Past Meetings

Since 2006, the “Encuentros” meetings have been held annually (except in 2008) in European cities and have served as a networking platform for Chilean researchers working in Europe, researchers residing in Chile, and European researchers interested in scientific cooperation with Chile. The first meeting consisted of a small group of young Chilean scientists at PhD and postdoctoral level who were interested to get to know each other’s research and consisted of small presentations.  During the next three years, both the scope and the impact of the meetings have steadily grown, with a substantial increase in the number of attendees, quality of invited speakers, breadth of topics discussed and level of organization (Table I).

The conferences are coordinated following a bottom-up philosophy: it is the researchers themselves that organize them. The meetings are targeted primarily at young researchers residing in Europe who are looking for information and new opportunities to collaborate with other Chilean researchers or to prepare for an eventual return to do research back in Chile.  At the same time, efforts are made to integrate into the conference organization influential institutions and members from government, academia, industry and the non-profit sector, both in Chile and abroad. We believe this congregation of the top-down, bottom-up approaches adds a novel dimension to the Encuentros conferences: young researchers are able to interact with experienced and established researchers or important organization representatives, receiving advice and at the same time building networks that can enhance and expand their career options. 

On the other hand, organizations and academics are able to promote their work and meet potential consultants, collaborators or employees. The last edition of Encuentros in Göttingen, Germany, was coordinated by a committee of 4 members of RedCiencia, the largest scientific collaboration network of Latin-America, and was supported by logistics from the Max Planck Society, the most prestigious research organization in Germany. The program consisted of a mixture between junior research scientists working across Europe and renowned international speakers, creating a truly unique networking environment. Joining 73 young Chilean researchers from different disciplines and backgrounds coming from 9 countries, were prominent speakers such as Erwin Neher, Nobel Laureate for Medicine or Physiology; authorities and scientists from the Max Planck Society; representatives from the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry for Research and Education; and several Chilean authorities including Ramón Latorre, National Science Prize winner, the Chilean ambassador in Germany, the Executive Director of the Millennium Science Initiative Claudio Wernli, the Coordinator of Scientific and Technological Centers at the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) Associative Investigation Program, Jani Brouwer; and 5 renowned Chilean researchers from different disciplines working at prestigious universities and research centers in the UK, France and Chile.

Although it can take some years until fruitful projects mediated by these “Encuentros” can be fully established, already there has been some development. The meeting also provided a continuing platform for interaction between Chilean scientists and scientists from the Max-Planck-Society. The society is currently organizing a delegation of researchers in the areas of Molecular Biology, Nanoparticles and Energy that will visit Chile in 2010. Ramón Latorre, one of the keynote speakers at Encuentros 2009, is organizing the Chilean delegation.