By Clara Finnigan, Postgraduate Student, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction
Research is all about collaboration and communication. However, it can be daunting to meet new researchers, especially those outside of your immediate environment. We set up Early Academic Talks (EAT) to provide a space for Imperial Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to connect and present their research, helping break down barriers for collaboration and communication. Our fourth EAT session took place on Thursday, 24th of April.
This talk series is a cross-sectional initiative, aiming to oGer the opportunity for ECRs to meet and learn about the research at Imperial in a friendly and informal environment. These events take place every month and have 2-3 ECRs presenting the research they carry out at Imperial. It was a great event in which we saw a high turnout, with the talks stimulating excellent discussions between researchers. The students and postgraduates also enjoyed the post talk social with food and drinks in the Wolfson Canteen in the Commonwealth Building.
The importance of communication between researchers cannot be emphasised enough. Here at Imperial, essential research is happening every day but not everyone always knows about it. EAT provides the space to disseminate knowledge and build networks with other Imperial ECRs. The series helps with presentation practice, as feedback is provided in a friendly and supportive environment. The series also supports researchers to communicate their work in an accessible way to allow it to be understood across the different disciplines here at Imperial.
Here are examples of some talks we have had in the past:
- Rutian Ding, MRes Clinical Research – “Applying metabolomics strategies to assess postprandial variability in response to two extreme diets in people at risk of cardiovascular diseases.”
- Jia Jun Lee, PhD – “Skin wound healing models – potential targets for diabetic wound healing.”
- Iona Davis, Post-doc – “Investigating pancreatic and CNS GIPR signalling; Implications for the treatment of metabolic disease.”
The event series so far has provided a platform to practice presenting academic work and critically analyse research in a friendly space, fostering an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. Personally, through the series I have further developed my presenting skills and ability to discuss my PhD project in more depth and answer more challenging questions from my peers. This has simultaneously facilitated broadening my Early Career Researcher network. We hope to see more of you ECRs at our next event!
Next Event: 29 May 2025, 16:10 – 17:00 – SB Seminar Room 10A, Conference Room, Hammersmith Campus.
Event Details https://linktr.ee/earlyacademictalks
A huge thank you to the Early Career Researcher Institute as our sponsors for this talk series!
! Look out for our fliers around the Hammersmith Campus !
