastic opportunities to gain experience in communicating your work outside of your group or institution. It is worth remembering that you can use these presentations as your entry to the Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year competition, an award that recognises excellence in science communication by a PhD student or postdoctoral researcher. The 2017 winner Daniel Hurdiss said that “it is a great feeling to have been chosen as the winner, especially given the calibre of the other finalists. Without the opportunities to present at the Annual Conference, I wouldn’t be the confident public speaker I am today. Presenting your work to microbiologists with such broad scientific interests can be quite daunting, but luckily enthusiasm can be contagious.” A selection of poster prizes will also be up for grabs so there is much to be gained from presenting at the Conference. The ECM Co-chairing scheme will also run this year, so keep an eye out for ECM Co-chairs.
We want to increase the ECM Forum’s presence in Birmingham this year and so will be leading the popular pre-Conference networking event. This was a huge success last year and promises to be even better this time round! If 2018 will be your first Annual Conference or you have not yet attended the networking session then I really recommend joining us. You can mingle with fellow early career researchers, as well as senior Society members, in a semi-structured way. Refreshments are included in the ticket price so there is no excuse not to come down for an enjoyable evening! We are expecting the event to sell out so be sure to book when you register as soon as possible.
A large part of the Committee’s schedule in 2018 is dedicated to organising the inaugural ECM Summer Conference. The aim is to provide undergraduates with an event where talks are given by invited early career speakers on a range of different topics in microbiology.
As always, do get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions, or indeed any microbiology-related events that you would like us to help publicise!