Overcoming the Obstacles Faced by Early Career Researchers in Marine Science: Lessons From the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean

Abstract

Pressure in academia and science is rapidly increasing and early career researchers (ECRs) have a lot to gain from being involved in research initiatives such as large international projects. But just how inclusive are they? Here we discuss experiences of ECRs directly involved in the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO), an Australian led international research project to assess the status and trends of Southern Ocean ecosystems. We review the benefits of ECR involvement in largescale initiatives to the project deliverables, the leadership team and ECRs themselves. Using insights from MEASO, we outline the obstacles that may become barriers to ECRs in scientific research in general but with a focus on large-scale research projects and suggest potential actions to overcome these at the individual, institutional and scientific community level. We consider the potential for ECRs to lead future Antarctic science programmes with a focus on science communication and applied research for policy makers within a global setting.

Coastal Research Seen Through an Early Career Lens—A Perspective on Barriers to Interdisciplinarity in Norway

“…This perspective is in agreement with previous work reporting that main barriers limiting ECRs' capacity for interdisciplinary research are not only of scientific origin but rather due to the working environment and conditions (Andrews et al, 2020;Brasier et al, 2020). A review of recent literature summarized in Table 1 suggests many diverse barriers to successful interdisciplinary collaborations for early career researchers.…”

“…Poor research networks (e.g., due to relocation, institutional structures; Pannell et al, 2019;Fork et al, 2020) • Bolster research networks through collaborative program structure and mentorship (Fork et al, 2020) • Create ECR-focused spaces (e.g., regular ECR events, online communities, databases of ECR research, connect ECRs with complementary projects, funding for ECRs to attend encounters*; Pannell et al, 2019;Fork et al, 2020) Short duration of ECR positions, research time constraints (Bridle et al, 2013;Kelly et al, 2019;Pannell et al, 2019;Brasier et al, 2020;Fork et al, 2020) • Longer-term contracts, career development, and workshops on how to attract funding with salary support (Brasier et al, 2020) • Access to established interdisciplinary networks (Brasier et al, 2020) Ineffective support: supervisory or institutional (Killion et al, 2018;Kelly et al, 2019;Andrews et al, 2020;Blythe and Cvitanovic, 2020;Fork et al, 2020) • Active support within integrative research communities (e.g., formalize mentorship, provide training, interdisciplinary courses, organize encounters*, network building, provide seed funding, and follow-up activities; Lyall and Meagher, 2012;Bridle, 2018;Jaeger-Erben et al, 2018;Gibson et al, 2019;Pannell et al, 2019;Andrews et al, 2020) • Establish good channels of communication (e.g., provide early feedback on nascent ideas, alert to imminent funding opportunities, dialog-led management; Gibson et al, 2019) • Promote junior research group leaders, give the rank of junior professor (increases credibility with partners; Jaeger- Erben et al, 2018;Gibson et al, 2019) Stress due to career uncertainty, including short-term employment contract (Bridle et al, 2013;Hein et al, 2018;Gibson et al, 2019;Andrews e...…”

“…• Provide experienced mentors (Jaeger-Erben et al, 2018) Language (Brasier et al, 2020) • Language training and support, translate summaries, encourage non-English events (Brasier et al, 2020) Discrimination (Brasier et al, 2020) • Zero tolerance policies for discrimination (Brasier et al, 2020) • Diverse research groups (Brasier et al, 2020) • Encourage reporting of harassment and other abuses (Brasier et al, 2020) *Encounters, referring to events designed to connect and encourage interdisciplinary networks and collaborative working. For details on how literature search was conducted, see Supplementary Material: Literature Search.…”

Ocean resource use: building the coastal blue economy

“…This shift directly addresses cumulative effects, trade-offs and helps to resolve conflicts, as well as contributing significant global investments to capacity building. Extraordinary leadership is evident, from ministerial to local champions and encompassing all demographics, and career-stages (Brasier et al 2020 ). Positive change is supported due to the iconic place coastal and marine systems hold in many cultures (Board 2008).…”

“…Despite the existence of research pathways internally, only 0.03% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is allocated to research and development (World Bank 2017), thus, science is dramatically under-resourced. This is a common issue globally at present (Brasier et al 2020 ), and mechanisms to address this are severely needed (Waldron et al 2013 ). Global funding trusts—such as the UN and World Bank—with interest in the Myanmar Delta have a role in contributing support for science and development.…”