This year, the PARC Junior Community has grown into a network of over 80 early-career researchers, recent graduates, and students from 54 organizations across 20 countries. United by a shared vision for advancing safe and sustainable innovation, the community’s first year, has been filled with inspiring developments.

Kick-off and regular engagements

The community was officially launched with the kick-off meeting on March 6, 2024, after the first call for members started with a first call on 26th of January 2024 on PARCopedia. Since then, the PARC Junior Community has hosted bi-monthly lunchtime gatherings, where participants could learn and connect with each other. Topics ranged from insights into the European Commission’s work to managing EU partnerships from the PARC Coordination Team as well as a webinar on scientific communication.  

A platform for talent

A highlight of 2024 was the opportunity for members to showcase their expertise on international stages, when the PARC Junior Community organised two short presentation competitions, from which their winners were given the opportunity to present their work on international platforms.

In May 2024, Tarek Moufawad ↗ (INRAE, France) won the first competition and presented his research during the PARC Consortium Meeting at UMIT Tirol. Reflecting on his experience in the Junior Community he points out:

"Being a member of the PARC Junior Community is truly an enriching experience. PARC is a tremendous project where interdisciplinarity thrives, and providing young and early-career scientists with platforms to showcase their work is incredibly important and to connect with different young scientists working in different fields. Winning the first competition organized by the PARC Junior Community gave me the opportunity to present the work I have been doing to the entire PARC consortium. It was a great pleasure to showcase our progress in front of scientists and different European agencies."

The second competition, held in November 2024, selected Florian Geffroy ↗ (INERIS, France) with his research on tissue-specific responses to a binary mixture of BPA and Ana Fernandes Agudo ↗(ISCIII, Spain) who works with New Approach Methodologies for an integrated risk assessment for Pyrethroids as speakers for a special session at the SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting 2025 in Vienna ↗. To support their participation, each winner will receive a €1000 grant from PARC, enabling them to attend the event in person.

The SETAC session, which is organised in collaboration with SETAC SAC ↗ and ASPIS Academy ↗, underscores the value of fostering junior communities within European initiatives. It also stands an exciting step toward further collaboration with other Early Stage Researcher communities across Europe.

Participating in the PARC Junior Community can bring rewarding and transformative experiences, as Florian shares: 

"Participating in the PARC Junior Community has been an enriching experience for me. Winning the competition to participate in SETAC 2025 is a great recognition of my work and offers a unique opportunity to present my research on an international scale. I'm grateful to all the organisers of this community for this."

What’s Next?

Looking ahead to 2025, the PARC Junior Community is planning even more opportunities for its members. One highlight already in the works is a career session featuring experts from ECHA ↗, EFSA ↗, and EEA ↗, offering vital insights into careers within the EU's top agencies.

Join Us!

If you’re a student, recent graduate (up to five years post-graduation), or early-career researcher already involved in PARC activities, we would love to have you on board.

Register here ↗ to join the PARC Junior Community.

Follow our updates on PARCopedia’s PARC Junior Community ↗.

For any questions, email us at parc_juniorcomanses [dot] fr.