Day 1: Intensive Pre-Defenses and Innovative Demonstrations

The first day was dedicated to the pre-defenses of PhD students, designed to provide us with a realistic and comprehensive training experience. The sessions began with a warm welcome by Prof. Martin Dijst, who set a positive and constructive tone for the exercise.

Throughout the afternoon, each ESR presented their research in four parallel sessions, each aligned with different work packages:

• WP1: Contemporary exposures to environments
• WP2: Changes in life stages and environments
• WP3: New technologies in health research
• WP4: Management of health and equity

Each pre-defense included a 15-minute presentation followed by an intensive 35-minute Q&A session and 10 minutes of feedback. In addition, the PhD pre-defense committees had received our research work ahead of time to ensure we received rigorous and constructive feedback. It proved to be a challenging exercise that is expected to be invaluable as we prepare to defend our theses over the next year.

On a more entertaining note, the day concluded with a demonstration of an innovative game developed by IJsfontein and Mugdha Chandratreya, showcasing how gamification can generate discussions and education around urban health.

Day 2: Stakeholders Day - Bridging Research and Policy

The second day, designated as Stakeholders Day, began with a welcome coffee and a professional photoshoot for all ESRs. The morning also consisted of group presentations on critical topics such as barriers and drivers to urban health, the use of mass environmental data and new technologies, and translating urban health evidence into effective policies. This interactive format allowed us to showcase how our experience and knowledge gained throughout the SURREAL project had sparked questions and new ideas on how to address health equity and its relevance to stakeholders.

The Afternoon Round Table: Creating Societal Impact as Researchers

The afternoon kicked off with a round table discussion between invited stakeholders and ESRs, moderated by Mariel Droomers. This session provided a valuable platform for stakeholders to share their feedback on the morning’s presentations. Together, we delved into a critical discussion about our ability to create societal impact as researchers.

The dialogue highlighted the often-present gap between academia research, policy implemention and the most vulnerable groups in society. While there was debate about the reasons for this gap and the capacity for researchers, especially young researchers, to overcome these barriers, the biggest takeaway was clear: translating academic research into actionable policies requires multiple pathways beyond merely publishing academic papers. It must include a clear, action-oriented plan from the start of any research project. Academic institutions should foster societal impact through research by cultivating stronger ties with their local community, especially those working with disenfranchised groups. Overall, the discussions were intimate and contemplative, with stakeholders and ESRs alike contributing valuable insights.

Following the discussion, the afternoon was dedicated to career path presentations by Monique Simons and Lenneke van Genuchten. Their personal career experiences and advice offered us reassuring insights into our future careers, inspiring us to think about the next steps in our professional journeys.

A Lively Exchange of Ideas and Gratitude

Reflecting on the SURREAL Network School's final conference, it was not just an end but a significant beginning for us, the next generation of urban health researchers. The rigorous training, diverse presentations, and engaging discussions across the various network schools has equipped us with the skills and knowledge to further our commitment to health equity.

We owe a special thanks to Elke Brungs for her organisation and dedication to the SURREAL cause. Her efforts, alongside the contributions of Prof. Martin Dijst, our many stakeholders and our supervisors, ensured the conference was fruitful for our development.

As we bid farewell to the SURREAL project, we look forward to witnessing the continued impact and collaboration among SURREAL actors in addressing global urban health challenges. Thank you to all who participated and made this event a memorable milestone in our collective pursuit towards health equity.

A recap by James Harris

The third SURREAL Network School, nestled in the vibrant heart of Barcelona and reflecting the city’s own rich architectural heritage, provided a diverse mosaic of urban health research. The program featured an engaging mix of keynote presentations, subgroup discussions, a hands-on field trip, and a media training session.

Keynote Lectures

"Creating Cities for Better Health and Well-being" by Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen

Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen launched the conference with a stimulating keynote, "Changing Cities for Better Health and Well-being”. His talk offered an insightful overview of urban health trends across Europe while using Barcelona's Superblock Model as a case study. He highlighted the Superblock model’s ability to transform neighbourhood health by significantly reducing vehicle pollution and increasing greenspaces. Yet, he candidly discussed the formidable obstacles in scaling these improvements across the city, pinpointing the political barriers. Furthermore, it was pointed out that uneven implementation has exacerbated health disparities between neighbourhoods, underscoring the need for cohesive, city-wide strategies that can universally enhance urban health.

