Perce-Neige – A collective for a science-society interface

Eight young researchers, PhD students, post-docs and engineers working on mountain issues in Labex partner laboratories, are behind the Perce-Neige collective.

The collective aims to meet the needs of young researchers and those of the “mountain research” community in an inter- and trans-disciplinary dynamic. As the first generation of researchers to start out in an interdisciplinary framework, young researchers are well placed to take up the challenges of this approach, but disciplinary habits and frameworks sometimes weigh on their willingness to experiment.

Hence the need for a dynamic led by and for young researchers, in the conduct of scientifically relevant research work, concrete in its execution and with innovative reporting methods. The challenge of professional integration is at the heart of the collective’s concerns, in the face of a complex job market that straddles the divide between institutional research and the private sector.

The challenges of global change facing mountain regions also require us to work with local stakeholders in the construction of research issues. Transdisciplinarity is an essential driver of transition. An on-site workshop will bring researchers and stakeholders together in the field.

Among other actions, the collective plans to organize a winter university, following on from those already organized by Labex ITTEM, these events being high points for young mountain research. As part of a partnership-based rather than competitive approach, the Perce-Neige collective aims to strengthen partnerships with existing initiatives.

The collective is also behind Chercheur.e.s de Montagnes, a cross-platform medium – Instagram, Twitch, Twitter and Youtube – aimed at bringing a young audience (under 25) behind the scenes of research and teaching at Alpine universities. The project is led by six members of Perce-Neige: Raphaël Lachello and Emma-Sophie Mouret, both Labex doctoral students, supported by four of their students. Vie De Chercheur.e is one of the latest Twitch formats created by the team, to understand the methods, practices and people behind the results of scientific research.

Researchers associated with the Perce-Neige collective (non-exhaustive list) :

Lucas Berard-Chenu (Inrae), Dorothée Fournier (Sens), Jean-Baptiste Grison (Pacte), Laurence Malaret (Labex AE&CC), Pierre-Alexandre Metral (Pacte), Carine Pachoud (Pacte).