Astrobiology Graduates in Europe: Actions and Perspectives
- 1Austrian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute, Graz, Austria (ruth-sophie.taubner@oeaw.ac.at)
- 2School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- 3Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
- 4Department of Earth Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- 5Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- 6Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- 7Institute of Supramolecular Science and Engineering (ISIS), University of Strasbourg & CNRS (UMR 7006), Strasbourg, France
- 8School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, the Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
- 9Department of Geological Sciences, National Technical University of Athens, School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Athens, Greece
Introduction: Astrobiology Graduates in Europe (AbGradE, pronounced ab-grad-ee) is an association of early-career scientists working in fields relevant to astrobiological research. Conceptualized in 2013, it was initially designed as a mini-conference dedicated to early-career researchers (ECAs) in a more relaxed environment than that of traditional conferences. Our meetings act as a networking opportunity, as well as a practice round and steppingstone for ECAs entering the world of academic research.
Audience & topics engaged: Our audience is mostly composed of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, but not only: undergraduates, senior scientists, and researchers from different disciplines with a strong interest in astrobiology are also welcome to attend our meetings. The topics engaged at our events, both symposia and workshops, naturally include the obvious themes related to astrobiology, and go beyond them by delving into social sciences and humanities (e.g., an online Space law and governance meeting in 2021). Specific workshops were organized on more practical issues like science communication, space mission design, networking, and navigating post-graduate research. Other issues, like mental health in a research context, are also considered for future editions.
Collaborations: AbGradE has been involved in astrobiology schools, such as the EANA International hydrothermal spring school. As the spiritual daughter organization of EANA, AbGradE maintains strong ties with it while developing on its own into an organization by ECAs, for ECAs, in a similar fashion to how AbGradCon operates. Over the years, AbGradE also teamed up with other organizations, like the European Astrobiology Campus (EAC), the European Astrobiology Institute (EAI), and the Europlanet Early Career (EPEC) Network.
Online presence: In the spirit of the “work from home” attitude prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, AbGradE has attempted to provide more online resources. Apart from moving meetings online, we have built a website and sent out a quarterly newsletter to keep ECAs engaged, and to encourage a sense of community during the lockdown-ridden time of the pandemic.
Scope: Within the last couple of years, AbGradE became the first point of call for European, but also for an increasing number of non-European ECAs, especially with the recent development of online resources. This presentation aims to present how AbGradE has evolved over the years (in its structure and in its way of organizing events), how it has adapted with the COVID-19 pandemic, and what future developments are considered.
How to cite: Taubner, R.-S., Nauny, P., Cassaro, A., Kopacz, N., Noack, L., Palabikyan, H., Pinna, S., Price, A., and Stavrakakis, H. A.: Astrobiology Graduates in Europe: Actions and Perspectives, Europlanet Science Congress 2022, Granada, Spain, 18–23 Sep 2022, EPSC2022-1132, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2022-1132, 2022.
