AGM 2025

Access the AGENDA HERE.

The International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA) is pleased to announce its Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2025, with a dedicated panel discussion on the theme “Sustainable Research Careers.”

This year’s event will bring together representatives from research staff associations, such as the Max Planck PostdocNet and the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS) together with Researcher Organizations as Eurodoc and Marie Curie Alumni Association to discuss sustainability in research careers. The programme will highlight existing initiatives, such as the SECURE2 project, which foster sustainable systems, demonstrate how diverse career pathways contribute to strengthening research careers, and showcase how associations and grassroots initiatives are helping to build a culture of change.

Following the conference, ICoRSA members and partners will join a members-only session for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Board Elections.

During this session, members will:

• Review the ICoRSA Annual and Financial Reports
• Reflect on achievements, partnerships, and impact from the past year
• Hear updates from ICoRSA projects and the results of the 2025 audit
• Discuss the governance structure and define strategic priorities for the coming year
• Participate in the election of new Board members, who will guide ICoRSA’s strategic direction and activities in 2026

The AGM and Board elections represent a key opportunity for ICoRSA members to engage directly in the consortium’s governance and to contribute to shaping its future initiatives in support of researchers worldwide.

Register to the Conference here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/t_bYBOwwT9KYyAnYKsAi5Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please see for more details ICoRSA Agenda AGM 2025.

Learn more about the speakers

Dr Erna Karalija

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.

Dr. X. Alvin Yang

X. Alvin Yang is a multidisciplinary scholar, polyglot and musician. Currently, he is a researcher at the Lise Meitner Research Group “China in the Global System of Science” at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Within the Max Planck Society, he serves as postdoctoral representative of the Human Sciences Section, steering group member of the PostdocNet, as well as open science ambassador and external postdoctoral representative of his institute.

Alvin’s research spans international relations, global political economy, the sociology of knowledge, and ethnic and racial studies. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in leading journals and edited volumes. He holds a Dr. rer. pol. (Doctor of Economics and Social Sciences) from the University of Kassel, Germany. His dissertation, The Evolution of Chinese IR Theories, examines the transnational and transcultural dynamics of knowledge innovation, production, and diffusion of Chinese international relations theories. Moreover, he led the Anti-Asian Racism during COVID-19 Project, jointly funded by the Canada-China Initiatives Fund and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He co-edited the special issue “Transculturality of Anti-Asian Racism”and the forthcoming book “Anti-Asian Racism and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada”. In addition to his research, he teaches research methods as a visiting lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin.

His current work examines global competition in science and technology through comparative studies of scientific systems and organizations in China, the United States, Germany, the EU, and Canada. His project Restructuring Knowledge Production Through Standardization? theorizes the shift from national systems to a global science system via standardization, metrification and marketization. Relatedly, his project, The Transformative Role of AI in Academic Knowledge Production, examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping scientific knowledge production.

Dr. Tracy Wietecha

Tracy Wietecha is a postdoctoral scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science specializing in medieval philosophy and the history of premodern science and philosophy. Tracy was the 2020 Lorenz Bausch fellow at the Leopoldina National Academy of Science in Halle (Saale), Germany. She completed her doctorate in February 2021 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München with a dissertation on the ethical commentaries of the thirteenth-century natural scientist and philosopher Albert the Great. She holds an MA in philosophy from Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and an MA in sacred theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary (Detroit, Michigan). Tracy’s current research examines how German scientists encountered the Latin Americas. She also organizes a working group that brings together scholars from the MPIWG and the Leopoldina, “Experiencing Nature through Old and New Epistemes around the Globe.” Tracy has taught courses at the LMU and Bard College Berlin. She is currently a guest lecturer at the Technische Universität Berlin.

She served from 2023-2024 as the elected Spokesperson of the Max Planck Society PostdocNet. Her experiences leading a postdoc network were published in a publication in Nature Careers.

Dr. Margarida Trindade

Margarida Trindade has been leading the pre-award services of ITQB NOVA research institute from Nova University of Lisbon since 2016 and teaching at the Research Management and Policy Postgraduate Program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty of Nova University of Lisbon since 2019. She also assesses EARMA and ARMA’s (UK) training programs for a Research Management Certification and acts as an expert evaluator and advisor for the European Commission. Along her career path, she has participated in several European-funded projects focused on the professional development of Research Managers and Researchers. These projects include EUTOPIA-HEALTH, RM-ROADMAP, foRMAtion, TRANSPEER, IMpaCT, and others. M. Trindade obtained her PhD in Developmental Biology from University College London in 2000.

Dr. Chanele Polenz

Dr. Chanele Polenz is a CIHR postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, studying the bidirectional relationship between depression/anxiety and cardiovascular disease. She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Toronto, where she specialized in inflammation and vascular biology. Outside of lab work, Chanele is passionate about teaching and improving research trainee experiences, and is currently the Chair of the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS/ACPP).

ICoRSA Opens Nominations for Board Elections 2025

The International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA) is pleased to announce the opening of nominations for its ICoRSA Board Elections 2025, which will take place during the upcoming ICoRSA Annual General Meeting (AGM), on December 10 2025.

ICoRSA, an Irish-based non-profit association, represents research staff associations and researchers across all scientific domains, career stages, and institutions. The AGM will provide an opportunity to discuss key topics related to research careers and governance, as well as to elect members to the Legal Director positions on the ICoRSA Board.

Open Positions

Nominations are now open for the following positions:

• Chair
• Vice-Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Director

While responsibilities vary depending on the position, all Board Members share collective duties that include: overseeing and approving changes to the Statute, electing the Board, approving financial statements and budgets, deciding on membership, approving annual reports and proposals.

The Legal Director team is supported by an Administrative Officer, a Project and Staff Manager, and a Financial Officer.

Nomination Guidelines

ICoRSA welcomes all nominations, including self-nominations.
Each nomination should include:

• A statement of interest and motivation, highlighting your reasons for contributing to ICoRSA.
• A short professional biography.
• An endorsement by 1–2 ICoRSA members (optional).

Submission and Deadline

Nominations must be submitted by email to admin@icorsa.org no later than Friday, 7 November 2025.