"Facilitators and Barriers to Change" by Dr. Audrey de Nazelle

Building on Professor Nieuwenhuijsen’s insights, dr. Audrey de Nazelle explored the complex barriers that hinder the adoption of innovative urban health policies like the Superblock or 3-30-300 models. Her presentation showcases the complex dynamics of public health policy, particularly concerning urban mobility and pollution control. She revealed how entrenched interests, lobbying and the spread of misinformation often stall progress, despite the clear advantages of low-traffic neighbourhoods in enhancing resident well-being. The keynote underlined the need for sharper communication strategies and stronger policy frameworks to navigate these obstacles.

"Air Pollution and Health: From Mechanisms of Doubt to Science Policy Interactions" by Professor Tim Nawrot

Continuing the theme of communication's critical role, Professor Tim Nawrot delved into the intersection of air pollution research and policy, highlighting the persistent scepticism and doubt that obstruct effective regulation. By detailing past examples where economic and political pressures delayed crucial public health measures, the talk argued for the clearer articulation of scientific evidence's risks and benefits to policymakers and the public. The lesson for ESRs was that clarity when communicating is essential for translating research into actionable policy and overcoming misinformation's impact on public perception and health policy.

"Mental Health in Academia" by Dr. Darragh McCashin

Switching topics, Dr. Darragh McCashin addressed the stress and competitiveness faced by early-stage academic researchers. His lecture provided a platform for the ESRs to share their experiences while highlighting the gap between idealised academic expectations and the reality of future prospects. He revealed how his research is part of a collective effort to improve university support systems and mental health resources while emphasising the need for a cultural shift to better support ESRs' well-being and career decisions.

Subgroup Discussions: Envisioning Ideal Cities

One of the conference highlights was the subgroup discussions themed "How to make a change with SURREAL in cities?" Led by Ana Ramos and Shradha Mishra, ESRs, their supervisors, and other consortium partners split into groups to explore desired urban health changes and solutions to barriers to implementing these ideas. These sessions fostered lively brainstorming and animated presentations, focused on changing policy, infrastructure, and community engagement. This format proved enriching, especially for ESRs, who appreciated the opportunity to contribute to meaningful strategies towards urban health transformation.

Field Trip: Barcelona’s Green Streets

The field trip to Passeig de Gracia & Sant Antoni provided a practical extension of the conference themes, showcasing the 'superblocks' - a bold urban design to transform streets from car-focused to pedestrian and community spaces. Guided by local experts Carolyn Daher and Genís Domínguez Montagut, ESRs experienced first-hand the improvements in liveability and health behaviours in these neighbourhoods. However, they also observed the challenges faced by adjacent streets that were not included in these initiatives. The field trip brought to light a significant issue: while superblocks improve health outcomes where implemented, the exclusion of surrounding areas can exacerbate health disparities. This uneven application exacerbates the political polarisation already seen on the issue, creating a cycle that hinders the broader adoption of such urban health policies.

Media Training for Emerging Researchers

A final highlight of the Network School's program was the media training session led by Pau Rubio from ISGLOBAL's communications department. Tailored for ESRs, this session expanded on the school’s theme of honing communication skills to better engage with the public. Participants practised through mock interviews, simulating a 2-minute video piece with a journalist, which was then constructively critiqued for enhancement. The session was both educational and filled with good humour, fostering a supportive atmosphere where ESRs could laugh and learn together on the last day.

Conclusion

As we reflect on the enriching experiences the third Network School provided, special thanks go to Elke Brungs, Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, ISGLOBAL staff, and Ana Ramos for their roles in organising this impactful event. Their efforts greatly contributed to our learning and collaboration. We also thank all the keynote speakers whose insights have deepened our understanding and engagement with critical topics.

Looking forward, we are preparing for the final Network School in Luxembourg. This event will take place from 13-14 June. This event marks the culmination of the SURREAL project and a significant chapter in many ESRs' academic journeys. This upcoming event promises to be a memorable milestone, celebrating our progress and preparing us for future endeavours.

Prenote: 333 days after the first Network school in Utrecht, the SURREAL consortium got together 500 kilometres away for another intense week of discourse on urban health. The venue set for the occasion was: Paris. A city well known for dividing opinions, separating romantics from pragmatists, and housing in proximity, both, the wealthy and the poverty-stricken. Such division and diversity can offer up an ideal milieu for enlightenment to those open to reason, making it the perfect place for round two. “Ding, Ding.” 

1. Les mises en bouche: Early-Stage-Researcher Presentations 

The role of the appetiser is to whet the appetite. To succinctly express what the future holds. It is also the dish that allows the chef most room to experiment with new combinations in the hope, that one day, the appetiser will develop into a flavoursome main dish.  

