On 8th July 2025, ICoRSA will host a dynamic online public debate focused on the pressing theme: Fostering Inclusion – Overcoming Challenges for Underrepresented Researchers. This important event, organised in collaboration with CAPS-ACP, ANPG, Eurodoc, YAE, and MCAA, will explore the systemic barriers that continue to exclude many from fully participating in academia and research careers.

Agenda

Academia has long been regarded as a space for knowledge creation and innovation. Specifically, research systems and processes have evolved significantly in terms of research practices, dissemination and exploration of results, management, and funding. However, systemic barriers continue to hinder the full participation of underrepresented and marginalised researchers, including but not limited to women, researchers from minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQI+ researchers, persons with disabilities, and early-career researchers from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. These individuals face challenges such as precarious employment, limited access to research funding, lack of mentorship opportunities, and institutional biases that limit career progression. Addressing these challenges is crucial to fostering a diverse and inclusive research ecosystem that harnesses the full potential of all scholars. 

The public debate will bring together Researcher Associations to discuss their work in supporting researchers facing emerging needs and identifying challenges. Additionally, we will present existing career frameworks and explore how they can promote inclusion and improve career conditions for all. Studies on the precarity of working conditions, particularly in relation to gender, will also be highlighted. The event will also showcase government initiatives of promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion aimed at preparing the next generation of researchers and promoting inclusive science, with cases from Brazil and Canada. 

Objectives of the public debate

1. To identify the key barriers faced by underrepresented and marginalised researchers in academia.
2. To share best practices and initiatives that promote e and inclusion.
3. To advocate for structural changes that address precarity and promote sustainable research careers.
   

Registration is free but mandatory via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QlXQZs0aQoKDn61G8RWDOQ

Biographies

Dr. Erna Karalija is a plant biologist and professor at the University of Sarajevo, specializing in molecular plant physiology, seed priming, and plant adaptation to environmental stress. She has coordinated and contributed to numerous Horizon Europe projects, including SECURE2, SECURE, RRING, GRRIP, PHAROS, OPUS, MUSICA, and H2HEAT, focusing on researcher career frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable innovations in plant science. As a member of the International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA), she has actively contributed to addressing researcher precarity, particularly in the Western Balkans, through regional initiatives such as the Berlin Process. Dr. Karalija is also the main proposer of a successful COST Action and a recipient of multiple University research awards.

In addition to her scientific work, she is engaged in science communication, public outreach, and stakeholder engagement, promoting the societal relevance of science and fostering inclusive dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and communities.

Vinícius Soares, Master in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology from UPE, PhD candidate in Public Health at UFRJ, and President of the National Association of Graduate Students (ANPG).

Dr. Olukitibi is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Manitoba with over 15 years of experience in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in Nigeria and his PhD at the University of Manitoba with a research focus on vaccine development for influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and HIV under the supervision of Dr. Xiaojian Yao. He is currently investigating immune responses to HPV clearance to support therapeutic vaccine development in Dr. Keith Fowke’s Lab. He has been privileged to receive prestigious awards such as the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR), Research Manitoba Dr. Dick Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship and IMPaCT Trial Trainee Award among others. He has also taken on leadership roles in the scientific community, including serving as Vice Chair of Survey and Data for the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS/ACSP) and a Member-in-Training Committee member at the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (AMMI) Canada. As the co-founder of Raising Foundations of Generations Inc. (www.rfgimpacts.org), a Manitoba-registered, faith-based and non-profit, Dr. Olukitibi empowers BIPOC youth through initiatives like the Scientific Spelling Bee (SPELBEC-Science), Scientific Essay Writing Competition and Workshop, mentorship and career development workshops.

Sia Gosheva-Oney is a research advisor and project manager at ETH Zurich. In this role, she advises researchers on EU- and US funding opportunities and negotiates research agreements. Moreover, Sia has been managing EU collaborative projects since 2018 and is part of the EURAXESS team at ETH. Sia serves on the advisory board of the RMR magazine of NCURA.

Scott Bremer is chair of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE), a pan-European organisation of early and mid career scientists for networking, scientific exchange and the science-policy interface. YAE members are recognised young scientists in leadership roles, who are out-spoken on topics of science-for-policy and science-policy, with ambitions to help shape the research ecosystem in Europe. Scott is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist based at the University of Bergen and NORCE Research, in Bergen Norway. His research is actually about the science-policy interface, and the different ways-of-knowing used to support decision-making.Dr Rosarii Griffin is a specialist in ’International and Comparative Education’ (DPhil, Oxford), focusing on ’Education for Global Sustainable Development’ and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rosarii has published 5 books in the area and is currently working on a 6th. Rosarii has a particular interest in gender and education, STEM/STEAM, Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and  ethical issues in relation to emergent ICT technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Open Science. Rosarii is Interim Director of the Centre for Global Development at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, and she also lectures in Adult Education in Disability Studies, Capacity Building and Research Methods, with particular reference to the Global South. Previously, Dr Griffin was Director of the Centre for Global Development & Education (CGDE) at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. Rosarii is currently the Legal Secretary and Director of the International Consortium of Researcher Staff Associations (ICORSA). Rosarii is Secretary of the National ’Irish Researcher Staff Association’ (IrishRSA), and is currently Chair of her University’s (UCC) Researcher Staff Association (UCCRSA); and was an elected Governor of her University (UCC) for almost a decade.  Rosarii is currently a Board Member of the USA based ’Global Virus Network’ (GVN) and a longstanding Fellow of the UK Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), based in London.

Dr. Magali Weissgerber conducted her PhD in environmental geography at the Université Clermont Auvergne in France. Since 2023 she works as a postdoctoral researcher at the German Institute for Integrative Biodiversity Research in Leipzig. Her main research topics are land-use changes and ecosystem restoration, with a focus on agricultural abandonment and rewilding through the Horizon wildE project. She has been involved in NGOs advocating for better living and working conditions for early career researcher since 2018. These activities have been carried on at local level with the Auvergne regional association for ECR, at national level with the French Confederation of ECR and at European level with Eurodoc, the European Council for Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers. She is presently a General Board Member of Eurodoc and active on various topics with a focus on mental health issues and environmental questions.

Dr. Kyle Bobiwash, of Mississauga First Nation, is an Assistant Professor and an Indigenous Scholar in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba. At the University of Manitoba, his lab focuses on understanding the ecology of beneficial insects in agro-ecosystems and the greater landscape. Their goal is to better characterize the landscape and resources utilized by insects to understand how land management might affect insect community composition and ecosystem service delivery. In addition to his ecological work, Kyle is also research in residence with the Office of the Chief Science Advisory of Canada, and seconded to the Interdepartmental Indigenous STEM cluster, where he combines his academic work on building Indigenous science capacity with government-wide efforts to build a Canadian science ecosystem that is driven by Indigenous leadership and collaboration.

Partners