Congress Newsletter 2021
Session ESAS6 ESAIC support for Young Researchers
Sunday December 19, 15:30 – 16:30 – Channel 8
This Sunday afternoon 3-part session addresses support for young researchers and is opened by Dr Malachy Columb, Chairman of the Masterclass in Research Methodology & Statistics and Consultant in Anaesthesia & Intensive Medicine at University of Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe Hospital, UK.
His talk will address how ESAIC runs masterclasses for younger researchers and those wishing to gain more insight on a variety of topics including:
- Research Methodology & Statistics
- Scientific Writing
- Grant Applications
- Intensive Care
- Patient Safety & Quality
“The masterclasses are advertised on the ESAIC website and in the newsletter,” explains Dr Columb. “These classes usually run from Tuesday morning to Thursday lunchtime at various venues around Europe. The format is short presentations followed by hands-on workshops using actual and modified data. We aim to have, say, 20-30 attendees who are divided into groups of 5 or 6, each group with a range of research experience. Prior to the event, the delegates are sent pre-course materials and a link to download statistical software for the course, although the attendee can use their own software.”
He will detail how clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely curtailed delivery of the masterclasses, and some will be more suitable than others to be delivered wholly online. “However, the more intensive hands-on support required for the Masterclass in Research Methodology & Statistics implies that we may have to wait until face-to-face events are deemed safe enough,” he explains. “This suggests that we may wait until after Euroanaesthesia 2022 in Milan to schedule the next Research Methodology & Statistics Masterclass.”
The second talk will be given by Professor Wolfgang Buhre, Mentorship Program Leader, Research Committee, ESAIC. “Mentorship is a powerful tool in the development of individuals. Therefore the ESAIC Research Committee (RC) has decided to develop a mentorship programme to promote the professional development of young researchers and established investigators. The one-to-one mentoring model enables the development of a personal relationship and provides individual support for the mentee,” he explains.
The ESAIC Research Mentorship Programme aims are
- To preserve and transfer accumulated professional knowledge within the anaesthesia community
- To support individual academic anaesthetists in achieving their potential as researchers.
- To contribute to the ESAIC mission to connect anaesthesiologists in the field of research.
The duration of the ESAIC Mentorship program is usually 2 years, starting with a face-to-face meeting at the annual congress. Mentor and Mentee develop their individual plan for success, with the ESAIC as a supporting organization. The mentorship team is always available to support the individual relation between mentor and mentee.
“In the last year, we decided to set up a regular series of web-based communication becoming effective in 2022. The aim is to connect the group to each other, learn from experiences within the group and share best practices. I am very interested in empowering and facilitating the activities of the group,” says Prof Buhre.
“Moreover, we also encourage the mentees to communicate with each other in order to create a shared community. Due to Covid a couple of activities need to be postponed, mainly as both mentors and mentees are heavily involved in the care for their patients.”
He concludes: “In this talk, we also will present our plans for the upcoming years which were developed together with colleagues from the mentee group.”
In the final presentation, Professor Jens Meier of Kepler University Hospital, Linz, Austria, will discuss grants for young researchers. He says: “Young researchers often find it difficult to find an opportunity to finance their first scientific projects. Often only a manageable amount of money is needed to make innovative, fresh projects happen. This is exactly the focus of the ESAIC young investigator grant. It gives young researchers the opportunity to receive money for their new, innovative project, without the necessity to be in competition with well-established scientific groups.”
However, this does not mean that the quality of the application can be low since in the last few years many innovative and well-designed projects have been supported. Prof Meier says: “It will be the aim of my talk to put the ESAIC young investigator grant into perspective with the other ESA grants, to explain the application and judgement process, and to give some hints as to what can be done to have a successful application. Summing up, the ESAIC young investigator grant is a unique opportunity for young researchers to get funding without the necessity to compete with large, well established scientific groups.”
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