Archive by category | Careers

Nature Cell Biology on the gender imbalance in academia

Nature Cell Biology’s August Editorial (11, 915; 2009) focuses on the issue of why women remain under-represented in senior academic positions, despite similar numbers of male and female graduates. The imbalance is best addressed by focusing on the reasons for divergent career choices, according to the Editorial (the following is an excerpt):  … Read more

The Source Event is in its third year

The Source Event, now in its third successful year, is a dedicated science career fair that combines a dynamic exhibition with conference and workshop sessions. The event will promote the United Kingdom and Europe as a great place to pursue a career in science, be it in industrial research, research organizations or academia. It will present the best opportunities from the best organizations: public, private, national and international.  Read more

Small is beautiful for science start-ups

Venture funding is declining quickly and is unlikely to bounce back. But less money means lower expectations — good news for smaller science start-ups, says John Browning in an Essay in today’s issue of Nature (460, 459; 2009 – free to access online for one week from publication date). From the Essay:  … Read more

NSMB on US visa procedures for scientists

The US State Department promises to accelerate the visa process for foreign graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, a promise welcomed by Nature Structural & Molecular Biology in its July Editorial (16, 677; 2009). The Editorial decries the occasions when researchers have been severely delayed in trying to obtain or renew visas, leaving some stranded and others unable to travel to the United States for work or to attend scientific meetings.  Read more

Thursday 25 June: Women in Science, Engineering and Technology – and the recession

The UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology is hosting an evening of speakers and discussion on Thursday 25 June at the Institute of Physics,London, 6pm – 8.30pm (approx). There are some spaces left – men and women are very welcome, but booking in advance is essential.  Read more

The female underclass in science

The European Commission Gender Challenge in Research Funding report discussed in one of today’s Nature Editorials (Nature 459, 299; 2009 – free to access online) “was written by a 17-strong expert group chaired by a woman and containing five men. That male minority is an inversion of the usual pervasive and regrettable imbalance of the sexes in European peer-review structures. Only in those countries that have been most proactive in supporting women’s careers — Finland, Sweden and Norway — do women constitute more than 40% of ‘gatekeeper’ scientific boards, according to 2004 data, the latest available, quoted in the report.  Read more

System for research proposals overwhelmed

US federal agencies are scrambling to prepare for a wave of research proposals from scientists eager to win funding offered in the nation’s economic stimulus package, as reported in an online Nature News story on 16 March. White House officials fear that the number of applications could overwhelm the country’s online grant-application system, Grants.gov, if immediate action is not taken. From the News story: “The Grants.gov system, which went online in 2004, was intended to streamline the grant process by offering a central electronic application portal for all federal grant-making agencies. But it was designed to handle only about 65,000 applications a year, says Sheila Conley, acting deputy assistant secretary in the office of grants at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Washington, DC, which manages the system.  Read more

EMBO Reports series on convergence research

I always enjoy Frank Gannon’s editorials in EMBO Reports, so it is a pleasure to see the latest issue’s table of contents alert in my inbox. This month (EMBO R. 10, 103; 2009), Dr Gannon discusses ‘convergence’, the latest business buzzword, but hardly a new concept to scientists, he writes.  Read more