The JPhD, a conference exclusively arranged by PhD fellows, continues to expand with each new edition, reinforcing a growing network of PhD students and young researchers working across the UAB campus and in Catalonia in general.
The JPhD Scientific Meeting has reached this year its 7th edition. What initially began as a modest gathering of ICMAB PhD fellows 12 years ago, has been growing over the years and has blossomed into an exceptional platform for scientific communication and networking. Following last year's hybrid event, the organizers –PhD students from various centres on campus, including the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM), the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), decided to hold the #JPhD2023 as an in-person event at ICMAB.
On the 7th and 8th of June, PhD researchers were treated to inspiring lectures by renowned scientists, engaging oral presentations given by their peers, a live poster session, and two roundtable discussions. Additionally, this year's edition included an extra day trip to the ALBA Synchrotron facilities. The topics covered were: Energy and Environment; Electronics and Nanofabrication; Bioapplications in Medicine; Nanomaterials and Magnetism; and Synthesis and Characterization. Among the senior speakers was ICREA Prof. Jordi Arbiol, leader of the ICN2 Advanced Electron Nanoscopy Group.
The roundtable sessions focused on "Career Perspectives," featuring speakers from both academia and industry, as well as "Planning Your Career," with speakers from research centers, spin-offs, or publishing houeses. Concluding the intense two-day event was the awards ceremony, where a jury comprising members of the organizing committee selected the recipients of the Best Presentation, while the meeting participants voted for the Best Poster.
The attendance at this year’s edition exceeded that of the previous one, reaching a total of 112 participants: 57 of them delivered talks throughout the event's two days (conducted in parallel sessions on the first day), while the other 23 presented their research in the poster session. Of all the participants, 38 were ICMAB PhD researchers, 26 hailed from ICN2, 17 from UAB, 3 from both UAB and ICN2, 9 from IMB-CNM, and the remainder represented various institutions, including 7 from IREC and 2 from CRAG.
The organizing committee comprised 10 dedicated PhD researchers: Darla Mare and Manel Mas from ICMAB, Jéssica Casandra Ramírez de la Torre, Marc Botifoll, Aritz Lafuente, Jing Yu, Francesco Salutari, Iván Pinto, Helena RabeloJose, and María Castillo from ICN2, and Muhammad Adil from UAB. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of them for their tremendous effort.