#ResearchAssessment

The scientific community is full of talented individuals who are passionate about their work and have the potential to make significant contributions to their field. However, finding these young talents can sometimes be a challenge. In this article, we will explore some of the ways that young talents in the scientific community can be discovered and nurtured.

Firstly, it is important to encourage young people to pursue their interests in science from a young age. This can be done by providing opportunities for them to explore different areas of science and technology, such as through science camps or after-school programs. By providing a supportive environment and access to resources, young people can begin to develop their interests and talents in science.

Another way to discover young talents in the scientific community is to support and mentor undergraduate and graduate students. These students are often working on cutting-edge research projects and may have unique insights or innovative ideas that can contribute to the field. By providing mentorship and support, researchers can help to develop these students’ skills and encourage them to continue their work in the future.

In addition, scientific conferences and competitions can provide a platform for young talents to showcase their work and gain recognition in their field. These events bring together researchers from around the world and provide opportunities for networking and collaboration. By participating in these events, young talents can gain valuable experience and exposure to the latest research in their field.

Another important factor in discovering young talents in the scientific community is diversity and inclusion. By promoting diversity in the scientific community, researchers can ensure that they are not overlooking talented individuals from underrepresented groups. This can be done by providing mentorship and support to students from diverse backgrounds, as well as by creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all scientists.

Finally, funding agencies and research institutions can play a critical role in discovering and nurturing young talents in the scientific community. By providing funding and resources for innovative research projects, these organizations can help to support the next generation of scientists and encourage them to pursue their passions in science.

To sum up, discovering young talents in the scientific community is crucial for advancing scientific research and innovation. By providing opportunities for exploration and development, supporting undergraduate and graduate students, promoting diversity and inclusion, and providing funding and resources for research, we can help to ensure that the next generation of scientists is equipped to make significant contributions to their fields.

The 21st century has witnessed a digital revolution that has impacted virtually every aspect of our lives, including the way we conduct scientific research. Digitalization has transformed the way we generate, analyze, store, and share data, making it easier for scientists to collaborate and disseminate their findings to a wider audience. At the same time, the rise of open science has challenged traditional practices in scientific research, encouraging greater transparency, collaboration, and accessibility.

Digitalization and open science are closely intertwined, as both rely on technology to enable new modes of scientific inquiry. Digitalization has allowed researchers to generate and collect vast amounts of data, using sophisticated sensors, imaging techniques, and computational tools. For example, the field of genomics has been revolutionized by advances in high-throughput sequencing technology, which can generate massive amounts of DNA data in a matter of hours. Similarly, the field of neuroscience has benefited from advanced imaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which can capture detailed images of brain activity in real-time.

Once collected, these large datasets can be analyzed using powerful computational tools, such as machine learning algorithms, to identify patterns and insights that would be impossible to discern with traditional statistical methods. These tools can help researchers to uncover new associations and relationships between variables, and to develop more accurate models and predictions.

Open science, on the other hand, seeks to make scientific research more transparent, collaborative, and accessible to the wider community. This movement is driven by a growing recognition that scientific knowledge is a public good, and that research findings should be openly shared and evaluated by the scientific community. Open science encompasses a range of practices, including open access publishing, preprints, open data, and open peer review.

Open access publishing is a key component of open science, as it makes scientific publications freely available to anyone with an internet connection, rather than being restricted to those with access to expensive journal subscriptions. This model has gained traction in recent years, with many funding agencies and universities requiring researchers to publish their findings in open access journals.

Preprints are another important aspect of open science, as they allow researchers to share their findings with the scientific community before they undergo peer review. This enables researchers to receive feedback and improve their research before it is formally published, and can also help to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery.

Open data is another key component of open science, as it makes scientific data freely available to other researchers and the public. This can help to promote transparency, enable replication of results, and facilitate collaboration between researchers from different disciplines and institutions.

Finally, open peer review seeks to make the peer review process more transparent and accountable, by allowing reviewers to sign their reviews and share them publicly. This can help to reduce bias and promote constructive criticism, while also promoting greater engagement and participation from the scientific community.

Overall, digitalization and open science are transforming the landscape of scientific research, enabling new modes of inquiry and promoting greater transparency, collaboration, and accessibility. While these developments are not without challenges, including concerns around data privacy and quality control, they hold great promise for advancing scientific knowledge and addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. As technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these trends continue to shape the future of scientific research.

Join for an exciting Microsoft Teams meeting on March 10, 2023, from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM (UTC+01:00) as power of storytelling in science communication is explored. Speakers, Chiara Segré and Martins Zaumanis, will share their expertise and tips on how to effectively communicate science to non-experts without oversimplifying or distorting the scientific content. This event promises to be enlightening and engaging, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and connect with like-minded individuals. Register now and join for this informative and inspiring discussion!

About speakers:

Chaira Segré is a biologist and research doctor in molecular oncology who holds a master’s degree in science journalism and communication. With eight years of experience in cancer research, she has been actively involved in scientific dissemination since 2010. She is currently the Head of Scientific Supervision at the Umberto Veronesi Foundation and is also a children’s and teenagers’ book author. In 2021, she co-authored the book “The secrets of the centenarians” (Sperling & Kupfer) for the Veronesi Foundation with Agnese Collino. According to her, scientific culture is essential for social and cultural development and is a prerequisite for every modern democratic society.

