As part of their ongoing collaboration, FORSAID, STELLA and Cerberus came together for the first Young Scientist Meeting on 4 June 2025. Funded under the same Horizon Europe funding call, the three projects share a topical focus on technological innovation in pest monitoring and detection. The online event was organised by the FORSAID consortium with the support of partners from STELLA and Cerberus. Coordination was provided by Prof. Andrea Battisti (University of Padua), Prof. Manuela Branco (Forest Research Centre) and Prof. Dimitrios Tsitsigiannis (Agricultural University of Athens). 

The list of attendees encompassed a total of 24 participants from across the three consortia, specifically PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. Following the participant presentations, there was an open discussion on various topics, including the possibility of creating dedicated working groups focusing on citizen science, communication, remote sensing and pest surveillance. Strong involvement across the board was noted throughout all exchanges, highlighting the essential role that early career researchers play in driving innovation and supporting project development. 

Moreover, the event provided a valuable opportunity for participants to connect and establish avenues for future collaboration. In other words, meaningful areas of overlap were sought as the wide range of research topics behind the three projects was being showcased. Ultimately, divergences in research interests between FORSAID (primarily oriented towards forest pests) and its two sister initiatives (primarily oriented towards agricultural pests) were seen not to preclude cooperation but rather to expand its scope. Consequently, the meeting emphasised the value of cross-project collaboration, which can help reduce duplication of effort and enhance the respective impact of each consortium.

More on the synergies FORSAID is pursuing with fellow Horizon Europe partners can be found here.