Be reactive and jump at opportunities!

For the panel conversation two young academy alumnae joined Christine Petit: Beatrice Crona (Executive Director at The Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Programme (GEDB) at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Associate Professor and Deputy Science Director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University), and Maria Tenje (Professor in Microsystems Technology at Uppsala University, former Young Academy of Sweden Chair, and L’Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science awardee in Denmark 2009). Anna Wetterbom, CEO for the Young Academy of Sweden moderated the panel and took the opportunity to promote the upcoming call for application to The L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Prize Sweden on June 1st: The L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Prize Sweden.

Beatrice Crona reminded the seminar not to always generalize career advice, different aspects may apply to different disciplines. She explained that even though having spent most of her career at one university, a fluid and international research field provided lots of input and challenges. Maria Tenje said it had been crucial for her to be in an environment where she felt support. At a ’rough patch’ in her career that was not the case. But rather than give up or blame herself, she managed to define the issues and decided to move to an environment which suited her better.

After the seminar an opportunity to mingle followed, an energetic exchange that also had room for coffee, croissants and laughter.