iGEO 2018 – an Irish event aimed at early career geoscientists

by David van Acken

In January 2018, NUI Galway hosted the inaugural Irish Geosciences Early Career Symposium 2018 event, a two-day conference with discussion hubs, workshops and presentations for PhD students and postdocs. Organized by PhD students and postdocs from NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, and University College Cork, the symposium aimed to connect early career geoscientist with senior scientists, industry members and policy makers to provide opportunities for collaboration, debate, and knowledge exchange. Attended by around 100 delegates, scientific discussion hubs spanned a wide range of topics, including Public Perception, Tectonics, Modelling, Geochemistry, Fluid Flow, and Big Data Management. After an address by the Minister for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development, Sean Kyne TD, keynotes about the future of geoscience were delivered by Dr. Patrick Redmond (Teck), Dr. Joel Gill (British Geological Survey) and Dr. Margaret Desmond (MaREI), followed by a panel discussion. The day was rounded out by 20 lightning talks, a poster session, and a conference dinner.  The second day comprised workshops on Science Communication, Writing of Publications and Funding Applications, Career Development, Statistics, and introductions into specialist topics geared at non-specialists. The meeting was wrapped up by the awards for outstanding posters and lightning talks.  A field trip to County Clare to study Karst landscapes and deltaic deposits was offered on the days following the meeting.

The successful symposium will surely be repeated, and possibly interesting for early career scientists from across the Irish Sea as well!