The NetPLACE project was born in early 2022 as an online seminar, with the specific aim of creating a network of young researchers for sharing new research ideas during the difficult times and isolation of the pandemic. We started with the help of organisers from the Queen Mary University of London and the City University of London, and after some successful months, we decided to extend our network of collaborators in Europe, welcoming another organiser from IFISC, in Spain. 

From April 2022 to June 2023, we have had 22 talks, 23 speakers from 7 countries, and an average audience of 15 people per seminar. This initiative has attracted some attention in the complex systems community, with around 100 people on our mailing list and more than 200 followers on Twitter, creating a solid network of enthusiastic participants and promoting an atmosphere of inclusion. To reach as many young researchers as possible, we managed to record all the sessions, and publish the content on our YouTube channel, with more than 600 views in total. Furthermore, for each talk, we write a blog to share the key messages of the talk and open discussion to a broader audience. As a network advocating Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, we particularly encouraged researchers from underrepresented groups to participate in our biweekly events as speakers, audience, and in the organisation of the network. 

Differently from usual seminars, our speakers are encouraged to talk about certain difficulties encountered doing their research, so as to help and prepare everyone in the audience in these peculiar situations. Having gained experience through the biweekly seminars, we have realised that the issues found in the early stages of Academia are many more than we initially thought. Thanks to the discussions during our seminars, we acquired more knowledge about them and started discussing possible solutions. 

Thanks to panels organised at main conferences, we have started expanding our network, moving from an online event between a few people to a larger audience. Our first experiment at NetSci2023 (Vienna) has been a great success, organising two panels, one about the future of Academic Writing and the other about Mental Health in Academia. The purpose is to extend the discussion to include more early researchers and get their voices heard, as well as include other senior researchers in the discussion to try and find feasible solutions together, or at least to increase awareness and induce some changes in the various universities worldwide.