‘The YAE is the perfect place to channel my ambitions’

Doing science is one thing. Being involved in its policy making is quite another. However, the two are closely connected, and science policy can improve the quality of science. Italian researcher Zeila Zanolli was appointed as an Associate Professor in Quantum Chemical Modelling at Utrecht University last July. Despite many impressive achievements in her field of research, she still finds the time to fight for her beliefs about the conduct of science as a board member and treasurer of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE).

Concerns

Since she started her career as a researcher, Zeila Zanolli has been asking herself whether the scientific system is working as it should. Her concerns encompass many issues, ranging from Open Access publishing to the evaluation of excellence to the availability of permanent research positions, which she believes requires additional investments: “The grant system has become a lottery. We are wasting human capital. We train excellent scientists, depend on their work to advance science, but we can’t offer them permanent research jobs.”

Elected fellow

In 2016, Zanolli met Nicole Grobert at an academic convention. Grobert is Professor of Nanomaterials at the University of Oxford, and in 2016 she was serving as the Chair of the YAE, a group of young scientists active in science policy at the European level. She introduced Zanolli to the initiative. With Grobert’s nomination, Zanolli was elected as a Fellow of the YAE in 2017, and soon after she became board member and treasurer.

Channel ambitions

“For me, the YAE is the perfect place to channel my ambitions in terms of science policy”, Zanolli says. “We are in direct contact with organisations that have an advisory role to the European Commission, for example through Nicole Grobert, whom I mentioned before and who recently became Chair of the EC Group of Chief Scientific Advisors. Furthermore, we are well-informed about issues across Europe because of our close collaboration with young academies on a national level and other organisations, such as the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA), EuroDoc, and Marie Curie Alumni Association.”

Editorials and open letters

Recent YAE activities include an editorial in Nature about the protection of early-career researchers during the Covid-19 pandemic, a petition and an open letter to the Members of the European Parliament and national governments opposing budget cuts to Horizon Europe, and an online event to offer mentorship to young researchers from underrepresented countries to apply for an ERC Starting Grant.

YAE and Utrecht University

Another activity of the YAE, awarding the André Mischke Prize, is a token of the special connection between the YAE and Utrecht University. This prize for outstanding achievements in science policy is named after the late André Mischke, an Utrecht-based physicist and founding chair of the YAE. Zanolli regrets never having met Mischke but respects his legacy: “After he passed away, his wife made a donation to the YAE, which prompted us to rename the prize in her husband’s honour.”

Other current Utrecht based members of the YAE are Katell Laveant (board member), Lennard de Groot, and Oliver Plümper.