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NWO Life2023: Diversity at all scales and levels within the Life Sciences

We are looking back on a fruitful edition of NWO Life2023. Situated in the middle of the dunes, Hotel Zuiderduin, offered everything for a fantastic conference, from beautiful rooms and a great exhibition floor, to a real pub (with the by now traditional Bionieuws PUBQUIZ) and bowling alley for an enjoyable evening. Our enthusiastic host, Sietze Norder, made sure everyone felt welcome from the very first minute and took us on a journey through the Life Sciences by means of a matchbox. Naturally, the scientific programme was full of interesting speakers, workshops and networking opportunities that challenged participants to look beyond their own borders and find diversity in all aspects of life. In this recap we will name some of the highlights.

Leila Akkari

Go and talk to people whose science you don’t understand, this will enrich your own science

Leila Akkari
Sitting man speaking in microphone during dinner

Strategic evening

The programme was preceded by a strategic evening, where group leaders, project managers, board members and policy makers exchanged views on building blocks for a transparent and healthy research culture in the life sciences, both in terms of data and people. The evening was hosted by Jan de Boer, chair of the Board of the NWO Science Domain and member of the Board of directors of NWO and accompanied by expert speakers on FAIR data and social safety.

Scientific programme

The programme committee presented a strong line-up of renowned speakers. Proudly we presented keynote speakers Frans de Waal (Emory University/UU), who spoke about the ‘Evolution of emotions and empathy in the primates’, and Tracy Bale (University of Colorado), who spoke about ‘The who, how, where, and why stress is bad for your brain’. Besides the keynote speakers, the programme committee invited two speakers per track, including Spinoza and Stevin laureates Corne Pieterse and Andrea Evers, to go in depth about their research findings. Concluding each session, there was, of course, room for questions from the audience and interaction with the speakers.

At the end of the first day, accompanied by some nice drinks and snacks, the five different Research Communities got together to meet and discuss community-specific bottlenecks and how the Research communities can help to solve these.

Stacks of books on a table

The exhibition floor

In between sessions there was loads to see and experience at the exhibition floor. There were demonstrations from six Large-scale Research Infrastructures (LRI), including a network game organised by UNLOCK, and a local beer brewery. Exhibition stands from five sponsors and five partners were open for encounters and discussing science or career opportunities. The local book shop brought an interesting selection of books specifically selected for the NWO Life audience.

Poster presentations

During the poster sessions, the pitch corner was open for pitches. Participants had the opportunity to pitch their poster here. They were followed by our sponsors and partners, who also pitched their ideas and career opportunities. It was great to see all different approaches of this years’ overarching theme Diversity of Life. The poster prize winners of this year were:

  • Hannah Augustijn (Leiden University) | First place
  • Helena Donner (Wageningen University) | Second place
  • Nina Witteveen (University of Amsterdam) | Third place

The first place poster prize winner is invited as a poster jury member for NWO Life2024.

A big thank you to all speakers, the dedicated programme committee, the research community members, the sponsors and partners, but most of all to the participants. We hope to see you again next year at NWO Life2024: 22 and 23 May 2023 - Hotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee!

Check out the aftermovie of NWO Life2023:

Confirmed sponsors of NWO Life2023