The welcome address was delivered by Professor Michele Hu, who gave a brief overview of women medical scientists in the past and present, who opened doors in Oxford. Three keynote speakers, Professor Clare Mackay, Department of Psychiatry, Dr Irmak Yazici, NDCN, and Dr Elisha Ward from the Social Sciences Department, then proceeded to share their personal career journeys. Chaired by Dr Alexander Davies, the talks provided important points on how to manage burn out, experiences in shifting career from research to professional services, and leadership lessons learnt from motherhood. The event concluded with an update from Dr Maddalena Comini on the key aims and mission of WICN and its pilot mentoring scheme, as well as presentation of thank you cards and flowers to the three speakers. The event was well attended, and the lively audience, composed of students, early career researchers and staff, took advantage of opportunities to network over lunch and refreshments provided by the NDCN Staff Development fund.
The WICN committee is a friendly group open to all members of the department. They invite expressions of interest to join their committee. More details are available on the WICN webpage.
