Preconference workshops

 
We would like to invite young researchers to the preconference workshops that will be held in the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, on September 12th, 2024, at 9:00 am.

The workshops will be available only for the members of the Society for Biology of Reproduction (TBR). Participation in the workshops is covered by the conference fee, registration will be open until August 31st 2024 via the links below. The participants will be selected based on the registration forms.

WORKSHOP 1 (for young researchers with a PhD degree)
Milestones on the Road to a Fruitful Scientific Career
Registration form: https://forms.gle/Av5wfieZX2fW24AH8

TEAM. Amundsen and Scott Expeditions - Can the experiences of polar explorers from over 100 years ago help in team management? Hosted by Piotr Jaworski.

The aim of the workshop is to improve motivation and increase the level of knowledge about project management and the team functioning. Based on the history of two famous expeditions to the South Pole, the greatest challenges facing project teams will be presented.

Can the experiences of Pole conquerors from over 100 years ago help in managing a project team? Definitely yes. The extreme conditions in which they had to achieve their goals allowed them to gather extraordinary knowledge about teamwork. It is this knowledge supported by the most interesting findings of contemporary researchers that will be the subject of the training.

Eligibility Criteria: Participants must have completed their PhD not earlier than 12 years ago (i.e. in years 2012-2024), be members of the Society for Biology of Reproduction (TBR) and possess fluent writing and speaking skills in Polish.

Participant Limit: The workshop will accommodate up to 15 participants, selected through separate registration. The deadline for registration will be announced soon.

Language: Polish

Cost: Free for the conference attendees.


WORKSHOP 2 (for PhD students)
How to Live with Research Failures and Not Be Discouraged
Registration form: https://forms.gle/vNPPtWJvfCB4Cpw69

FAILURES: STIGMA or OPPORTUNITY. Can we survive in the scientific environment driven by metrics and success, where shortcomings and failures abound? Hosted by Monika M. Kaczmarek & Paweł Frelik

In an environment driven by metrics and success, shortcomings and failures are often perceived as stigmas that make one unfit for the profession. This perception of the scientific career is then internalized by both young and experienced researchers, often leading to emotions ranging from a sense of inadequacy to the impostor syndrome to depression. Our workshop aims to disenchant failure and frame it as a normal and even necessary element of academic life and research. In that, we will look at selected case studies and discuss possible ways of handling crises, arguing that failure is an inescapable and necessary part of being a researcher.

Eligibility Criteria: Participants must be PhD students and members of the Society for Biology of Reproduction (TBR) and possess fluent writing and speaking skills in Polish or English.

Participant Limit: The workshop will accommodate up to 15 participants, selected through separate registration. The deadline for registration will be announced soon.

Language: Polish or English, depending on the participant’s language proficiency (will be decided after registration). 
   
Cost: Free for the conference attendees.


Workshop hosts:
 
  Paweł Frelik – Associate Professor in the American Studies Center, University of Warsaw. His research interests include audiovisual media, popular genres, and politics of/in culture. He is the author of over 150 international publications and sits on the editorial boards of Science Fiction Studies (USA), Extrapolation (USA/UK), and Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds (UK). He also co-edits the New Dimensions in Science Fiction book series at the University of Wales Press. In 2012-14, he was President of Science Fiction Research Association (USA) and now serves as President of International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (USA). In both positions, he has been the first researcher from outside the United States and Great Britain.  
       
  Piotr Jaworski – Certified auditor, mentor, and business trainer. Team leader with over 20 years of experience. Graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), Kozminski University and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University.
Head of audit teams in many organizations (ARiMR, PGZ S.A., PKP Intercity, PKP PLK). For over 20 years, he has been assessing organizations and projects as an auditor and evaluator. Expert in management and control systems. He began to gain extensive experience in this field in the late 1990s as coordinator of the European Program at the Institute of Public Affairs. After the end of the conflict in the Balkans, as an OSCE employee, he implemented the peace plan in Serbia and Macedonia, learning in practice what a multicultural team is all about. As the owner of a consulting company, he has developed and implemented internal control and risk management systems in several hundred units of the public finance sector, including the largest Polish metropolises - Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk. Former head of the Collegium Wratislaviense Mentor School. Lecturer in mentoring and at postgraduate studies at the Warsaw School of Economics. (SGH), Poznań University of Economics and Business, and Catholic University of Lublin. Author of articles on evaluation, control, audit and project management. Co-author of the book "Academic mentoring program in practice". Author of an online course on remote team management and coaching management style.		  
       
  Monika M. Kaczmarek - Associate Professor in the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research PAS in Olsztyn. Her research interests are broad, spanning multiple disciplines, but are primary focused on unrevealing the molecular mechanisms of progeny-maternal interactions during pregnancy and the postnatal period. She has received numerous scientific awards and fellowships, including recognitions from the Foundation for Polish Science, the Polish-American Fulbright Commission, and the Alexander von Humboldt and Hertie Foundations. With over 70 scientific articles and several book chapters published, she adeptly combines her passion for science with activities in popularization and organization. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Council of the National Science Center.