Last updated 29/03/2025
The EYCN Meetings and Conferences
The Convocation of the Delegate Assembly
Each year, the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) organizes a meeting with all national representatives from the member societies of the EYCN: the EYCN Delegate Assembly (DA). A large part of the DA is spent on the major events that the EYCN organizes, such as the EYCN Symposium at the EuChemS Chemistry Congress (ECC). The EYCN Board and Teams present ongoing projects and make plans and set goals for the new ones. There is always room for inventive and creative ideas, especially for the ones that promote chemistry in one way or another.
The Delegate Assembly offers a great networking opportunity to young chemists across Europe. The current and future professionals meet every year to discuss ideas among themselves and always strive towards the common goal: supporting younger chemists.
20th Delegate assembly – Prague, the Czech Republic
The Delegate Assembly kicked off with an informal networking dinner, providing delegates with an excellent opportunity to connect and get to know one another. The official proceedings began the following morning, with warm welcomes from Petr Leinweber, Claudia Bonfio, and Angela Agostiano.
The session included a recap of the past term, covering both the achievements of the teams and the financial updates. Tomasz Swebocki then introduced the new statutes of EYCN, which were approved by the Delegates.
A key discussion point was the proposal from KVCV regarding the location for the next assembly, suggesting Antwerp, Belgium, as the venue before ECC10.
Delegates also participated in a highly engaging workshop on leadership and teamwork, led by Elsevier, sparking interesting and insightful discussions.
Finally, it was time to elect a new board to lead EYCN for the next two years. Congratulations to the newly elected board members: Noah Al-Shamery, Joao Antonio, Monja Schilling, Wiktoria Brytan, Konrad Barnowski, Carla Casadevall, Jelena Kesic, and Tatiana Sviriniuc.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to the last board members — Claudia Bonfio, Maximilian Menche, Tomasz Swebocki, Nathan Carpentier, Noah Al-Shamery, Monja Schilling, Sara Tortorella, Chrysanthi Papadimou, and Gaia De Angelis — for their exceptional commitment and leadership over the past two years.
– Marie-Désirée Schlemper-Scheidt, Swiss Delegate
19th Delegate assembly – London, the United Kingdom
The 19th Delegate Assembly (DA) of the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) convened from January 28th to 31st at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) headquarters in London. With representatives from various European chemical societies, the event, hosted by the RSC in the elegant Burlington House, marked a dynamic gathering. Opening remarks by EuChemS President Angela Agostiano and RSC CEO Helen Pain set the tone, followed by EYCN Chair Claudia Bonfio outlining the network’s mission. The assembly featured discussions on industry collaboration, science communication, and diversity in chemistry, complemented by workshops and interactive sessions. Noteworthy presentations included talks on Open Science policy and a keynote address by Prof. Sir Martyn Poliakoff. Delegates also explored ongoing projects and pitched new ideas, underscoring the vibrant community’s commitment to innovation. As the assembly concluded, the stage is set for the EYCN to drive chemistry forward into a dynamic and innovative future.
18th Delegate assembly – the Hague, the Netherlands
The EYCN is an organization that focuses on creating, maintaining, and expanding a network of young chemists throughout Europe. The Delegate Assembly, or DA, is a yearly event where representatives of all member associations, like Jong KNCV, RSC and many more, convene to discuss and improve the course of the organization. In less formal words, the DA is a very inspirational experience and taught me numerous new tricks on organisation and networking. Moreover, I got to work with amazing people from different countries and learnt a thing or two about different European cultures. Apparently the Dutch are not the only ones who like cheese and walk on wooden shoes.
17th Delegate assembly – Part 2 Lisbon, Portugal
The first in-person DA in two years took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the 8th EuChemS Chemistry Congress. It was organised in collaboration with the Instituto Superior Técnico Lisboa and hosted by our former delegate Carina Crucho. The delegates were welcomed by the Chair of the EYCN, Maximilian Menche, and the EuChemS President Prof. Floris Rutjes. The assembly has also elected a new board member: Tomasz Swebocki, who will be leading the Global Connections Team until the end of the current board’s term. The agenda was full of productive activities, and was enriched by welcoming several guests. Among them were Laura Howes, European Correspondent for C&EN, and Dr. Nineta Hrastelj, EuChemS Secretary General.
17th Delegate assembly – Part 1 Online
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) Board, together with the local organizers of the planned Delegate Assembly (DA) and European Young Chemists Meeting in Fribourg, had to cancel the in-person meeting. The 17th DA of the EYCN took place online on the 26th of March 2022. The short agenda served as an update for the delegates to bridge the time until the next in-person meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. The Delegates also elected a new Science Team Leader, Nathan Carpentier from Belgium.
16th Delegate Assembly
The 16th Delegate Assembly of the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) took place in an innovative online format on 12th – 13th March 2021. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the EYCN Board, together with the local organizers of the planned Delegate Assembly and European Young Chemists Meeting in Fribourg, had to make this decision and transition into finding appropriate solutions for the different sections of the event e.g., the election of the next EYCN Board. Nevertheless, the team always wanted to maintain a productive atmosphere with an enjoyable evening networking session and, as in previous years, was very happy to have the strong support of the European Chemical Society (EuChemS). You can find the new members of the Board here.
