A Natural Partnership

In today’s interconnected scientific landscape, leadership is more than a soft skill, it is a vital tool for young researchers striving to lead innovation, manage cross-sector collaborations, and transition between academia and industry. To support this, the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN), representing early-career chemists across Europe, and the European Institute for Industrial Leadership (EIIL), a not-for-profit association of industrial companies committed to developing the next generation of industrial leaders, formalized their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in early 2025.

This agreement makes both parties official “Partner Organisations” and establishes a framework for joint initiatives and shared visibility. It marks an important step toward equipping the next generation of chemists with the tools they need to succeed in the laboratory and beyond, while also providing companies with valuable insights into what is relevant and important for young chemists today.

 

Figure 1. EYCN Representatives (top left: Noah Al-Shamery, bottom left: Patrick W. Fritz), EIIL Executive Director (bottom right: Steven Price), and EIIL Alumni Activities and Events Manager (top right: Marta Poggi).

 

How the Collaboration Came to Life

In 2020, the German Young Chemists’ Network (JCF), a member organization of the EYCN, hosted a series of projects on “Sustainability in Industry”, focusing on creating a dialogue between industry and young chemists on sustainable development [1]. 

Dr. Hanno Brümmer—now Chair of the EIIL Industrial Advisory Board—participated in the event as a representative of the German materials science company Covestro. This initiated first contact between the EIIL and JCF to promote and invite JCF members to the EIIL conference series “Sustainability in Our Industry—Can Being Part of the Solution Attract Talent?” Given the EIIL’s pan-European scope, Emiel Dobbelaar (JCF) subsequently facilitated direct contact between EYCN and EIIL in late 2020, paving the way for EYCN members to participate regularly in EIIL activities.

This budding collaboration soon intensified when the Future Leaders Dialogue (FLD) committee was launched in April of 2021, with Liva Dzene (EYCN secretary, 2021–2023) being one of the EYCN’s first-ever representatives there. Although the scope of the FLD had not been defined by this point, bringing together company representatives and student organizations from all over Europe quickly evolved into an entirely new initiative and conference series titularly titled “Future Leaders Dialogue”, which aims to align the skills required of young talents and the attractiveness of industry.

With initial collaborations having been established, the EIIL soon realized that close collaborations between student organizations and companies would benefit both sides more than the sum of their parts. Thus, moving forward, student members were involved in additional EIIL and FLD-related activities, from creating an annual report of the FLD initiative and survey (2022 [2], 2023 [3], 2024 [4]), to incorporating Ind-Ex: EIIL’s Young Leaders Programme into the committee’s activities in order to allow student and industry representatives to work more closely together.

The collaboration was formalized in September 2021, when the first MoU between the EYCN and EIIL was signed, defining goals for a fruitful and long-lasting collaboration. Since then, the EYCN has been represented by its members in every EIIL event that involves student organizations, has played key roles in the organization of these events, and has substantially contributed to designing the FLD survey. 

In early 2025, a new MoU was signed. Celebrating the shared past of the two organizations, and officially defining the EYCN and the EIIL as partners for the upcoming years.

 

Early Highlights: Activities and Achievements so far

Since the partnership began, several collaborative activities have taken place. One key highlight was during the 9th European Chemistry Congress (ECC9) in Dublin, where Steven Price, Executive Director of EIIL, participated in an interview conducted by Patrick W. Fritz. This conversation, focused on leadership challenges for young chemists, drew strong interest and showcased the shared vision between the two organizations. A recording of the interview can be found online [5].

Since establishing the collaboration of the EYCN and the EIIL, the EYCN has been an active member of the EIIL’s Alumni & Students Organising Committee (ASOC)—a committee that puts together five student and young professionals organisations and 5 EIIL member companies, represented by their EIIL Alumni in order to align student and industry expectations. Through this involvement, EYCN representatives have contributed to the design and moderation of several EIIL conferences, including the Future Leaders Dialogue initiative, Additionally, the EYCN has contributed to the organization of other annual conference series addressing current trends and challenges (e.g., the energy transition), leadership skills, career preparation, and professional development. The topic discussed during the 2024–2025 series is ‘Leading an Increasingly Connected Generation’.

