ReConnect China first review meeting emphasised involvement of young researchers

On 23rd of January, Anastasia Sinitsyna (scientific project manager) and Elo Süld (head of Centre) took part at the first review meeting of European Commission funded project ReConnect China. The main take-aways of the meeting put focus on promoting visibility and impact, development of junior staff and early career researchers, and working packages integration and knowledge spillovers.  

China is a societal challenge that transforms all levels of society. The aim of ReConnect China is to generate independent knowledge for a resilient future with China for Europe and its citizens. The first review meeting for working package leaders was hosted by Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations.  

The results of the meeting emphasised that the project is doing well. However, all counterparts should focus on three following activities and principles. First, promoting visibility and impact. Often, researchers avoid it as much as possible, believing that writing an academic paper is the primary goal. However, this is not enough. We need to disseminate the scientific results.and spend more time on promoting visibility and impact. Block off time for promoting each piece of research by maximising all channels, e.g. turning things into op-eds, and podcasts. 

Second, development of junior staff and early career researchers. While gender balance often receives attention, the committee highlighted the need to nurture young researchers. It's crucial to provide opportunities for these individuals to actively participate and collaborate with senior colleagues, creating a "dream team" that consists of senior staff, researchers, and early career researchers. 

Third, working package integration and knowledge spillover. Discussions held at the meeting emphasised the need to think more about integrating the WPs and seeing the spinoffs that come about. There's a need to think more about integrating working packages (WPs) and recognizing the spin-offs that result. As the shift towards interdisciplinary research becomes more prevalent, it's important to facilitate knowledge spillover between different teams and working packages. The committee suggested placing significant emphasis on how teams interact to prevent team isolation. 

Read more about the project: https://www.reconnect-china.ugent.be