The FENS Forum is over but you can rewatch the events held by the ALBA Network on the ALBA Youtube's channel.
How to negotiate to get what you need
Sunday 12 July 09.30-10.30 am BST: Special interest event (SiE) 12 - ALBA-FKNE live panel discussion “How to negotiate to get what you need”
During this panel discussion, participants learn about the tools needed to be assertive during negotiations, which is useful at various stages in a scientist’s career.
When does a young girl learn she must compromise her dreams? an Indian perspective
Sunday 12 10.30-10.50 am BST: ALBA Network live talk: “When does a young girl learn she must compromise her dreams? an Indian perspective”
by Dr Shubha Tole (ALBA Ambassador - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India)
in the Open Theatre
Prof. Tole gave a live talk and offer her thoughts on how and why society programmes young girls to curtail their ambitions, and to tailor their dreams to accommodate the priorities of their future families. This was an interactive session.
Announcement of the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize 2020 Winner
Monday 13 July 08.00 am BST: Announcement of the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize 2020 Winner
in the Open Theatre
Discover who was awarded the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize 2020 for their efforts to promote diversity in brain research. Let's celebrate the winner together!
Gender in neuroscience: European specific challenges and solutions
Monday 13 July 11.00 am BST: ALBA Network talk: “Gender in neuroscience: European specific challenges and solutions”
by Dr Anna Beyeler (ALBA Ambassador - University of Bordeaux, France)
in the Open Theatre
After reviewing international data on gender biases in authorships of neuroscientific publications, Dr Beyeler present European data from the “She Figures” report on research in academia and industry. She then lists direct solutions that can be applied to improve diversity in Neuroscience in terms of gender, socio-economic status, country of origin, or any trait perceived as differences.
Meet the ALBA Network Ambassadors session I
Monday 13 July 03.30-04.00 pm BST: Live discussion session “Meet the ALBA Network Ambassadors”
in the Open Theatre
Come meet the scientists behind the ALBA Network initiatives and discuss questions related to diversity in brain research. In this session, you will meet: Dr Tracy Bale (US), Dr Anna Beyeler (France), Dr Marian Joels (The Netherlands), Dr Rohini Kuner (Germany), Dr Diane Lipscombe (US) & Dr Aparna Suvrathan (Canada).
They talk about issues such as the imposter syndrome "I love science but I don't feel like I belong" or "How and when to say 'No' to requests for extra services from senior colleagues, chairs and deans". This was an interactive session.
Community leadership: women are more focused on building community and teams
10.30 am: ALBA Network talk: “Community leadership: women are more focused on building community and teams”
by Prof Laurence Ris (ALBA Ambassador - University of Mons, Belgium)
in the Open Theatre
Prof. Ris talk about women in leadership: In general, studies showed that women are more focused on building community and teams. They excel when they negotiate on behalf of the “general welfare” or the “common good”, often leading to neglect their own career advancement. They, more than men, view leadership as an opportunity to grow their subordinates as individuals instead of just giving directions to reach goals. We can think that it is mainly because women are more other-directed and emotionally intelligent, but the Covid-19 crisis showed that they are also as good as men at being decisive without suffering from overconfidence.
The tightrope walk in juggling parenthood and academia
Tuesday 14 July 10.30 am: ALBA Network talk: “The tightrope walk in juggling parenthood and academia”
by Dr Srikanth Ramaswamy (ALBA Ambassador - EPFL, Switzerland)
in the Open Theatre
As a young scientist and father of two little children, Dr. Ramaswamy often feels, like most other scientist-parents out there: that it is a tight rope walk in juggling parenthood and academia. The academic enterprise has inadequate support for scientists as parents. During this short talk, Dr. Ramaswamy hopes to sow the seeds for reform. Academia needs to transform its mindset to support scientists as parents.
Meet the ALBA Network Ambassadors session II
Tuesday 14 July 11.30 am-12.00 pm: Live discussion session: “Meet the ALBA Network Ambassadors”
in the Open Theatre
Come meet the scientists behind the ALBA Network initiatives and discuss questions related to diversity in brain research. In this session, you will meet: Dr Dipesh Chaudhury (United Arab Emirates), Dr Francesca Cirulli (Italy), Dr Elaine Del Bel (Brazil), Dr Jacque Ip (Hong Kong), Dr Srikanth Ramaswamy (Switzerland), Dr Laurence Ris (Belgium).
They talk about issues such as women in leadership, work-life balance or science discrimination (Does the country matter?). This was an interactive session.
The Women in Neuroscience Repository (WiNRepo)
Pre-recorded presentation: "The Women in Neuroscience Repository (WiNRepo)"
by Ana Luísa Pinho (NeuroSpin, France)
In the Open Theatre
As highlighted by different initiatives and multiple scientific articles, gender balance in the academic field, particularly in neuroscience, is still far to be reached. Women generally encounter more obstacles preventing them to pursue the research career as it is revealed by the higher career-switching rate than their male counterparts. One key aspect about gender inequality is the underrepresentation of women at conferences, as organizers, speakers, reviewers or attendees. To promote gender balance at conferences and other academic events and improve visibility of women’s neuroscientists, WiNRepo (www.winrepo.org) was launched in February 2018 by Jessica Schrouff and Grégory Fryns. This website provides a list of women’s researchers active in the field of neuroscience and, nowadays, the repository includes over 1400 profiles from all levels of seniority and with an important geographical diversity. Profiles can be found using different filters, e.g. based on seniority or under-represented countries, as well as research-based keywords. It also includes the possibility to leave a “recommendation” on profiles to alleviate some of the concerns organizers may have when selecting speakers from a list.
