ECS Annual Meeting (Apr. 2021)

Some participants of the ECS annual meeting 2021 (Photomontage by K. Tempest)

The ECS gathered virtually to participate in their Annual Meeting from 7-9 April 2021.

A warm-up session was opening each day and consisted in a combination of 5-minute "stupid" questions and longer "showcasing" sessions where papers and tools written and developed by the ECS were presented. On the first afternoon Daniel Reinert (DWD) gave a presentation about ICON. The ECS were then split into two groups: the beginners were led by Oriol Prims in a hands-on session and the others joined Daniel Reinert in a discussion session. The second day featured both presentations and hands-on activities in smaller groups and was focused on preparing the ECS for the writing of papers and developing core scientific skills. The three sessions were about "how to read efficiently" by Hella Garny, "how to write scientific papers" with a focus on abstracts by Michael Riemer, and "the review process" by Volkmar Wirth. The involvement of the three PIs in leading these sessions gave valuable insight in how to master these steps including their personal tips and what challenges are to be expected, and how to address them. On the third day a member of the YESS community (Adnan Abid, ICTP) was invited to the meeting to inform the participants about how W2W can collaborate with YESS. In addition, he presented his research focused on predictability on a seasonal timescale. The ECS committee then gave an overview on the possibilities and activities within W2W. A long coffee break ended the meeting.

The annual meeting was about developing scientific skills and knowledge but it was also about building the W2W community. Icebreakers were organized at the end of each day and included online escape rooms and multiple small games where the participants joined in separate virtual rooms.

Through chairing a session, presenting, or organizing, this meeting relied, and was also improved by the involvement of most ECS. A huge thank you to all the participants for making this meeting happen!

The program of the meeting is available here.