A similar role to the appetiser was bestowed upon the ESRs. They were challenged to provide a short 10-minute presentation on their PhD project while highlighting on-going issues, which then fed into receiving feedback from the consortium members.  

The sessions were organised across two mornings and four themes: ‘Social dimensions of health’, ‘Engaging with society’, ‘Complexities in research’ and ‘Experimental research’. This structure allowed for more in-depth discussions, provided a way to get to know about all the different flavours of urban health research within the consortium. Importantly, ESRs were able to identify common dilemmas in their research, which opened up opportunities for collaboration, while also renewing their enthusiasm.  

Such a mise-en-bouche experience in the context of the ESR’s PhD journey may actually turn out to be a pivotal moment, giving each ESR a surge in confidence to, one day soon, present their PhD project as the flavoursome main dish for their doctoral thesis defence.  

2. L’entrée: Keynote Speeches 

A well-chosen entrée usually sets the tone for the whole meal, while offering a deeper appreciation of the main course. Likewise, the keynote speeches were fundamental ingredients of the network school where experts in the field of urban health research taught us the recipes for success for making public policy. 

Laetitia Huiart, from Sante Public France, gave an honest, illuminating speech about the public policy experiences of Covid-19 in France. In principle, progress has been made at an ideological level to reduce health inequalities. However, there is still much to be done for urban health research to practically strengthen and inform governmental strategies. She vocalised the importance of achieving coherency among actors across distinct levels of society, particularly, the media. In this regard, improving science communication should be a priority for researchers to increase the rate of dissemination between furnishing research evidence, and seeing such evidence influence policy.  

One way of ensuring that urban health research has greater impact on public policy circles is by adding an economic dimension to studies. Marc Suhrcke, from LISER, demonstrated through multiple examples, how different branches of economics have started approaching the study of urban health. Topics such as the value of cost-benefit analyses, optimal equilibriums, and game strategies share a common theme of maximizing limited resources, which is something government bodies hold in high regard and which applies not only to economics, but also public health policy. 

The pragmatism from both keynote speeches suggests the entree was a cold dish, but one that put the group with good appetite for what was to come next.  

3. Le plat principal: An excursion with the City Council of Paris with various sides of workshops 

The main dish is usually judged based on whether it is better than what you could have had at home.  

The city council of Paris invited us for a presentation at the Climate Academy, located in the former city hall of the fourth arrondissement, whose space is now dedicated to providing a space for young people to get together, collaborate on local environmental challenges, and offers workshops to empower the youth to create a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle.  

The presentation focused on two recent urban renovation projects in the city of Paris. One based in an affluent neighbourhood and the other in a far more polluted, deprived, area of Paris. 

The first project is called Paris Beach (Paris-Plages) and concerns the transformation of a busy road alongside the Left Bank of the river Seine, formerly dedicated to transportation vehicles, into a space for recreation.  

The urban planner in charge of this project, Jean-Christophe Choblet, told us about the motivation for this project and its practical implications. Paris Beach is envisioned to be a freely accessible public walkway and offers recreational activities for those that do not have the means to escape the city during the scorching summer months.  

The walkway was built on the principle of resilience to consider the damaging dangers of flooding as well as the diverse and changing needs of those who use the walkway. When experiencing the walkway first-hand, it was evident that the project has been successful in engineering affordances that allowed people to engage in all types of activities, from social, to cultural, to exercising and to engaging in active transport.  

The second project was devoted to reducing severe air pollution levels in the northern outskirts of Paris. This was done by creating a more interconnected subway system, so vehicular usage around the highway circulating Paris’s administrative limits, called the Boulevard Périphérique, will be reduced.  

There are also intentions to convert a 2024 Olympic site for gymnastics into a state-of-the-art physical activity centre for local inhabitants and those living in areas neighbouring the region of Paris. There were some concerns from the consortium whether these improvements in the outskirts may introduce gentrification, potentially pushing away vulnerable populations.  

What we learned from these projects was how equity in urban health projects is often highlighted as an aspiration but is often difficult to achieve when regulations are not in place to prevent a dynamic free market system that ultimately benefit the more affluent.  

The following day, Basile Chaix kicked off an afternoon workshop on the use of wearable sensors and smartphones in urban health research. He showed us how these technologies are already bringing a far more complete understanding of how environmental exposures impact population health.  

