DMany sectors of society have been severely affected by the pandemic. Higher education and research have not escaped this major questioning of working methods. But this has taken a particular turn for young scientists, who are at a critical point in their development. The impact has been even stronger on those with dependent families, especially young mothers, and those doing experimental or field work. Young people initially committed to a career in research now doubt the merits of such an orientation in their lives.
This led to the organisation, in Brussels on 13 June, of a conference on this subject at the initiative of the Portuguese Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education Manuel Heitor, at the end of his mandate. The fourth in the cycle of Gago conferences on European science policy entitled “Europe Supports Young Researchers in Times of Uncertainty”. The broader objective was to consider, beyond the pandemic, other uncertainties that have arisen since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army.
Data collected in certain countries and certain institutions were presented as well as testimonies of the experience of young researchers. Depending on the country and the discipline, the consequences of the pandemic vary. At a time when a more normal situation concerning exchanges and personal contacts is taking hold, having reliable and comparable data in all European countries at doctoral and post-doctoral level is urgently needed. It is also a question of anticipating the motivations of the students currently in master’s degree, or even in license, and their choice in the years to come.
Access to academic jobs increasingly late
The discontinuity produced by the pandemic and the new economic conditions intervenes in a difficult situation. Indeed, the duration of the contracts available in these decisive moments to engage in research is often strictly limited, generating anxiety and frustration. Access to stable academic jobs comes later and later and varies from one European country to another.
In their testimonies, the representatives of the organizations of young researchers underlined that, to remedy this phenomenon, a radical revision of the conditions offered at the start of their career is essential.
“Europe cannot afford to see its research forces seriously affected as the global battle for talent rages on at international level. What is at stake is the future of Europe”
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