After becoming a Young Academy member, I have met so many people I would never have encountered before. They range from young scientists in different fields, policymakers, parliament members, members of the public who are involved in citizen science, science communicators and so on. It has been great fun, and I believe it has helped me to understand different points of view, which has strengthened my leadership skills.
I am a nurse midwife by profession and entered academia in 2012. I am now a professor in global health nursing at Hiroshima University. I have been a member of the Young Academy of Japan since 2017 and have held the position of vice chair there. We have eight subcommittees working on different issues and topics, but our main goal is to transform the relationship between science and society for peace and the better future. For example, in 2019, we spoke to our Parliament about increasing governmental support for early-career scientists and they have since announced a whole package supporting young researchers based on these discussions.
I was also on the Executive Committee of the Global Young Academy between 2018 and 2021, working mainly to support national Young Academies around the world. I’ve organised several national Young Academy meetings, which were all exciting and fruitful as we exchanged our experiences.
If you want to become a leader and make a positive impact in society, then Young Academies can help you do that.