Western Photosynthesis Conference 2027

Early-Career Organizer (ECO) Program

One of our core goals for the WPC is to offer researchers at all career stages the opportunity to interact closely with one another and to support the foundation for the next generation of leading scientists in the field of photosynthesis. To further support young researchers, the WPC 2027 Organizing Committee has established a formal, structured training opportunity for graduate students and postdocs to contribute to the conference organization as WPC Early-Career Organizers.

To ensure this role remains strictly a development opportunity, the Organizing Committee retains full responsibility for all conference operations, risk, and liability. The Early-Career Organizer position will be dedicated solely to training, with no operational or financial risk associated with the WPC.

To provide hands-on experience, the Early-Career Organizers are tasked with chairing one specific session at the conference, with support from the Organizing Committee. Specifically, this involves:

• Reaching out to speakers to coordinate each session
• Deciding on session titles and the order of talks in each session
• Identifying session chairs and coordinating communication between all parties
• Attending regular meetings with the Organizing Committee to share updates and get feedback

As a trial for this upcoming WPC, the 2027 organizers have assigned their mentees to this role upon agreement. If this pilot proves meaningful and provides valuable experience for both the mentees and the committee, we will establish the WPC Early-Career Organizer as a recurring role. We believe this initiative will create a unique aspect of WPC and encourage many younger researchers to participate futher in future conferences.