Amit Birenboim presented a talk on how virtual reality experiments has been used in urban health research. He emphasized how well constructed VR experiments can give us insight into how specific future adjustments to urban environments can modify health, through changes to perception, physiological parameters, and behaviour.  

ESR’s Andrea Montanari and Alex Wang supported the workshop with a playful empirical demonstration of the sensors they are using in their projects. Importantly, they also mentioned how tracking smartphone behaviour across different settings can provide new insights into how these indispensable gadgets have become embedded in our environmental interactions, affecting our attention, mood, and place attachments.  

Bernd Resch, from the University of Salzburg, contributed to the workshop by serving us a presentation on his research projects using social sensing, based on sensor and social media data.  

He revealed how physiological sensors can be used for measuring arousal levels, to assess points in an urban environment that cause avoidable stress on cyclists. We also learned about the use of social media data as a behavioural predicting tool for large-scale disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.  

4. Le plateau de fromages (en option) :  

Common to French cuisine is an optional sharing platter of cheese. It is usually a sign of the occasion winding down, marking a transition from intense to more light-hearted discussions.  

Friday morning, the ESRs were treated to a workshop devoted to engaging the wider public with your research by Eleanor Saunders, from the Careers Research & Advisory Centre. Intriguingly, the start of the session revealed that there was a general discomfort among ESRs with the notion of commercialising their research output, as a marketing nuance felt conflictual with the identity and values of public health scientists. Nonetheless, like a bad smelling cheese, Eleanor showed through some fun, light-hearted exercises that there is good taste in knowing what makes your research valuable to different audiences.  

In the afternoon, ESRs and supervisors were given the option to help pilot a board game created by Mugdha Chandratreya. The aim of the game is to develop a greater understanding of women’s’ priorities in changing the urban environment through collaborative gameplay. The activity provided her with valuable feedback, having been played in good spirits with everyone embracing the character roles they were given.  

5. Le dessert: The many informal exchanges 

While the main dish usually brings people to the table, the dessert is usually the course which leaves people most looking forward to coming back to the table. Remembering the time in Utrecht the year before, there was great excitement around the consortium to catch-up again. Fortunately, Paris served up a Mille-feuille cake, with the layers consisting of numerous opportunities to catch up over morning coffee breaks, lunch appetisers, early evening drinks and dinner.  

Without revealing too much, highlights included a humorous presentation by the supervisors presenting personal objects from their home country and a karaoke night that left many thankful they gave up on their childhood dreams of becoming a popstar to pursue a career within public health.  

Le café après le diner : Acknowledgements 

A coffee is usually served to help people digest what was a splendid five-course menu. So, in digesting the 2^nd Network School, there is a necessity to thank those who made this fine experience possible. This includes Elke Brungs, Basile Chaix, Martin Dijst, Andrea Montanari & Alex Wang who all contributed to ensuring everything was organised and ran smoothly.  

A special mention to all the keynote speakers, Laetita Huiart, Marc Suhrcke, Jean Christophe Choblet, Michele Angelique Nicol and Fernande Ntsame-Abegue who substantively helped to ensure everyone left feeling enlightened. Gratitude is also extended to all the supervisors and SURREAL stakeholders who took time out of their busy schedules to come support the ESRs.  

12 months ago, many of our Early Stage Researchers joined the SURREAL project and we are eager to share their most important experiences to date.

Every week, an ESR will provide a mini update by answering the 4 questions below. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into their most important first year experiences.

12 months on…:

• What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?
• The hardest task you have come across?
• The most fun experience within SURREAL?
• How has your research impacted your daily life?

Shradha will share her experiences of doing her PhD at Universiteit Hasselt with us this week.

Where: Works at the Centre for Environmental Sciences, Universiteit Hasselt
When: Started in October 2021

What is the most interesting thing you have learnt?

The importance of resilience is probably the most interesting thing I learnt over the last year, both in work, as well as non-work-related contexts. Moving far from the comfort of home, family and friends in the quest of multidisciplinarity has been a recurring part of my journey. However, starting a PhD while adulting on the side has made me realize how life is always going to be like a sinusoidal wave, some days are sunny, others rainy, and it takes them both to come together to create color.

The hardest task you have come across?

The hardest task I found myself dealing with was prioritization. With the multiple facets of tasks and responsibilities that come with a challenging role in research and living independently in a new country, I’ve been working steadily towards getting better at it!

The most fun experience within SURREAL?

