Inside the head of an Early Stage Researcher — Part 2

You might have heard the term Early Stage Researcher (ESR), and, it is likely that many of you reading this post already know who an ESR is. The question we’re asking today is, however: what does an ESR think about her/his role?
In order to better understand these ‘strange’ creatures, and maybe get some inspiration from them, I decided to have some chats with some of the ESR-level members of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) — who better to give us some insights into their feelings?

Yet, before diving into this roller coaster of emotions, let’s refresh your memory about the formal definition of an ESR… An Early Stage Researcher — for the European Commission — is a person who “at the time of recruitment by the host organisation, is in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree.” Pretty clear, isn’t it?
To make it even simpler, we can say that an ESR is basically doing a PhD programme funded by a Marie Curie Scholarship.
Still not convinced? Swati Aggarwal (from India, an ESR of the RAMP ITN) likes to define ESRs as “Energetic Experimenters, Self-Assertive Scholars and Resourceful Researchers who start loving their mobile scientist life.” At this point, we should all have a common playground to start with; thus, let’s find out now a bit more about this role by those directly involved.

In this second part out of three (if you missed the first, you can read it here), we will go deeper into the importance of collaborations, not only from a scientific point of view but also because of the amazing friendships that you can make.

It is a matter of collaboration

“As an ESR, I felt that in research, it has and always has been a collaborative effort. Yes, you can opt to do it all alone but there’s nothing to be ashamed of to admit that you don’t have the right amount of expertise in a particular subject and you have to reach out for someone who can lend a hand. It’s all part of learning and research, and of course, that’s on Science!”

Yron Joseph Yabut Manaig (from the Philippines, an ESR of the MANNA ITN) stated the importance for an ESR to be open, and to reach out whenever you may need help. It can be hard and stressful to perform a new analysis, implement a new protocol, or try a new technique if you’ve never done it before, so, don’t be afraid, just ask for help. An ESR is usually part of a bigger network, with many people interacting with each other, and they are ready to cooperate in order to reach common objectives. In fact, a project such an Innovative Training Network (ITN) has the main aim “to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit,” as reported from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions website.

The objectives of a project are very well defined (at least in theory… experiences vary in this regard), and the great thing of an ITN is that every partner (a University or a Company, a professor or an ESR) has a fundamental role within the network to make possible reaching them. The objectives are usually defined as deliverables and milestones, these ‘time points’ are very important within a project, because they help you track your progress, and only if everyone collaborates, they will be achieved in the best way possible. As underlined by Marina Pekmezovic (from Serbia, an ESR of the OPATHY ITN): “I felt it is a great way to synergistically contribute to one big research aim. It was supported with funding, but also with the great motivation of all the people involved.”

An ESR has a supervisory team made up of scientists with different backgrounds and different expertise, and this is probably one of the most important aspects in an ESR career: they work in different environments focussing on different aspects and learning different approaches to solve a problem. Collaborations make it possible, and in science collaboration is the key. To summarize, “This programme is all about researching, networking and building yourself as a professional who can very well communicate their work to the general public by convincing them that their money is in right hands,” Swati explained.

Moreover, apart from the scientific part, being an ESR certainly means meeting a lot of people, who are not only directly connected with your project, but they are part of the whole consortium.

“Being able to meet and forge friendship relations with people coming from all over the world is one of the most beautiful feelings that being an ESR has provided me.”

“I will always feel an ESR. I got to know so many wonderful people, not only ESR’s or teams I was working with in the different labs but also people within the consortium. And it is great not only to be able to see and keep in touch with them but being sure that I found friends for life.”

“I think my ESR experience has been defined by a sense of adventure. It was great to be able to explore a new world personally and professionally. […] A discovery process that allowed me make friends at home and abroad.”

Jorge Peinado (from Spain, an ESR of the MANNA ITN), Raquel Sofia Correia Cordeiro (from Portugal, an ESR of the Biocascades ITN) and Prince Oguguo (from Nigeria, an ESR of the CatChain RISE) brought up another important aspect of being part of an international team: as an ESR you’ll face different cultures and you’ll probably meet amazing scientists, but first and foremost you’ll meet people that will help you and with whom you’ll create a connection that will probably last for life. The chances of meeting people who will then remain your friends are very high.

And remember, in science, people will be keen to support you most of the time and they will give you precious advice to help you pursue your career, so, don’t hesitate to reach out and get in touch with them.

Take-home messages:

• Being an ESR requires you to communicate, to reach out when you need help
• You’ll meet amazing scientists who will guide you through your project
• During the project you’ll do research, you’ll network, and you’ll build confidence in yourself
• You’ll make friends from all over the world, with whom you’ll most likely keep contact after the project itself

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the ESRs who helped me writing this piece, without your inputs I would not have been able to express all these feelings that we, ESRs, have during our lives.
Thank you. I wish you a glorious career!

Ruben Riosa is an animal nutritionist currently working as a PhD student at the University of Bonn / University of Glasgow, where he is part of the MSCA ITN project MANNA. His project focusses on dairy cow’s nutrition and physiology. In the MANNA network he is also the Scientific copywriter.
He is deeply interested in science communication and loves to write.