Over 20 people participated in each day of the event, which was held on 14, 15, 16, 21 and 22 January. The purpose of PhD Welcome Days is to introduce newcomers to the institution, its spaces and its processes and to provide tools to help them to face the years to come. In fact, on 27 and 29 January, the programme included visits to the spaces of the Campus Clínic so the PhD students could learn more details.
IDIBAPS director Elías Campo welcomed the participants during the first session. Cristina Fillat, the head of the research group Gene therapy and cancer, the coordinators of the University of Barcelona’s PhD programmes and the Office of Institutional Actions held an informative discussion about the options that will be available to predoctoral researchers at IDIBAPS in the coming years. A round table discussion was then held in which Josep M Llovet, the head of the group Translational research in hepatic oncology, Marianna Spatola, a researcher in the group Pathogenesis of autoimmune neuronal disorders, Pau Sancho-Bru, the head of the group Liver cell plasticity and tissue repair and Carlos Fernández de Larrea, the head of the group Myeloma, amyloidosis, macroglobulinemia and other gammapathies, talked about the benefits of translational research, one of IDIBAPS’ hallmarks.
The activities in the days that followed were led by IDIBAPS researchers and support staff, who organised talks and participatory activities on integrity in research, sustainability, coordination and relations between the publication of scientific articles—the exploitation of results—communication and students’ options after completing their PhD (inside and outside academia). Current and former members of the PhD community also shared their experiences as research staff and facilitated social activities so the participants could create a support network. Anna Muro came from the Autonomous University of Barcelona’s Department of Basic Psychology, Development and Education to provide the attendees with a guidance session on mental health and wellbeing. Finally, to conclude PhD Welcome Days, visits were made to Hospital Clínic’s Biomedical Diagnosis Centre (CDB) and to the IDIBAPS platforms.
The Office of Institutional Actions, the main organisers of the event, would like to thank all IDIBAPS’ internal staff, the PhD Community, the Autonomous University of Barcelona for its commitment to the researchers’ mental health and wellbeing and the University of Barcelona for its presentations on opportunities for PhD students. ‘Thanks to everyone’s collaboration, PhD Welcome Days were a great success, creating a unique opportunity for our predoctoral researchers to grow and connect’.
