Program

Time	Speaker	Title
09:00–09:30	Meet and greet
09:30–10:00	Sonia Marin	PROcrastination is not for amateurs
10:00–10:30	Martin Grohe	What makes theoretical research interesting–relevant–exciting?
10:30–11:00	Coffee break
11:00–11:30	Antonina Kolokolova	Logic, complexity, and a search for connections
11:30–12:00	Mikołaj Bojańczyk	Nobody knows anything
12:00–12:30	Anupam Das	Fighting for tenure
12:30–14:00	Lunch break
14:00–14:30	Marianna Girlando	The Grant Application Survival Guide
14:30–15:00	Igor Walukiewicz	What I am bad at, or some reflections for myself
15:00–15:30	Alëna Rodionova	What I learned through my PhD journey to industry
15:30–16:00	Coffee break
16:00–17:00	Anuj Dawar, Alëna Rodionova, Igor Walukiewicz, and Matthew Weaver	Panel

Abstracts

Martin Grohe: What makes theoretical research interesting–relevant–exciting?
I will give you my thoughts about just that: what makes theoretical research ... My main message: think about it for yourself!

Mikołaj Bojańczyk: Nobody knows anything
Up to and including undergraduate studies, our performance is evaluated by teachers, who we tend to think of as all-knowing entities. As a young – or old – researcher, this is no longer the case. In my talk, I will discuss this phenomenon and its practical consequences.

Anupam Das: Fighting for tenure
We all know (or have heard) about the trials and tribulations of finding a tenured position. I want to share both my own experience of the process, and the significant amount I’ve learned since then! My hope is that this will help you in your own academic journey. As with all ‘advice’ talks, this talk will be necessary biased by my own experience.

Marianna Girlando: The Grant Application Survival Guide
While obtaining funding to pursue one's own research is an appealing achievement, preparing a research project or a grant proposal might seem a challenging and daunting task. Relating to my personal experience, I will discuss the process of writing a grant application, illustrating some basic tools to successfully get through the process. The aim of the talk is to encourage the audience to apply for research grants, as this experience can be extremely interesting and motivating, other than being the first step in obtaining funding for research.

Alëna Rodionova: What I learned through my PhD journey to industry
Ten years ago, as I applied for my first PhD program in theoretical mathematics, I never could have anticipated that my path would lead me to become a developer at a self-driving startup instead of staying in academia. In this talk, I will share with you my journey through academia, highlighting lessons I learned the hard way. We will discuss the importance of networking, internship experiences and interview preparations. Additionally, we will highlight the pros and cons of transitioning from academia to industry and cover many tips that I hope can help you on your own journey.