We organized the 2nd CMES workshop for Launching Interdisciplinary Communication and Knowledge sharing (CLICKs).
2025.05.30
At CMES, we operate three research divisions—Environmental Dynamics, Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, and Ecosystem Health Sciences—enabling a wide range of interdisciplinary environmental research. Leveraging this strength, we organized the second CLICKs workshop (CMES Workshop for Launching Interdisciplinary Communication and Knowledge Sharing) on May 23, 2025, as a platform for academic exchange across divisions and disciplines, with a particular focus on graduate students and early-career researchers.
Unlike conventional academic conferences, CLICKs adopts a student-led poster presentation format that allows participants to present even in the early stages of their research, without the need for extensive data or finalized results. The workshop fosters an open environment for exchanging ideas freely across disciplinary boundaries, encouraging early-stage dialogue and creative exploration.
This second CLICKs workshop welcomed approximately 70 participants, exceeding the number from the previous event. Among them, 58 presented posters, showcasing a wide range of research topics. Continuing the style from the first workshop, posters included not only research outcomes, but also research background, motivations, challenges, and learning goals. Many Master’s and undergraduate students actively participated in the presentations.
In this year’s CLICKs, we newly introduced a “Flash Talk” session, where each presenter gave a one-minute pitch about their research. Sixteen presenters, including doctoral students and other early-career researchers, delivered concise and engaging presentations. These talks effectively highlighted the core ideas of their work and helped draw attention to the poster session, fostering lively discussion and interaction.
CMES hosts a diverse community of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, many of whom are international. Reflecting this diversity, all posters for the workshop were prepared in English, while discussions were conducted in any language participants felt comfortable with. The event venue buzzed with conversations in English, Japanese, and various other languages, creating a vibrant atmosphere where participants from different nationalities and research backgrounds actively engaged with one another.
Notably, many Japanese students took the opportunity to present and discuss their research in English, contributing to a naturally inclusive space for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary learning.
CLICKs aims to continue as a regularly held initiative that strengthens the internal network of CMES and provides a platform where young researchers can engage in open dialogue and explore potential collaborations.
Through CLICKs, we sincerely hope that students and young researchers will build meaningful connections, inspire one another, and find encouragement to take the next step toward a more fulfilling and rewarding research journey.