Interdisciplinary thinking, developed leadership and healthy working patterns are frequently hailed as key skills for scientists working in the 21st century. However, increasingly specialised research fields, high pressure working and publishing environments and a well-defined career hierarchy often limit the potential and time available for young researchers, particularly PhD students, to develop in these ways.
In order to address this, four graduate students in the Departments of Zoology and Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, are organising BEE 2020, a bespoke conference for fellow PhD students. The inaugural conference will take place on the 26-27th August 2020, in the beautiful settings of Merton College, Oxford.
The conference has three key aims:
- Facilitate interdisciplinary thinking in the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution (BEE) in order to facilitate novel solutions to a range of fundamental questions
- Create a platform for PhD students to present their work in a rigorous and constructive setting
- Provide tailored workshops to improve personal well-being in science
Alongside PhD research talks and a poster session, there will also be workshops on Getting Your Research Published (with a panel of editors from top journals) and Wellbeing Throughout Your PhD (facilitated by experienced researchers). The conference will be book-ended by keynote talks from Professor Jane Memmott and Professor Tim Clutton-Brock.
BEE2020 has a number of generous sponsors, who have enabled the delegate rates to be subsidised for PhD students. If you are a current PhD student researching in the fields of animal behaviour, ecology or evolution, don’t miss this opportunity to grow in your scientific thinking and leadership for the rest of your PhD, and beyond.
The Call for Abstracts is open and closes on Friday 3rd April; head to the BEE website to submit yours now.
The BEE2020 Organising Committee (Matt, Mark, Victor and Sara) look forward to seeing you in August!
Despite the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, we would still encourage potential delegates to submit an abstract for the conference as scheduled. We will review the situation and the latest advice after Easter, and at that stage make a decision about whether to open ticket sales for the conference.
