For the first time, young researchers at the Thuringian State Observatory held a one-day conference in Tautenburg. This new format gave Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. students a platform for presenting their work to the whole institute.
Academic research profits from exchanging ideas. Scientific ideas and results are presented in (written) papers and in talks. Therefore, giving talks is part of a researcher's work. However, it can be intimidating for early-career scientists to speak in front of a big audience. So why not create an opportunity for Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. students to speak about their work and practice giving scientific talks?
That is the idea behind the Early Career Scientists’ (ECS) Conference held on November 6, 2025, at the Thuringian State Observatory. 14 young scientists seized the opportunity to cover a wide range of topics: extragalactic astronomy, stellar astrophysics, solar physics, galaxies, data analysis, remote sensing, and hardware programming.
A familiar setting for practicing
Early-career scientists at the Thuringian State Observatory. Photo: Thuringian State ObservatoryHemanth Pruthvi, one of the organizers of the Early Career Scientists’ Conference, explains the motivation for coordinating the event: “Most of the ECS members are at the beginning of their academic journey with little exposure to science communication. At some point, they will need to communicate their work to their peers, veterans and laypeople in a public setting. This conference is an attempt to ease them into the process by having them present their work in a familiar, albeit scientifically rigorous setting.”
The young scientists could choose the content of their presentation: an ongoing project, past work, a future plan of action or even a literature survey. Every speaking slot was 15 minutes long, typical of any scientific conference: 10 minutes to present and 5 minutes for discussion. Participation was open to all staff members at the observatory. The audience could listen to the presentations and discussions in person or via zoom.
Apart from ECS members, the director, several of the institute faculty, and technical personnel attended the conference. Jana Köhler, also an organizer of the ECS conference, concludes: “The enthusiastic participation and the intriguing discussions showed that this conference was a success. There is also eager anticipation for the next conference, especially from the new members who couldn’t present this time.”
Big interest in the next ECS conference
The organizing team, comprised of Hemanth Pruthvi, Jana Köhler and Aashana Tripathi, plans to repeat the format. “Another ECS conference will be held when we have a substantial number of new members and/or new work to be presented”, says Aashana Tripathi.
Markus Roth, director of the Thuringian State Observatory, supports the initiative started by the young scientists: “I am very grateful that Hemanth Pruthvi, Jana Köhler and Aashana Tripathi organized this conference. This is a very innovative way to support our early-career scientists. I also thank all the speakers who gave presentations. The institute really profits from this format because it makes everyone here aware of how much is going on at the observatory. The conference is a good example of how to exchange ideas beyond everyone's own research group.”