I’d find it hard to pinpoint to a specific instance here, but every opportunity to collaborate and interact with the other ESRs is super fun! Be it brainstorming for ideas together or just casually and informally checking in with each other. The cross-paths of cultural and academic backgrounds in SURREAL is exhilarating to be a part of, especially at in-person events. 

How has your research impacted your daily life?

Since I started working on my project, I have developed a newfound sense of awareness for the environmental factors in my immediate surroundings. I find myself consciously observing how a walk in a park or countryside gives me a sense of serenity while a visit to a crowded metropolitan city with heavier traffic leaves me feeling uneasy. Noticing these effects at an individual level while also investigating their impact on long-term public health outcomes fuels my motivation for pursuing my current field of research. This in turn has instilled more structure and discipline in my daily life.

12 months ago, many of our Early Stage Researchers joined the SURREAL project and we are eager to share their most important experiences to date.

Every week, an ESR will provide a mini update by answering the 4 questions below. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into their most important first year experiences.

12 months on…:

• What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?
• The hardest task you have come across?
• The most fun experience within SURREAL?
• How has your research impacted your daily life?

This week, it's up to Marzieh to take us through her experiences of moving to and working in Luxembourg.

Where: Luxembourg Institute of Socioeconomic Research, Urban development and mobility Department 
When: Started in November 2021 

What is the most interesting thing you have learnt?

"Moving abroad for the first time and starting to work in a completely new environment was very challenging but taught me how powerful and independent I can be.  As a work-related thing, I’ve learned how to do a systematic review which is quite complex since you have to critically assess each study, synthesize the findings from individual studies in an unbiased manner, and present a balanced important summary of findings."

The hardest task you have come across?

"Starting a new experimental lab from the ground up was the most challenging task so far although it was super exciting. It was so challenging to calibrate and synchronize the walking simulator and Virtual Reality headset in order to minimize the risk of cybersickness."

The most fun experience within SURREAL?

"Our first Network School in Utrecht! It was a great opportunity to meet other ESRs from different cultures and backgrounds and get to know them better."

How has your research impacted your daily life?

"I am more conscious and simultaneously curious about environmental attributes which might affect my physical activity behavior in urban areas! I am making an effort to pay closer attention to my surroundings and be more aware of the things that can have an impact on my stress levels."

12 months ago, many of our Early Stage Researchers joined the SURREAL project and we are eager to share their most important experiences to date.

Every week, an ESR will provide a mini update by answering the 4 questions below. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into their most important first year experiences.

12 months on…:

• What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?
• The hardest task you have come across?
• The most fun experience within SURREAL?
• How has your research impacted your daily life?

This week, Alex will tell us about her experiences of living and working in Jerusalem.

Where: Works at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Geography
When: Started in October 2021

What is the most interesting thing you have learnt?

"Living abroad in a new country is not new for me as I moved from Toronto, Canada to Paris, France for my Masters Degree. However, moving to Jerusalem was a whole new experience and came with a lot of challenges and lessons. It’s always interesting to learn and try to integrate yourself into a new culture–in this case, more than one culture. There are a lot of social norms that I had to get used to and to this day, I am still baffled by how a lot of things operate." 

The hardest task you have come across?

"The most difficult task so far has been starting a project from start to finish. Our project involves a lot of logistics from purchasing sensors to coming up with a data collection schedule to actually training research assistants and managing the schedules to get everything done in the proper time frame. In previous projects that I’ve been involved in, the data had already been collected or didn’t require any additional managerial aspects. In this sense, it has been challenging to be involved in the more “nitty gritty” aspects of data collection."

The most fun experience within SURREAL?

"It has been quite fun to be involved in a project on as large a scale as SURREAL. Since there are 14 other ESRs, there is a sense of community and it is nice to know that there are people going through similar experiences. It is especially fun and entertaining when we get to meet up in person, such as at the Network Schools." 

How has your research impacted your daily life?

"The research has made me more aware of how living in cities can impact my health. With the exception of a few years of my childhood, I have always grown up and lived in large urban areas. It can be quite alarming to read studies about how pollution of all different types is much worse in cities and it can be difficult to mitigate these effects. Instead, I try to stay healthy and physically active to the best of my abilities. I’ve picked up some more indoor sports like bouldering and weight training to try to counteract my sedentary lifestyle."

12 months ago, many of our Early Stage Researchers joined the SURREAL project and we are eager to share their most important experiences to date.

Every week, an ESR will provide a mini update by answering the 4 questions below. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into their most important first year experiences.

12 months on…:

• What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?
• The hardest task you have come across?
• The most fun experience within SURREAL?
• How has your research impacted your daily life?

