The Early Career Program (ECP) aims at shaping the next generation of professionals within the SMiRT community. It provides a dedicated activities for young researchers and engineers to present their work, gain visibility and receive constructive feedback from leading experts in the field. By fostering mentorship and facilitating networking opportunities, the program helps bridge the gap between academic training and real-world application.
For the SMiRT29 edition, we propose practical activities to foster mentorship and facilitate networking opportunities:
Ice Breaker for ECP members on Sunday 8th of august: Those who register for ECP program can join us for an informal gathering, to expand their professional networks, and develop a clearer sense of their career pathways whilst exchanging with our senior and international experts.
Training sessions: the program proposes 5 sessions of training during the conference covering cutting edge issues such as Advanced and Small Modular Reactors, Artificial Intelligence, Structural reliability and performance, Resilience and Risk within the modern nuclear world. Those training sessions consist of 1h30’ presentation/Q&A with an expert from the field. The program offers the possibility to obtain a SMiRT training certificate (a prior registration to the training sessions is needed upon registration for the conference). Material from the training session will be shared with trainees only.
MyPhD180s: this new activity aims at promoting research through doctoral studies and bridging the gap between academic research and real-world application. This new challenge is proposed for PhD candidates who can present their work in exactly 3 minutes in a simple and understandable way for the general public.
- Eligibility: candidates need to be enrolled in a doctoral program or have defended their thesis within the last year (defense after 1st of August 2026 ), presentation need to be in English using one slide with no animation
- Selection phases:
a) Call phase (may 2026 – 31st January 2027): upon registration, candidates are asked to confirm their participation to the challenge MyPhD180s. They need to provide (all documents need to be in English):
- a 1-page CV (including the list of publications and papers made by the candidate)
- a 1-page recommendation letter from their thesis director
- a 1 to 2-page motivation letter underlining the advancements made by the candidate and their impact on the nuclear practice.
Deadline for call phase: 31st January 2027
b) Preselection phase (February 2027 – 30th April 2027): a jury composed by the ECP committee and members of the ISC will select 20 best contributions from the pool.
Selected candidates need to send a recorded video of their presentation MyPhD180s (one slide and 3-minute oral presentation).
Deadline for preselection phase: 30th April 2027
c) Final phase (8th-13th August 2027): the same jury shall select 10 finalists based on the overall quality of the work (dossier + presentation).
Finalists shall make live presentations during the conference (special session MyPhD180s).
The winners will be defined based on a global score accounting for the evaluation of ECP+ISC jury (40%) and the public’s score after the presentation (60%).
Winners shall be declared and prized during the gala evening.
We strongly believe that such initiatives encourage EC networking and fresh perspectives, which are essential for innovation in nuclear structural mechanics. Through training and informal exchanges, the program will strengthen the long-term sustainability and dynamism of the SMiRT community by investing in its future generations.