At the 25th of May, a whole afternoon was dedicated to young researchers in CNR-IMAA in Potenza (Italy). It was the aim of the meeting to learn from their stories and experiences, as well as to discuss the current situation of research in Italy.
During the meeting Italians who decided to emigrate, Italians who decided to stay, and foreigners who had decided to come to Italy, explained their experiences. They exchanged information on their backgrounds, their research fields, their motivations to either move or stay, their positive and negative experiences and their projects for the future. The speakers had 4 different nationalities and are currently working in 4 different countries. One of them was Cosimo Lacava, an Italian researcher working currently in UK, who wrote a letter to the Republic's president criticising the precarious and uncertain situation of young researchers in Italy reinforced by recently modified laws.
The ITaRS fellow, Pilar Gumà-Claramunt, was a speaker as well and she explained her experience and motivation to come to CNR-IMAA, as well as her difficulties and advantages on her path.
After the individual talks the round table discussions were particularly interesting. There many different aspects of research were discussed with University professors, other researchers and outsiders. Regional politicians and journalists attended the meeting as well, therefore it was a good outreach exercise.