In May 2025, I was fortunate to receive funding from the Charles Sutherland Scholarship Fund, which enabled me to co-organise and participate in this year’s Young Modellers in Ecology (YoMos) workshop in Germany.
My involvement with YoMos began at the 2024 workshop, where I experienced firsthand the value of creating inclusive spaces for early-career researchers to exchange knowledge, develop practical skills, and build meaningful professional connections. That experience highlighted the importance of community and collaboration in advancing ecological modelling. Motivated by this, I was eager to take on a more active role in 2025 by joining the organising team to support this vibrant and growing network.
In my research, I focus on developing new modelling methods. Through this work, I’ve come to appreciate that technical innovation alone is not enough - ensuring that these tools are accessible, user-friendly, and integrated into the broader ecological research community requires significant time, effort, and communication. Skill sharing is essential to this process, enabling new approaches to reach a wider audience and have lasting scientific impact.
At this year’s workshop, I had the opportunity to contribute directly to skill sharing by delivering my first hands-on workshop on RangeShifter, a spatially explicit, individual-based simulation platform for modelling species’ population and range dynamics. I also gave an oral presentation on my current research and gained valuable experience in organising an academic event, from arranging accommodation to moderating sessions.
The workshop was a great success. Scientifically, it offered rich insight into the diversity of approaches within ecological modelling. Organisationally, it was a valuable learning experience in event planning and collaborative teamwork. Most importantly, it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow early-career researchers, exchange ideas, and build lasting connections.
I’m deeply grateful to the Charles Sutherland Scholarship Fund for making this opportunity possible.
