The second EURAXESS Researchers’ Night in Guangdong held in the evening of the Saturday 29 June attracted over 100 excellent European, Chinese and International researchers who enjoyed a relaxed evening of networking and sharing of experience. The Researchers’ Night was this time organised in the technological capital of China, Shenzhen, held at Whatever Artspace in the Xi’li District, right next to the University Town of Shenzhen.
The theme of the this edition of the Researchers’ Night was science communication and the benefits of being able to effectively communicate to the public to the career of researchers. The event included a improv workshop organised by YouImprove in Shenzhen. The workshop engaged the participants in several common improv exercises that in addition to teach valuable lessons about performance also losened up the crowd and raised the level of energy in the room that translated into the rest of the evening. The event also included a testimony from Vikas Malik, the winner of the EURAXESS Science Slam 2015, who talked about how Science Communication has benefitted him as a researchers, his experience with the Science Slam and how it impacted his life and career. The event also included a spontenaous open mic session, where leading researchers gave quick pitches to the crowd looking for potential new team members. Finally the event also included the formal launching of the application phase of the EURAXESS Science Slam China 2019 (http://scienceslamchina.com).
The event was supported this time by excellent local partners. The Association of Spanish Researchers in China, RICE, shared the initiative of holding this edition of the Researchers’ Night with EURAXESS. The networking event was positioned right at the heels of the Spanish Researchers’ Day that was held in cooperation with the Spanish Consulate at SUSTECH earlier that day. RICE secured the venue, helped with promotion and sponsored the improve workshop. 28 Spanish researchers from South of China joined the event. The event was also supported by two platforms of the local government; Shenzhen Science and Technology Development Exchange Center and the Shenzhen International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Service Platform, as well as their strategic partner, the company Shenzhen Doctor Top Innovation. They supported the event with volunteers during the day of the event as well a promotion and outreach amongst the community of Chinese researchers in Shenzhen.