News

We had a total of ~ 60 participants: ~ 50 on-site, ~ 40 from abroad and a total of 19 different countries.

As YCN representative, I had the opportunity to propose the organization of a YCN workshop at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. The proposal was first submitted to the YCN committee which then submitted to the JECS Trust fund. Throughout this process, the YCN committee provided valuable assistance and we had several meetings to discuss my idea and work towards achieving our primary goal. Concomitantly, I invited Joana Sousa, Tânia Gameiro, Camila Ribeiro and João Miranda to join me as main organizers of the event. In my opinion, the organization of an international event is very important to everyone and we can always learn from these experiences. I also invited all students from the Materials Engineering and Ceramic Department of the University of Aveiro, to participate as volunteers.

The organization of an international event is very challenging, and I think that the main keys to succeed are: excellent organization and effective communication. We held numerous meetings to establish connections and allocate tasks, ensuring that everyone was aligned and working towards our common objectives. However, as the event approached, we encountered various issues that needed to be overcome. In such situations, delegate tasks and having a backup plan was crucial, enabling us to adapt to the circumstances.

During the three days of the 3rd YCN workshop we organized several network activities, and awarded 6 prizes:

Oral presentations:

• 1st prize – Katelyn Kirchner - The Pennsylvania State University, USA, PhD student
• 2nd prize – Cristina Ojalvo Guiberteau – University of Aveiro/CICECO, PT, young researcher
• 3rd prize – Jaime González Cuadra - University Jaume I/ University of Aveiro, ES/PT, PhD student

Poster presentations:

• 1st prize – Nima Amousa - RWTH Aachen University, Germany, MSc student
• 2nd prize – João L. Miranda - University of Aveiro/CICECO, PT, MSc student
• 3rd prize – Milan Vukšić - Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia, young researcher

We received various feedback from the participants, indicating their high level of satisfaction with the event. Therefore, the workshop can be considered a success!

Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the YCN committee for providing me with this opportunity and for believing in my capabilities, especially considering I was 34 weeks pregnant. I would also like to extend my thanks to the local committee, volunteers and the University of Aveiro (specifically DEMaC, CICECO, and UA) for their invaluable support, without which this event would not have been possible.

Inês Vilarinho
Postdoctoral Researcher 
Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering - DEMaC | CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials
Universidade de Aveiro
Portugal