YIM 2011 at Bhubaneshwar was a beautifully planned and very well executed meeting. The mentorship talks and access to information were the strongest points of the meeting. For a  researcher looking to start working in India, YIM 2011 was the best welcome possible. For me, the stand out moment was Dr. Bhan's speech in which he said we could make our own paths in our way. I often repeat that to myself when things dont go like clock-work at my new work place in India.
The willingness, flexibility and the care for detail of the organisers was outstanding and unprecedented.
Thank you YIM 2011!!!!
Durba Dengupta,
University of Groningen, Netherlands
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The week of the YIM was indeed fraught with interesting possibilities and memorable experiences. The mingling and predominantly unstructured interactions of a diverse collection of eclectic scientists spanning the career continuum and a range of administrators, personnel from grant giving bodies and international publishing houses was one of the high points of the YIM. The accessibility to top-notch scientific role models to learn about their scientific lives, passions, opinions was a treat—the simplicity and humility of many such individuals was striking and worth emulating.
Starting and running a lab is likely to require a diverse skill-set: attracting financial support, fresh ideas and much more—most of us know that but might not have received any formal training in these unchartered areas.  The range of thematic mini-workshops lead by groups of senior Indian and International scientists that have now become a signature of the YIMs effectively broke down these issues into their nitty-gritty aspects. The sharing of conventional and not so conventional wisdom and highlighting of India- specific issues by the senior Indian panelists was especially relevant to a good chunk of the audience. These sessions made for lively discussions and hinted at potential/ practical solutions to nagging challenges and festering irritants. A session that brought together post-docs with the relatively new PIs from India was absolutely brilliant. The concerns plaguing each of these groups came to the fore, which in turn, were interspersed with practical advice and frank assessments of ground realities. I am glad I went to the YIM—it has better equipped me with knowledge of the Indian scientific landscape, created camaraderie of sorts among the class of YIM 2011 and provided a much needed recharge. I could surely put the YIM distillate to good use in the future. Cheers to the YIM series as it continues to evolve and build bridges across the Indian Biosciences community and beyond.
Gowtham Subbarao,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, USA
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YIM 2011 was quite a new experience for me. The environment was very different from any other meetings attended so far. The meeting was nicely planned with very good panel discussions. I got really motivated by listening to all the experienced speakers, especially to Bonnie Bassler, Alejandro Sanchez, Ottoline Leyser, Eric Wieschaus and Shubha Tole. The meeting also gave me a chance to not only know about the young investigators in India who have just established research in reputed institutes, but also gave me an insight of where I stand in science in India and what are the hurdles to face in order to set up an independent research in India. It also made me understand the advantages and disadvantages of doing research in India and also how those experienced researchers carve their niche. Another important part of the meeting was the interaction with YIs and PDFs. YIs could give suggestions to the PDFs who really wanted to come back. I, as a person who has just started an independent career, has benefitted very much from this meeting. Altogether, the meeting was a great experience and made an excellent platform for understanding the career development in India in the field of scientific research and was greatly organized.
Ani Das,
Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Kerala
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I enjoyed the meeting immensely. It was a great opportunity to meet the new PIs and discuss the day-to-day problems in the course of setting up a lab. It was comforting to know that my problems were not unique. I also appreciate the tips that my colleagues gave from their experiences. It was great to listen to invited speakers and senior scientists, especially when they narrated their own experiences from a while ago. The arrangements (and planning) at the meeting were fantastic and I would especially like to thank the organizers for being sensitive to the needs of working mothers.
Shweta Tyagi,
Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad
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The YIM meeting gave me an opportunity to meet other colleagues with whom I share common interests. I am trying to work out collaborations with a few of them in the near future.
Aruna Naorem,
University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi
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YIM2011 was definitely a different experience as compared to the conventional scientific meetings and conferences I have attended. The organizers and speakers put in their best efforts to educate the young investigators and equip us with the necessary know-how required for kick-starting our scientific career in India.
Susan Thomas,
National Institute for Research on Reproductive Health (ICMR), Mumbai
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Attending YIM 2011 gave me a chance to interact with colleagues who have shared research interests and career challenges. Additionally, because teaching is a significant part of my job, I found the Teaching Forum of YIM to be a helpful way to get new ideas for teaching resources. Women in science session were also helpful, it is great to know that there are people who share similar challenges and that you are not alone. Additionally, browsing the YIM website as a postdoc (in 2010) helped me begin to get a sense of the job market and think about how to prepare for future positions. One thing that I felt strongly during the meeting is further integration of biological disciplines. By attending these kinds of gatherings we are in a better position to see useful connections across fields—from plants to animals, or from molecular to organismal and evolutionary studies.
Yashwanti Mudgil,
University of Delhi
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