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There is a cry for more integration and for people with very diverse training.

It may not be a pure coincidence that the two most women-friendly departments in the study were led by young heads who were themselves half of a dual-career couple with children.

"Now there are more opportunities for Spanish scientists abroad to come back and start their own group," Maria Blasco says.

"It is important that the maximum feedback or spinoff is obtained in case of the failure of a mission," says Dr. Mark Sims, Beagle 2 mission manager.

Azevedo strongly advises other postdocs to start applying even if they feel it is too early in their career.

There is much to be gained from industrial experience, Ceccaroni feels, even for those who want an academic career.

The couple started looking "around in the world [to see] where we could both have nice positions," and they found what they were looking for in Spain.

Doing a Ph.D. on visual interfaces and usability is particularly useful, he believes, because it allows him to understand what the consumers would like to use and to guess whether a new product would succeed or fail.

The new law and recent experiences gives hope to scientists who have been struggling in the past.

"A mother is continually training in how to manage her time and organise her work. This is key [to success in entrepreneurship], beyond having guts and imagination," says Claire Dutertre.

Guillaume Bourtourault's enduring interest in environmental matters, his drive to pursue a career even when it was marginalised, and his vision for sustainable development are what made it all possible.

The liberal policies in some countries and the wealth of cross-cultural collaborations have made Europe a good destination for researchers to train in human embryonic stem cell research.

"The novice writer makes a big mistake in blaming language knowledge for everything," says Mary Ellen Kerans, chair of the Mediterranean Editors and Translators association in Barcelona, Spain.

Academics should never lose sight of their own research agenda and the benefits they hope to gain from the collaboration.

Spending some time investigating your interests before starting a Ph.D. will improve the likelihood that you pick a project that keeps your interest over several years.

Lenggenhager helped develop an experimental concept aimed at recreating out-of-body experiences in healthy subjects as a way to study distorted self-consciousness.

"We are trying to define new syndromes and new diseases in human genetics," says M.D.-Ph.D. Heather Mefford.

Early-career scientists need to learn to hold themselves to high ethical standards.