At the GYA’s 2025 Annual General Meeting and International Conference of Young Scienists in Hyderabad, India, over 35 newly selected GYA members took part in a Science Leadership Workshop, practicing effective and creative problem solving and collaborative leadership tools.
The workshop brings incoming GYA members together to create space for reflection on how to be leaders in diverse contexts – within the GYA and in the institutions and communities where they live and work. Early career researchers already exercise leadership in different contexts, and through this workshop, they explore how to harness diversity in teams, and use creative processes to find better solutions.
Impressions from participants
“One of the key insights I gained from the workshop is that leadership in science is not about hierarchy, but about influence, empathy, and collective vision. I learned the importance of leading from where you are and empowering others through inclusive collaboration.”
– Kossi Brice Boris Legba, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
“This experience is designed to seed the right culture, spark cross-cohort friendships, and sharpen our mission. A whirlwind of team-building, brainstorming, and deep self-reflection later, these insights are still ringing in my ears:
- – “Suffering is optional.” Feel discomfort? Change it. Feel drained? Solve it.
- – Switch off the judgment button. Scientists default to critique; delaying judgment unlocks originality — toward others *and* ourselves.”
– Luria Founou, Research Institute of the Centre of Expertise and Biological Diagnostic, Cameroon
“I learned about strategies for teamwork, setting priorities, problem solving and decision making.”
– Elena Kuzmin, Concordia University, Canada
Pre-AGM science leadership workshops have been offered as a training opportunity for new members since the GYA’s 2018 AGM, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and expertly facilitated by InclusiveInnovation.
The 2025 workshop was facilitated by Anina Rich (GYA alumna, Macquarie University, Australia), Vincent Virat (Inclusive Innovation) and Tee Keng Kok (Xiamen University Malaysia). The workshop was supported by GYA member mentors Nesrin Alrefaai (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK), Luisa Maria Diele Viegas (Federal University of Bahia, Brazil), and Justine Germo Nzweundji (Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies, Cameroon) and GYA alumna Shabana Kahn (School of Planning and Architecture, India).
About Science Leadership and the GYA
The GYA helps young scientists and scholars develop competency in how they conduct discourse across disciplines, lead diverse teams, develop networks and engage the public with science. These soft skills, however, aren’t necessarily part of training for a research career.
To address this gap, GYA members started the Africa Science Leadership Program (ASLP) in 2015. The Africa SLP has since inspired other regional programmes, including the ASEAN SLP, a new LAC-SLP, and many spin-off workshops for a global audience of early-career researchers.
Read more about the GYA and the science leadership concept, find tools, recordings and illustrations here: Science Leadership Programme – Global Young Academy