E3S Eurosense Student Award – Hannah Ford
The tenth Eurosense conference, ‘A Sense of Earth’, was fittingly located in Finland. A country well known for its calm, restorative powers and its connection with nature. From the warm and enthusiastic welcome, I could ‘sense’ and came to appreciate the opportunities the next few days had in store.
It felt very apparent to me, that the global challenge of how to feed the world in a more sustainable way, which encompassed the hot topic of plant-based proteins, dominated the talks. To be given the opportunity to present my research and contribute in some way to parallel session 6 entitled, ‘Cross-cultural perspectives to Sustainable food choices’ was a memorable experience. I was honoured to have my research acknowledged and to receive one of the European Sensory Science Society (E3S) Eurosense Student Awards. I would like to thank the E3S committee and highlight the important work they do in supporting early career researchers like myself, providing us with a platform in which we can flourish!
This was my first face-to-face conference, and also the first time many others were able to meet in person at Eurosense in four years! Having experienced the life of a pandemic PhD, I perhaps did not appreciate what I had missed out on. I expected to learn and network with fellow sensory and consumer scientists, but I didn’t expect to be so inspired, to make so many rewarding contacts – and to share so many amazing dance moves at the conference dinner. Thank you to the organising committee for putting together such a wonderful event!
It’s an exciting time to be within the world of sensory science and I have come away with a newfound gratitude for our field of research. It’s certainly left me pondering how we can contribute to a more sustainable future. I’m quite sure we will have plenty to discuss at the next Eurosense 2024 conference in Dublin, Ireland. It will be a tough act to follow!
Hannah Ford