15th Delegate Assembly
The 15th Delegate Assembly of the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) took place in Sitges, Spain, on January 26–29, 2020. It was organized in collaboration with the Catalan Chemical Society (SCQ). During the DA, EYCN Delegates and board members presented their activities and discussed future plans. Moreover, this event hosted a number of special guests, including Prof. Javier García Martínez, the President-Elect of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Prof. Pilar Goya Laza, the President of the European Chemical Society (EuChemS), and Dr. Haymo Ross, the Editor-in-Chief of Chemistry—A European Journal. The EYCN also held an election for a new treasurer and new Science-Team leader. See the new members of the Board here.
14th Delegate Assembly
The EYCN Board together with the German Chemical Society (GDCh) and the German Young Chemists (JCF) organized the 14th EYCN Delegate Assembly and the 2nd European Young Chemists Meeting (EYCheM) in Bremen (Germany) from March 17-20, 2019.
In addition to the Delegates and former Board Members, led by the Chair, Alice Soldà, who provided overviews of their respective activities, a number of guests contributed to the event. Among them, the GDCh CEO, Wolfram Koch, welcomed the EYCN delegates and guests virtually. Furthermore, the EuChemS President Pilar Goya Laza, and Science Communication and Policy Officer, Alex Schiphorst, talked about the role and activities of EuChemS. In addition to the European partners, the American Chemical Society (ACS) was represented by Jackie O’Neil and Juan Carlos Aponte-Santini from the ACS-YCC. Other insightful contributions were provided by Bibiana Campos-Seijo, Editor-in-Chief of C&EN, Catherine Rawlins (Conference Presence Chair of IYCN), Anni Siltanen (ECEG and the Finnish Chemical Industry), Christian Bürger (CEO of chembid GmbH), and Matthias Kleff from Evonik Industries, long-term partner and sponsor of the EYCN.
The 14th DA was also accompanied by the elections for the new, biennial Board of EYCN. Antonio M. Rodríguez García, a postdoctoral researcher was elected Chair of the EYCN for the next two years, taking over from Alice Soldà.
Organizers:
Sponsors:
13th Delegate Assembly
The EYCN Board together with the young chemists section of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI – Gruppo Giovani) have the pleasure to announce that the 13th EYCN Delegate Assembly (DA) will take place in Torino (Italy) from 6th to 9th of May, 2018.
You can find all the necessary information and links here.
12th Delegate Assembly
In May 2017 the 12th Delegate Assembly was held in Heraklion, Greece. The event had representatives from 18 different European countries who discussed the work done by young chemists during the past year and made future plans. New Board was elected (see the new members of the Board here).
11th Delegate Assembly
In April 2016 the 11th Delegate Assembly was held in Guimarães, Portugal. The event had representatives from 16 different European countries who met to discuss the work of young chemists from the past year.
Meetings and conferences
EYCN supports meetings and conferences that are organized in Europe. Below you can find out more about past and ongoing events.
The European Young Chemists’ Meeting – EYCheM
The European Young Chemists’ Meeting (EYCheM), the most relevant in-person scientific conference under the umbrella of EYCN, is a biennial event organized by and specifically devoted to supporting, connecting, and empowering European early-career chemists working across the chemical sciences.
The EYCheM collectively aims to:
- Bring together young chemists across Europe and allow them a unique opportunity to present, share and discuss their research across the chemical sciences in front of a global audience;
- Strengthen the visibility and confidence of young chemists;
- Enable young chemists to learn from each other, as well as from well-established academics and industrial representatives that could act as role models and become potential mentors;
- Discuss ideas, engage and foster prolific scientific and non-scientific interactions, and networking activities with peers, world-renowned scientists and professionals working at the frontiers of the chemical sciences;
- Build professional collaborative networks;
- Launch the seeds for fruitful and long-lasting collaborations;
- Provide an enriched personal and cultural exchange among young chemists;
- Expand the portfolio of soft transferable skills among early-career chemists by organizing soft skills’ workshops, CV clinics, meetings with industrial practitioners, among others;
- Assign a dynamic, inspiring, stimulating, inclusive, diverse, equitable, and memorable conference experience for young chemists.
The EYCheM already counts on three very successful editions. The first one held in Guimarães, Portugal, in April 2016 was organized by the Young Chemists Group (Grupo de Químicos Jovens – GQJ) with the support of the Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ). The 2nd EYCheM, held in Bremen, Germany, in March 2019, was organized by the Young Chemists Forum (JungChemikerForum – JCF) supported by the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker – GDCh). After being delayed from 2021 to 2022 and ultimately having to be moved online, the 3rd EYCheM, which was organized by the young Swiss Chemical Society (ySCS) and their parent association the SCS, was held in January 2022. Despite taking place in an online setting the conference managed to attract a wider audience than ever and featured a healthy mix of world-renowned scientists like Omar M. Yaghi, Bettina V. Lotsch and Michael Gratzel while keeping the spotlight on young scientists.
October 26 – 10th Conference of Young Chemists of Serbia, Belgrade, In Person
February 14 – February 16, 2nd Austrian Young Chemists Summit (Topic: The Diversity of Chemistry), Salzburg, Austria, In Person
European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST)
- COST Action CM1407 “NATCHEMDRUGS” International Award for a young chemist awarded to Elena Lenci in Kracow (Poland) in 2017. Topic: “Challenging organic syntheses inspired by nature – from natural products chemistry to drug discovery”.
Prof. Bruno Botta (chair of COST Action), Elena Lenci (COST Action 2017 winner), Dr. Federico Bella (EYCN representative)
- COST Action CM1201 “Biomimetic Radical Chemistry” and the ITN “ClickGene” Prize awarded to Stella Totti in Grenoble (France) in 2016.
Ilya Vorotyntsev (EYCN representative), Stella Totti (COST Action 2016 winner)