{"id":1135,"date":"2014-07-01T09:32:52","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T09:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/report-of-the-2014-conference-of-the-european-association-of-science-editors\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T07:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T07:36:08","slug":"report-of-the-2014-conference-of-the-european-association-of-science-editors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/report-of-the-2014-conference-of-the-european-association-of-science-editors","title":{"rendered":"Report of the 2014 conference of the European Association of Science Editors"},"content":{"rendered":"

I attended the 12th<\/sup> General Assembly and Conference of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE)<\/a> in Split, Croatia, June 12-15, 2014. I arrived in Split, a scenic coastal city along the Adriatic Sea, excited about the next three days, because the conference program and abstracts<\/a> promised me that they would be eventful and engaging, with optimally spaced out plenary talks, breakout sessions, and networking breaks. The theme of the conference was \u201cThe complex world of science editing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event began with a welcome note from EASE President, Joan Marsh, and an entertaining opening ceremony with a choral performance of classical music by the Split Physicians\u2019 Choir, comprising doctors, dentists, and students from the medical and dental programs of the University of Split School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

This was followed by a plenary lecture by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Tim Hunt on \u201cWhat is Science?<\/em>\u201d. Sir Tim Hunt spoke about how science means different things to different people, how different scientists may ask different questions to resolve the same problem, and how the \u201cgreatest discoveries are the ones which rock your beliefs to the core.\u201d He told the interesting story of how the journal peer reviewer called his Nobel-winning research findings \u201cwild speculation based on faulty logic.\u201d Sir Hunt emphasized that for researchers, \u201cbeing interesting is more important than being right,\u201d because if they\u2019re wrong, some other researcher will correct them in due time. Having shared many interesting quotes about science from noteworthy scientists, Sir Hunt ended his talk with Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s famous words, “Science is a game, but a game with reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/p>\n

Day 1 ended with a lovely welcome reception by the sea, with appetizers, drinks, and a traditional Croatian dance performance at the Mestrovic Gallery (image on the right).<\/p>\n

The schedule for day 2 was packed and began with a plenary lecture titled \u201cInter\/multi\/trans-disciplinarity: the challenge for publishing<\/em>\u201d by Professor Milena \u017dic-Fuchs from the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the European Science Foundation. Prof. \u017dic-Fuchs discussed how although there is a need for increased multidisciplinary research, this type of research poses unique challenges to publication, as (a) journals have become more specialized, and (b) interdisciplinary journals are considered to have lower impact factors.<\/p>\n

Prof. \u017dic-Fuch\u2019s lecture was followed by parallel sessions on (a) social media and (b) quality in biomedical translation, a lunch-cum-networking break, and another plenary lecture by Professor Elizabeth Wager on innovations in peer review and ways to make the peer review process more efficient. Her talk included some startling facts:<\/p>\n