First ENSCC Symposium
From December 9th to December 12th the first symposium of the European Network on the Supramolecular Chemistry of Carbohydrates (ENSCC) took place in Florence, Italy. It was the first occasion where the 11 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) together with their supervisors had the opportunity to get to know each other in person. The gathering provided a great opportunity for the DCs and their supervisors to establish connections and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.
On the first day, the supervisors introduced their main research topics along with the research institutes where their work is based. This was followed in the afternoon by presentations from the DCs, showcasing their personal and academic backgrounds as well
as their future perspectives on their current projects within the ENSCC. The presentations highlighted the diverse interdisciplinary expertise of the DCs, spanning supramolecular, organic, bio-, and medicinal chemistry.
The first day ended with a typical italian dinner and provided another opportunity to further socialize within the network. The second day began with a guided city tour of Florence for the DCs, while the supervisors held the SB meeting in parallel. In the afternoon, insights into carbohydrate and supramolecular chemistry were shared through talks by Anthony Davis (University of Bristol, UK), Roland Pieters (Utrecht University, NL), and Ivan Huc (Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, DE). The acquired knowledge was subsequently tested during the first workshop through a ”Supraquiz” organized by Andrea Sodini (UNIFI, IT). On Wednesday, the DCs enjoyed further lectures about glycan recognition held by Ana Arda (CIC bioGUNE, ES), Host-Guest relationships hold by Matteo Savastano (University of Rome, IT) continued by an insightful hands-on workshop on how to design glycan receptors held by Andrea Baldi and Francesco Milanesi (UNIFI, IT).
The afternoon was dedicated to further training in soft skills. There, the DCs received training in sustainable transitions in science by Lucia Gardossi (University of Trieste, IT), in ethics applied to scientific research and project management, respectively by Letizia Pontoriero and Matteo Gentili (Toscana Life Science, IT). The symposium concluded on Thursday, where the DCs participated in additional soft skills training sessions. These included a lecture on data management held by Elena Giglia (University of Torino, IT) and a session on gender dimensions held by Federica Turco (University of Torino, IT).
Overall, the ENSCC meeting was an important milestone for building connections among the DCs and supporting their growth as a team. It was an overall success, offering useful insights and constructive feedback to set the stage for future meetings and individual projects of each DC itself. The DCs proved to be a cohesive group, full of enthusiasm for networking and excitement about the collaborative work ahead of them.
