Early Career Chemists – apply to attend the Commonwealth Chemistry Congress
The inaugural Commonwealth Chemistry Congress (CCC) is to be held at the University of the West Indies, in Trinidad and Tobago, from 18–21 May 2020.
The Congress aims to create partnerships for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, strengthen scientific capacity, inspire and elevate the role of the chemical sciences to society and policy makers, and celebrate achievements in our discipline. A key aspect that differentiates the CCC from any other scientific meeting is the underlying principle of equal representation for all Commonwealth countries and a unique focus on creating an enabling environment for early career chemists.
Each Commonwealth country will be represented by three early career chemists who will be fully funded to attend.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply and represent the UK you should be:
- a chemical scientist in the early stages of their career (up to 10 years after completion of PhD excluding any career breaks)
- a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- working in academia, industry or a science institution
- living and working or studying in the United Kingdom
Application Procedure
If you are interested in joining the First Commonwealth Chemistry Congress, please use the web form below to register interest with our External Relations team.
They will reply to you and ask you to submit the following:
1. A letter of application stating clearly why you should attend and in particular:
- how your research contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- a personal statement indicating why you want to participate and the impact and benefit that you foresee to your future development as a chemist by attending this Congress
2. A short curriculum vitae
3. An abstract indicating the topic you would like to contribute to and the research that will form the basis for your poster presentation
4. A one-minute video (e.g. taken on a mobile phone or other device) where you describe the work you will present during the Congress
Completed applications should be submitted by 25 November 2019.
Application Evaluation Procedure
Each chemical society or university responsible for the evaluation will score the applications against the criteria described above.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome by 30 November 2019.
External Relations
- Email:
- Send us an email
About the Congress
One of the major activities of Commonwealth Chemistry – the Federation of Commonwealth Chemical Societies – is to organise regular biannual chemical sciences congresses.
The Congress will uphold the core values of the Commonwealth as being aspirational, inspirational and a provider of role models. The underlying theme will be the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the relevance of the chemical sciences to their implementation.
Topics for the Congress
The Congress will focus on the following topics:
- Biodiversity and Natural Products
- Energy and Materials
- Food and Agriculture
- Green Chemistry and Catalysis
- Health and Wellbeing
- Water and Environmental Chemistry
Benefits for Attendees
The Congress will provide opportunities for early career chemists to:
- network within their peer group
- form connections with others who are further ahead in their career
- present and discuss their own work
- participate in topical panel discussions
- hear inspiring keynote lectures from leading practitioners