Marc H. Einsporn and Johanna Wiedling from the Leibniz Center for Marine Tropical Ecology at the University of Bremen are the joint organizers of this year’s YOUMARES (Young Marine Researchers), a conference for marine scientists expected to attract over 200 participants from more than 20 different countries. “Serious, but easy-going and relaxed”: This is the motto of the conference, which is now taking place for the fourth time. The attendees comprise students and young researchers keen on networking in the international (marine) scientific community. This year’s conference will be held from 11th to 13th September at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg. Einsporn and Wiedling are being assisted by an energetic team of young postgraduates in Oldenburg, a dedicated science committee, and young media designers from the University of Applied Sciences in Bremerhaven – but the ends meet up at the University of Bremen.
Just 29 years old, Marc H. Einsporn is the father of the project. He is in the midst of finishing his doctoral dissertation, an investigation into the distribution of cholera bacteria in the brackish waters of the mangrove forests in India. Johanna Wiedling, 26 years old, has just completed her Master’s thesis on sea urchin larvae and their distribution in Central Vietnam. She is responsible for the entire organization and coordination of YOUMARES. The conference newsletter alone reaches some 2,300 interested readers. Einsporn, chairman of the YOUMARES alumni and advisory committee, describes the background to what has become a regular event. The young man from the region of Oberpfalz [Upper Palatinate] came to Bremerhaven in 2005 to study Maritime Biotechnology. In 2011 he switched to the University of Bremen. “Just studying and playing cards in my spare time”, that was much too boring, he says: So he made contact with the German Society for Marine Research (DGM) in Hamburg. A short while later he found himself attending a symposium for marine scientists in Warnemünde. This stimulating experience led him to initiate the formation of a research and teaching working group under the auspices of DGM, explicitly aimed at young marine researchers, university and high-school students. “The members of the society I came into contact with were very much of the older generation”, says Einsporn. Then one thing followed another in quick succession. In 2009 he organized a diving event for students in Kreidesee Hemmoor, and in 2010 the very first YOUMARES conference in Hamburg, which attracted 70 participants. In 2011 the event was held in the German Shipping Museum in Bremerhaven, this time with 150 participants, and in 2012 some 200 young people from 20 countries met in Lübeck. The conference is run along the lines of a grass-roots democratic organization, or “bottom-up principle” in modern jargon. Anyone who wants to can propose a topic, which can be delivered either as a classical talk, or debated in chaired discussions. The young researchers themselves take care of the quality assurance. Johanna Wiedling reports that 15 topics have been included in the program of the two-and-a-half-day conference to be held in September. A regular feature is the guest lecture delivered by a prominent marine researcher; this time Prof. Antje Boetius. “It’s all so exciting”, says the coordinator, who then goes on to talk about accommodation in gymnasiums, and students coming from Europe, Chile, Australia, Mexico and Russia who take care of many things themselves in a low-budget modus. When it comes to scientific quality, supporting program, and conference venue, YOUMARES stands up every bit to comparison with professionally organized conferences. Under the auspices of the German Society for Marine Research and supported by several partners and sponsors, the conference has given rise to an innovative networking event for young researchers that points the way to the future.
For furher information, please contact:
Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie
Johanna Wiedling
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www.younares.net
