Plenary talk title: Building a Research Career in a Tiny Country (15:30-16:00, Oct 10th)
What does it mean to start a research career in a country even smaller than Iceland? The Faroe Islands, with just over 55,000 inhabitants, are home to unique opportunities but also challenges when it comes to building a scientific career. In this talk, I will share my experiences of starting a research career in such a small community and what it has meant for the direction of my research. I will describe the journey from my PhD to the establishment of the Gen@FarE project, which has become the umbrella for much of my current work. Along the way, I will introduce some of the projects that have grown out of it, all linked by an interest in genetic diversity and the sustainable management of marine resources. I will present some preliminary results from the silver smelt project and describe how this is relevant for silver smelt fisheries. I will also reflect on how genetics can contribute to fisheries management more broadly. In my talk, I hope to show how meaningful science can be created in small countries like the Faroe Islands, and I expect many of the same opportunities and challenges will be familiar in Iceland as well.
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EN Sunnvør Klettskarð í Kongsstovu is a molecular biologist with a special interest in genetics, bioinformatics and biodiversity. Her main research interest is the use of molecular and bioinformatic tools to describe the genetic/genomic biodiversity of the Faroe Islands, and to use this information to help people and to manage resources sustainably.