Reboot STEMM

Why: Reboot STEMM was an initiative of the Australian Academy of Sciences and AAMRI to capture the diversity of experiences of early and mid career researchers in Australia. A limited number of permanent academic roles means early and mid-career researchers often face precarious employment, and very high expectations, that are often not compatible with enabling diversity.  

What: In response to public activity restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, we led the design and facilitation of an online event, enabling more than 400 early- and mid-career researchers in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine to explore current experiences, and co-develop a vision for the future. We blended online and asynchronous engagement, building an agenda setting platform that participants could contribute to in advance, then hosted a live online workshop. 228 researchers participated in the agenda-setting process, sharing more than 33,000 words of stories and insights. We then brought together 58 videos and resources, provided 1:1 Miro training as well as a series of practice resources. In the live event, we had 304 participants, 15 facilitators, and 8 concurrent zoom calls hosting 63 breakout session discussions. We used a bespoke multi-level perspective framework, together with futures tools to help participants to move beyond standard practices and responses.