What is the dream of young researchers?

Our company relies on them to envision tomorrow’s solutions. But what do young scientists want? In a century where environmental, energy and medical challenges converge, at a time when the acceleration of discoveries in computing, especially artificial intelligence, raises new ethical issues, we have launched an appeal on their website. the world : “You’re finishing your thesis, a postdoc or currently employed. In an ideal world, your dream, what would be the meaning you want to give to your research? » A broad question, followed by more down-to-earth questions: “What surprised you, good or bad, about this first years experience? »

; “If you had a magic wand, what would you change?”etc

First observation: these young researchers really wanted to express themselves, because 187 testimonies from France and around the world (Peru, Finland, United States, Canada, Japan, etc.) reached us in barely twenty hours. Another observation: the tone of his messages was mixed, sometimes quite dark. Dreams, if expressed, are often accompanied by obstacles.

“Shake the World”

“I was not surprised at the beginning of my career, because I was warned: no money, no time and a lot of administration.Sums up bioinformatician Pierre Marijon, 31, directly. Being a man, I was still lucky enough to avoid sexism and sexual violence. » After participating “For the creation of the first human “pangenome”.

(Mapping Human Genetic Inheritance in All Its Diversity) »The researcher, then a postdoc (fixed-term research contract after the doctorate) in Germany, left the full academic world for a laboratory in Paris associated with the France Genomic Medicine project.

“Research welcomes brilliant minds capable of shaking the world”Says Waitea Opuu, a researcher at the intersection between artificial intelligence and biology, who is on his second postdoc in Paris after his first post at the Max-Planck Institute in Leipzig (Germany). “Laboratories rely on doctoral students and postdocs to function, leading to overproduction of researchers. Because the educational system cannot employ everyone, this creates a desolate environment where many peers are forced to leave. »

This lack of security and stability has important consequences for research practices, believes 30-year-old marine biologist Nicholas DeGrie, a postdoc in Plymouth, England. “There is no place for a long time, at which point you always have to have a sexy project or research result. (…) But given the extremely complex challenges we face, we need long-term thinking. »

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