Sessions for early career scientists

A huge variety of General Assembly sessions will be of interest to early career scientists (ECS) and our ECS session shortlist is filled with the courses and meetings that have a strong ECS focus.

As soon as the conference programme is finalised and available on the General Assembly website, you can use the online tool to generate your own personal programme by selecting specific presentations or sessions. You can synchronise your saved schedule with the conference mobile app or generated a PDF to be printed.

For some inspiration from other early career scientists, be sure to check out the Outstanding ECS Lectures throughout the week.

Meet the EGU

Make sure you make time to meet your division president, or attend your division’s meeting to find out more about what’s going on within your field and in the EGU. You will also have the opportunity to meet the Union Early Career Scientist Representatives, Roelof Rietbroek and Stephanie Zihms, and Olivia Trani, the EGU Communications Officer and ECS contact at the EGU Office. This is your opportunity to discuss issues specific to the ECS community with them.

Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation Award

In addition to the Union and Division awards available to early career scientists, those who are students (current and recent undergraduates and postgraduates, and current PhD candidates) are also eligible to apply for the Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award. The OSPP Award is given to the first authors on posters or PICOs presented at the EGU General Assembly. For information on how to participate and the criteria for selection please see the awards and medals page.

Early Career Scientists’ Corner at the Opening Reception

A gathering point for early career scientists provides the opportunity to meet like-minded fellows, especially if it is your first time at the General Assembly or you are coming alone.

General Assembly Mentoring Programme

EGU offers a mentoring programme for novice conference attendees, students, and early career scientists at its annual General Assembly. The programme aims to facilitate new connections that may lead to long-term professional relationships within the Earth, planetary and space science communities. We anticipate the programme to be a rewarding experience for both mentees and mentors, so do consider signing up.

Early Career Scientists’ Forum

The EGU is a bottom-up organisation and so early career scientists' opinions on how we can improve the EGU and the General Assembly further are important. At the Forum, on Wednesday from 12:45 in Room L2, you can learn about the changes implemented since the last General Assembly, how to get involved with the EGU and have the opportunity to provide feedback.

Networking & Early Career Scientists' Zone

On the Red Level of the conference centre you can find a place to catch up with your peers and make new connections. Early career scientists across all fields are encouraged to meet here to grab a free coffee, have informal discussions, attend pop-up events and perhaps even find opportunities for new collaborations. Check out the notice boards to find out all the details. On these boards you can also find information on various topics, such as cultural activities in Vienna, division social events taking place during the conference, and drop-in sessions held at the zone. Your feedback to the ECS representatives is very welcome and can be posted on the suggestion boards.

Early Career Scientists’ Networking & Careers Reception

Working in academia is a far cry from your average 9 to 5, and early career scientists (ECS) are often faced with questions that cannot be answered from a textbook. How do I balance research with other activities like science outreach or demonstrating? How do I strike a good work-life balance? Where should I focus my research? Alternatively, the academic route may not be for you and you may want to explore other geoscience career paths, but aren't quite sure where to start.

This EGU-hosted reception, with drinks and light snacks, aims to bring together ECS, award-winning researchers, members of the Union Council, and selected industry partners. The aim is all for participants to interact and establish connections in an informal setting. This reception offers an opportunity for ECS to find answers to the questions above and for established scientists, in and out of academia, to share their experience with researchers in the early stages of their career.

To attend the reception, you need to register for the event in advance. Please sign up using this form. Places at the reception are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Your place is guaranteed only once you receive a confirmation email from the EGU Communications Officer, Olivia Trani.