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Below are some highlighted engagement and activities that have significantly shaped both my scientific and personal growth through out the years.
Organising EMPSEB29 conference
Organising EMPSEB29 conference
The 29th European Meeting for PhD Students in Evolutionary Biology (EMPSEB29).
EMPSEB is an annual international conference, organised by and for doctoral students since 1995. From 2023 to 2024, I joined an international team to deliver its 29th edition in Puchberg am Schneeberg, Austria - a steep but rewarding learning curve in project organisation, event management, and cross-cultural teamwork. Seeing participants enjoy the event and engage in meaningful exchange made every challenge worthwhile.
The organisers
From left to right of the photo: Alaa Hseiky (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Florian Strahodinsky (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Nhu L.T. Tran (University of Cologne, Germany), Pranav Unnikrishnan (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Gulsamal Askarova (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland), Alan Flatrès (University of Western Ontario, Canada)
As Treasurer, my responsibilities included:
Financial management: setting up and maintaining an institutional bank account; bookkeeping; preparing tax declarations; and coordinating venue contracts.
Stakeholder communication: liaising with funders and sponsors from both academia and industry.
Team coordination: contributing to budget planning, application review, scheduling, and venue logistics.
Outreach & promotion: contributing to managing social media, conference merchandise, and supporting participant engagement.
Collaboration with sponsors
We had the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of sponsors from academia and industry. This was a valuable experience in understanding the diverse goals and social commitments of partner organisations, and in aligning them with the needs of our conference. Through these efforts, our team successfully secured more than €45,000 in funding and in-kind support, ensuring the event’s financial sustainability.
Highlights Beyond Science
EDI Panel: A discussion on equality, diversity, and inclusion featuring invited speakers from academia and the publishing industry, offering diverse gender and career perspectives.
Team Activities: Interactive pub-quiz & sport games designed to foster informal collaboration and build connections among participants.
Gala Dinner: An evening event encouraging relaxed conversations with principal investigators and peers.
Conference Prizes: We organised both traditional awards (for best talk and poster) and informal prizes that added humour and personality to the event, strengthening the sense of community.
IceLab Camp - Creative Training for Interdisciplinary Research
IceLab Camp - Creative Training for Interdisciplinary Research
In autumn 2022, I had the opportunity to join IceLab Camp, one-week off-site exchange in the picturesque Granö Beckasin in Sweden, dedicated to exploring the space between disciplines. Joining 18 international researchers, it was an inspiring environment to practice collaboration and creative exploration, and appreciate the grand challenges of future science.
Group photo by Gabrielle Beans. Taken from the official article about IceLab Camp 2022.
We played with creative exercises, from sketching ideas, taking inspirations from the natural surroundings, and mixing random keywords to writing proposals together. The camp taught me to listen deeply, ask better questions, receive feedback graciously, and collaborate across disciplines (from mathematics, physics, to biology). We left not just with projects, but with new ways of thinking about science - and a network of peers and experience I can call on in the future.
Photos by Gabrielle Beans. Many are taken from official article about IceLab Camp 2022.
Key activities included:
Approaching research questions from multiple scientific directions through iterative idea cycles (generation, analysis, rejection, refinement).
Working in multidisciplinary teams to design a small research project and develop it into a written proposal.
Practicing both “zooming out” to see the big picture and “zooming in” on details to sharpen ideas.
Giving and receiving constructive feedback to improve communication and collaboration skills.
Participating in creative exercises and interactive games designed to break open boundaries of creativity and foster team spirit.
Reviewing and providing feedback on other teams’ proposals, learning to see research from the reviewer’s perspective.
Volunteer with UNICEF
Volunteer with UNICEF
From 2018 to 2019, as a volunteer with UNICEF Student Team in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, I contributed to organising fundraising and awareness activities for a school building project in Syria.
Image from the official article by UNICEF: "In Ar-Raqqa, a rehabilitated school brings back hope to children"
In 2018, UNICEF expanded education access in Syria by rehabilitating damaged schools, providing prefabricated classrooms in areas such as Deir-ez-Zor, supplying learning materials, and training teachers in active learning methods. I was happy to contribute to this mission as a volunteer by organising fundraising and awareness activities at my local student community where I was studying my Bachelor degree.
We began with small steps - food events, second-hand clothing sales, and collaborations with local cafés and bars. These activities gave me my first hands-on experience in networking, community engagement, budget planning, and event organisation.
At first, these efforts felt modest, but they showed me how much can be achieved when people come together for a common cause. Reading later about how schools had been rebuilt gave me a deep sense of fulfilment. It reminded me that while one bird cannot make the spring, together we can create real lasting change. This experience was my first realisation that supporting people and communities gives my work meaning.
Exchanges & Schools
Exchanges & Schools
Some highlighted academic exchanges and trainings that I cherish for their lasting impact.
Each was a chance to meet inspiring people and to widen my view of both science and culture.
Six-month ERASMUS Exchange at Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland (2020).
Topic: Food Sciences and Microbial Genomes.
One-week exchange by CEPLAS-IPK Summer School, Germany (2024).
Topic: Translational Plant Biodiversity Research.
One-week exchange (in collaboration with CEPLAS) at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, Portugal (2021).
Topic: Integrative Biology and Biomedicine.
One-week course at Qlife Quantitative Biology Winter School at ENS Paris, France (2025).
Topic: Polygenic Adaptation - from Quantitative Genetics to Population Genomics.
Note: All group photos were taken by the respective organisers of the event.
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