Through these activities, EYCN members have gained invaluable exposure to real-world leadership scenarios and opportunities to network directly with industrial leaders across Europe.

 

Figure 2. Left: Interview with Steven Price at ECC9 in Dublin. Right: participating in an EYCN activity within the EIIL’s Alumni & Students Organising Committee (ASOC) using the Gather Town platform.

 

What Lies Ahead

Ever focussed on what lies ahead, members of the EYCN engaged in fostering this exchange with the EIIL have already started working on their next project. Currently the EYCN plans to hold their first EIIL-associated conference on “Industry and Leadership in Times of Crisis”. The aim for this conference is to best take advantage of the resources and networks the EIIL has to offer, while simultaneously giving members of the EYCN an opportunity to directly address current challenges young professionals and emerging leaders face across the chemical sciences. In the process, they will also be equipped with the skills required to tackle these challenges.

Naturally, a strong emphasis will also be placed on participation in the EIIL’s Ind-Ex workshops with an increased vigor, thus ensuring the hands-on industry engagement and practical learning EIIL activities are known for. A full overview of the collaborative events and workshops jointly organized by the EYCN and EIIL can be found at https://eiil.net/

Additionally, the EYCN will further integrate into ASOC activities, reinforcing its commitment to a deeper, long-term partnership with the EIIL and to shaping leadership development across Europe’s chemical community and beyond.

 

Empowering the Next Generation

By working together, EYCN and EIIL are building a dynamic bridge between the academic and industrial worlds. This collaboration gives young chemists both valuable professional development and a head start for becoming future leaders in both industry and academia. Both organizations continue to be committed to preparing young professionals to thrive in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

For more information about EIIL’s activities, visit www.eiil.net; for updates from EYCN, visit www.eycn.eu.

 

References

[1] Emiel Dobbelaar, Shaimaa S. Goher, Juliana L. Vidal, Nimrat K. Obhi, DBren M. B. Felisilda, Yvonne S. L. Choo, Hossny Ismail, Hooi Ling Lee, Vanessa Nascimento, Ramia Al Bakain, Muhandiramge Ranasinghe, Bianca L. Davids, Arish Naim, Nnanake-Abasi Offiong, João Borges, Torsten John, Towards a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Early-Career Chemists, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202319892

[2] Future Leaders Dialogue, An annual ‘barometer’ aligning students and industry, Report April 2021 – April 2022, EIIL – European Institute for Industrial Leadership, EIIL AISBL Rue Washington 40, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. (accessed June 17, 2025)

[3] Future Leaders Dialogue, An annual ‘barometer’ aligning students and industry, Report 2022 – 2023, EIIL – European Institute for Industrial Leadership, EIIL AISBL Rue Washington 40, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. (accessed June 17, 2025) 

[4] Future Leaders Dialogue, An annual ‘barometer’ aligning students and industry,Report 2023 – 2024, EIIL – European Institute for Industrial Leadership, EIIL AISBL Rue Washington 40, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. (accessed June 17, 2025)

[5] Exploring the Alignment of Applicants and Companies – An Interview with Steven Price (EIIL), YouTube EYCN Communications 2025. 

 

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Marta Poggi, Emiel Dobbelaar, and Maximilian Menche for their support in providing additional information that helped in the preparation of this article.

 

Authors

• Noah Al-Shamery (European Young Chemists’ Network; German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry)
• Patrick W. Fritz (European Young Chemists’ Network; Swiss Chemical Society)
• Carl Schneider (European Young Chemists’ Network; German Chemical Society)

This text has been re-evaluated with the help of AI tools. However, any text generated by these means has been verified by the authors themselves, to ensure integrity and correctness of the content.