Martins Zaumanis is a researcher at Empa in Switzerland who is passionate about helping scientists effectively communicate their research. He has authored the “Peer Recognized” book series, providing practical advice on writing impactful research papers, delivering compelling academic presentations, securing research funding, and creating scientific visualizations. Through his blog, Martins shares useful tools to enhance scientists’ communication skills. In his upcoming presentation, Martins will share valuable tips on how to clearly communicate research findings. His research focus is on bringing sustainability to road pavements through recycling, warm mix asphalt, and the use of waste materials in asphalt production. He collaborates closely with road construction companies and road administrations to promote the adoption of these sustainable technologies.

Register here!

In the world of academia, scientific research has traditionally been a closely guarded domain, only accessible to those with the means and resources to access it. However, in recent years, there has been a growing movement towards open science and free access to knowledge. This movement has been driven by a number of dedicated individuals who have worked tirelessly to make scientific research more accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial or institutional resources. In this article, we will explore the contributions of some of the people who have played a significant role in making open science and free access to knowledge a reality.

1. Brian Nosek: Brian Nosek is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and co-founder of the Center for Open Science. Nosek is a vocal advocate for open science and has conducted extensive research on scientific practices and biases. His work has helped to promote transparency and reproducibility in the field of psychology, and he has also developed several tools and resources to facilitate open science practices, such as the Open Science Framework.
2. Jean-Claude Bradley: Jean-Claude Bradley was a chemist and professor at Drexel University who was a pioneer in the open science movement. Bradley was a strong advocate for open access to scientific research and data, and he was a proponent of using online tools to facilitate collaboration and sharing among researchers. He also developed several open science projects, including the Open Notebook Science Network and the UsefulChem project, which focused on open collaboration in the field of chemistry.
3. John Wilbanks: John Wilbanks is a data commons expert who has worked with several organizations to promote open science practices. He has been a strong advocate for open access to scientific research and data, and he has helped to develop several tools and initiatives to facilitate this, such as the Consent to Research Project and the Sage Bionetworks Commons.
4. Erin McKiernan: Erin McKiernan is a professor of physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a vocal advocate for open science practices. McKiernan has been involved in several initiatives to promote open access to scientific research and data, including the Open Access Button and the Cost of Knowledge project. She has also been a vocal proponent of open data and open educational resources.
5. Michael Eisen: Michael Eisen is a biologist and co-founder of the Public Library of Science (PLOS), which is a nonprofit organization that promotes open access to scientific research. Eisen has been a strong advocate for open access publishing and has worked to develop several open science initiatives, including the Open Science Framework and the ASAPbio project.

These champions of open science have made significant contributions to the scientific community by promoting transparency, collaboration, and open access to scientific research and data. Their work has helped to advance the open science movement and has encouraged other researchers to adopt open science practices. As more scientists and organizations embrace open science, the scientific community will become more collaborative, transparent, and accessible to all.

Open science is a movement that seeks to make scientific research and data accessible to all, thereby promoting collaboration, transparency, and reproducibility. It aims to promote scientific progress by making research findings freely available to the public and allowing others to build on and extend research. The concept of open science has gained popularity in recent years, as researchers recognize the need to make their work more transparent, accessible, and impactful. In this article, we will discuss some ways to reach open science.

1. Publish open access:

Open access publishing makes research articles available to everyone without charge. By publishing your research in an open access journal, you can increase the visibility and impact of your work, as well as promote scientific progress by making your research accessible to others. Open access journals usually provide a peer-review process that ensures the quality of the research, and the articles are often available under a Creative Commons license, which allows others to use and build on the research.

2. Use open data:

Many researchers are now making their data publicly available to others to use, analyze, and build on. By using open data in your own research, you can save time and resources and make your research more transparent and reproducible. Open data can be found in many repositories such as Zenodo, Dryad, or Figshare, and can be used for various purposes, from validating results to discovering new scientific questions.

3. Collaborate with others:

Collaboration is a key component of open science. By collaborating with others, you can share resources and expertise, and work together to solve complex problems. Collaboration can take many forms, such as co-authoring papers, participating in multi-disciplinary teams, or contributing to open-source projects.

4. Participate in open science initiatives:

There are many open science initiatives that you can participate in, such as open science conferences, workshops, and hackathons. These events provide opportunities to learn about open science, network with other researchers, and contribute to open science projects. For example, the Open Science MOOC is an online course that provides an introduction to open science principles, while the OpenCon conference is an annual event that brings together researchers, educators, and students to promote open access, open data, and open education.

5. Use open source software:

Open source software is software that is made freely available to everyone to use, modify, and distribute. By using open source software in your research, you can save time and resources, and contribute to the development of new tools and technologies. Open source software can be found in many areas, from data analysis to machine learning, and can be customized to suit the needs of the researcher.

6. Educate others about open science:

Educating others about open science is a great way to promote the movement and raise awareness about the benefits of open science. You can give talks, organize workshops, or write articles or blog posts about open science to help spread the word. By educating others about open science, you can help promote a culture of openness and transparency in research.

7. Advocate for open science policies:

You can advocate for open science policies at your institution, funding agency, or government level. By advocating for policies that promote open access, open data, and open source software, you can help create a more open and transparent scientific community. Some examples of policies that promote open science include the Plan S initiative, which requires that all research funded by participating organizations be made open access, and the FAIR principles, which provide guidelines for making research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

Open science is a movement that promotes collaboration, transparency, and reproducibility in scientific research. By publishing open access, using open data, collaborating with others, participating in open science initiatives, using open source software, educating others, and advocating for open science policies, you can help promote open science and contribute to scientific progress.