Youth and Early Career Special Interest Group
Our Purpose
The Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to sustain, encourage, and progress the Society's engagement with and provisions for youth and early careers, as well as championing them in the Society's activities. Our focus spans Society content and activities relevant to youth (16-24 years old) and early careers (up to 10 or 15 years since starting an undergraduate degree or equivalent, dependent on career path).
Our aims are to:
- Develop content and activities to address the needs of youth and early careers working in weather and climate
- Work with the Society committees to provide strategic direction and feedback on activities
- Ensure that the needs of the youth and early careers are served well.
You can read more about our purpose and plans in the July 2023 Weather article: ‘Spotlight on the Youth and Early Career Special Interest Group’.
Who Are We?
Members of this SIG span a range of career stages, including representation of early careers from industry and academia to undergraduates to school-aged (youth) members. At present, the group is comprised of the following members, and co-chaired by Hannah Mallinson and Beth Woodhams:
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Hannah Mallinson | RMetS Science Engagement Manager |
| Dr Beth Woodhams (Chair) | RMetS Science Engagement Officer |
| Regan Mudhar | University of Exeter |
| Ayesha Tandon | Carbon Brief |
| Bernadette McCaffrey | WeatherQuest |
| Dr Chloe Brimicombe | University of Graz |
| Dr Daniel Skinner | Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia |
| Euan McNaughton | Moodys RMS |
| Dr Fran Morris | University of Oxford |
| Dr Frederick Otu-Larbi | University of Lancaster |
| Florence Shannon-Vines | University of East Anglia |
| Hannah Findley | Met Office |
| Kanzis Mattu | University of Strathclyde |
| Kit Marie Rackley | University of East Anglia Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research |
| Laura Byrne | University of Exeter |
| Dr Matthew Priestley | RMetS and University of Exeter |
| Ben Hutchins | RMetS and University of Reading |
| Dr Ned Williams | Max Planck Institute for Meteorology |
| Dr Simon Clark | Freelance video producer |
| Dr Tim Banyard | University of Manchester |
What Have We Done?
In 2023, we rebranded our Early Career and Student Conference to ensure we are more inclusive of those who are not in education and reinvigorated our Student Ambassador scheme. In 2024, we set a new Society-wide definition of what it means to be “early career” based on feedback from those in academia and industry, and participated in some exciting initiatives to uplift youth and early career voices, including…
⦁ Launching Diverse Voices (Intro to the Series, Academics of Colour, Experiences of the Met Office recordings)
⦁ Speaking on the Geography & Coffee Podcast (Ayesha, Regan, Kanzis)
⦁ Member training videos for communicating science, written and filmed by SIG members!
What Are We Doing?
As of Summer 2024, we are preparing for this year’s Early Career and Student Conference, at which we will have the in-person launch of the Early Careers of Colour Network. We will also see a new Careers in Climate booklet released in time for the conference, with plans to reinvigorate RMetS’ Careers webpages over the next year.
What Will We Do?
We are planning a webinar in October for those considering a PhD, and are interested in running similar information sessions to support youth and early careers in future. If you would like to collaborate, or just keep up to date with what this SIG is up to, please email youthandearlycareers@rmets.org.