Daina will be the next ESR to share her experiences about her work and life in Rotterdam, The Netherlands:

Where: Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Department of Public Health, Social Epidemiology Section
When: Started in September 2021

What is the most interesting thing you have learnt?

'During the first year, I have read extensively about the systems thinking approach to public health. It has been enlightening to think about urban health inequalities as a systemic problem with many interacting elements and feedback loops.'

The hardest task you have come across?

'I find it challenging to narrow down my ideas into specific research questions that could be answered by the datasets that I have available. It feels that for truly novel research ideas different kinds of questions need to be asked that you cannot find answered in a typical social epidemiology survey. It has made me explore qualitative research methods, systems thinking approaches and novel causal inference methods.'

The most fun experience within SURREAL?

'Like many other ESRs I truly enjoyed the SURREAL Network School in Utrecht. It was great to spend time with the other ESRs, supervisors and advisors. I appreciate that I have a network of brilliant researchers that I can rely on and venture on this journey together with.'

How has your research impacted your daily life?

'Reading about urban mental health has made me reflect on how situational and external factors affect my wellbeing. I have noticed that I do tend to feel better after long walks in nature parks (that are so difficult to find around Rotterdam!).'

12 months ago, many of our Early Stage Researchers joined the SURREAL project and we are eager to share their most important experiences to date.

Every week, an ESR will provide a mini update by answering the 4 questions below. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into their most important first year experiences.

12 months on…:

• What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?
• The hardest task you have come across?
• The most fun experience within SURREAL?
• How has your research impacted your daily life?

This week, the floor is given to Julie, who's doing her PhD in Wageningen, The Netherlands:

Where: University of Wageningen, Department of Social Sciences, chair group Consumption and Healthy Lifestyle
When: Started in September 2021

What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?

'What does it mean to be ‘a professional’...? In some way, everyone is just exploring, trying out, just doing something. I don’t think I’ve fully realized this yet, but hopefully I’m on my way to learn that making mistakes is normal and ok, that by acquiring skills and knowledge one does become better at what they do, but one does not become perfect. Life is a lifelong learning journey for all of us, whether we like it or not. And that is actually quite beautiful.'

The hardest task you have come across?

'Being a ‘project leader’, being responsible for a several year project involving both academic and local professional stakeholders (such as the municipality and a youth organization), giving the research project a direction and deciding every time again on the concrete steps to be taken, dealing with the insecurity of whether things will work out as planned - e.g. will anyone want to participate in the research activities I’m planning? Having the uncomfortable fear that I’m asking people to participate in my research not for their benefit, but for mine (i.e. that the research ‘works out’).'

The most fun experience within SURREAL?

'Even though I’ve found trying to interact with adolescents for my research often very challenging, the interactions we’ve had, once initiated, were often fun. I’m thankful for the chance to get an insight into lives of people that I would otherwise not so easily interact with, or get in touch with.'

How has your research impacted your daily life?

'I’m appreciating the many privileges I have, and also I appreciate even more the great value of public squares with roofs and benches and football courts, and the great value of social organizations.'

12 months ago, many of our Early Stage Researchers joined the SURREAL project and we are eager to share their most important experiences to date.

Every week, an ESR will provide a mini update by answering the 4 questions below. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into their most important first year experiences.

12 months on…:

• What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?
• The hardest task you have come across?
• The most fun experience within SURREAL?
• How has your research impacted your daily life?

This week, Vernon will talk about his experiences at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam:

Where: Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Department of Public Health, Social Epidemiology Section
When: Started in September 2021

What is the most interesting thing you have learnt?

The most interesting thing I have learned so far is the actual systems thinking approach, which has changed the way I see the world both personally and professionally.

The hardest task you have come across?

As an early stage researcher, I have some experience with conducting data analysis and performing literature reviews; however, this is the first experience where I have to develop a novel research question. This has been a more challenging task than I originally expected, because I am trying to integrate multiple complex concepts into a new cohesive message.

The most fun experience within SURREAL?

I enjoy working with other talented aspiring researchers who share my passion for improving the population’s health.

How has your research impacted your daily life?

My research has impacted the way I see problems in my daily life. Before joining SURREAL, I saw the world from a reductionist perspective where one factor affects another factor. After diving into the systems thinking literature, I see the world much differently. I find the world quite complex and dynamic, which makes it difficult to explain current issues in one sentence. As a result, I am more critical of the opinions that I hear from others in the media and in my personal life. I even challenge my own assumptions which has been a humbling experience.