Are you looking for a postdoc position but also desire independence? Have you heard about independent fellowships? Francesco Coghi from Nordita, Sweden, discussed them in our last seminar with a talk titled “Rare (but maybe not so much after all) events in science and academia”.

Francesco's PhD research focused on Large Deviations Theory, aiming to characterise the distribution of sample mean observables of random variables. He also discussed applications in graph theory, where one can observe atypical structures or dynamics of and on networks.

Francesco's next step after the PhD was quite a rare event. He chose to apply for an independent fellowship, a way to conduct one's own research. He discussed the pros (choosing your own topics to investigate and managing your own time) and cons (no feedback and no social benefits).

The discussion continued by delving into the dark side of Academia: if in an independent fellowship, one has to publish in high-impact journals - and a robust topic is required, which may only align with your interests if you compromise. In conclusion, in Academia, as in Large Deviations Theory, the key point is PERSISTENCE.