Attendees networking at an event

    ODISSEI Early Career Day 2026

    Future-proof your career – Meet your peers, build your skills, and explore your next step.

    Looking to expand your network, sharpen your research skills, and explore where your academic experience could take you next? Step away from your desk and join PhD candidates and postdocs from across the social sciences at the ODISSEI network for a day of connection, practical skills, and career inspiration.

    During the event, you will have an opportunity to discover shared interests and potential collaborators across the larger ODISSEI network through academic speed dating. In a workshop led by the ODISSEI Social Data Science (SoDa) team, you will boost your practical research skills to round off your CV by learning how to streamline your research workflow. In a final session, you will explore where your research experience could take you in academia, government, public policy, and consultancy through an interactive panel session with peers who have recently transitioned into various research careers.

    Round off the day with drinks and exchange ideas, get fresh perspectives on your research, and keep the conversations going.

    Whether you’re starting your PhD or considering your next career move, join us for a day of new connections, useful skills and inspiration. The event is open to early career researchers (PhD students and postdoctoral researchers) employed at ODISSEI member organisations and from all disciplines within the social sciences.

    Registration is free.

    Sign up for the event

    Picture by Curated Lifestyle on Unsplash

    Registreren

    Registration is available via this link.

    Datum 4 november 2026
    Tijd11:45 – 18:30
    LocatieSpace to Create, Utrecht Stationsplein
    Contactcommunications@odissei-data.nl

    Programme

    Below is the preliminary programme and abstracts.

    Including refreshments

    Meet your fellow PhD candidates and postdocs across social science disciplines and present your research in an informal setting (no preparation needed). Form new collaborations and contacts from across ODISSEI’s 45 member organizations and the breadth of the Social Sciences and Economics.

    Technical workshop by the ODISSEI Social Data Science Team showing how to:

    • Use Git for version control in research projects, including tracking changes and working with different versions of code;
    • Use GitHub for collaboration, including sharing projects, working with others, and managing changes; and
    • Write and collaborate with LaTeX/Overleaf/GitHub, including the basics of structuring and editing a research document.

    Presenters:
    dr. Javier Garcia-Bernardo (Utrecht University)
    dr. Taymara Abreu (Utrecht University)
    dr. Qixiang Fang (Utrecht University)

    A panel discussion with speakers who have recently undertaken different career paths as researchers. It will include the pros and cons of various routes, as well as a host of tips and tricks for finding your dream research job in the ODISSEI community or outside.

    Panelists:
    Dr. Verena Seibel, Utrecht University
    Dr. Willem Vermeulen, Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving
    Dr. Niels Kooiman, Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

    Engage with the research of your fellow PhD candidates and postdocs, and network over drinks and snacks.