The recent CMIP community workshop held in Kyoto offered a rare and valuable opportunity to step back and take stock of where the community stands and where it is heading. For many of us, it was not only about the science, but about the people, the ideas, and the structures that will shape the future of climate modelling.
From a scientific perspective, the meeting provided an excellent window into the ongoing research and developments in the lead-up to the next phase of CMIP. This scientific excellence was amplified by the number and quality of interactions among participants. Conversations around posters, informal discussions between sessions, and spontaneous exchanges all contributed to a sense that this is a community actively building itself, not just its science. Personally, I came away with new collaborations on the horizon and valuable feedback on my own work, insights that will undoubtedly shape my next steps.
The ECR workshop
The Early Career Researcher (ECR) workshop was a particularly engaging component of the meeting, offering both practical guidance and space for reflection.
The session began with an introduction to the “Fresh Eyes on CMIP” initiative. This programme aims to directly integrate ECR perspectives into CMIP activities, including participation in panels and broader coordination efforts. While the initiative may have been familiar to some, I entered largely unaware of its mission and accessibility. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to learn that it is open to all ECRs. Understanding its aims and how to get involved transformed it from an abstract concept into a tangible opportunity, one I am now excited to explore further. It is, quite clearly, an open invitation for ECRs to actively contribute to shaping the future of CMIP, rather than simply observing it from the outside.
The second part of the workshop explored career pathways within climate science and beyond. Through a series of talks, speakers shared not only their professional trajectories but also the decisions, uncertainties, and turning points that defined them. There were many valuable insights, from the importance of reflecting on the impact of our work to the recognition that careers in climate science are rarely linear. The advice to seek opportunities that stretch one’s abilities while also learning when to say no resonated strongly with me. Equally compelling was the emphasis on balance: building deep expertise while remaining open to broader perspectives, investing in scientific excellence while also cultivating relationships, and understanding not just research, but the systems (funding structures, institutions, and stakeholders) in which that research operates.
In short, technical skill may open doors, but it is the combination of expertise, awareness, and human connection that determines how far one can go.
The workshop also created space for direct interaction among ECRs. These informal conversations highlighted both shared challenges and collective enthusiasm. It became clear that, despite working across different subfields and regions, many of us are navigating similar questions and facing comparable obstacles.
This was further reinforced in the final discussion session, where participants reflected on the role ECRs can play within the CMIP community. One theme emerged with notable consistency: the complexity of the CMIP landscape. With its many Model Intercomparison Projects, datasets, and parallel initiatives, even experienced researchers can find it difficult to navigate this vast ecosystem. For ECRs, this complexity can act as a barrier to engagement.
A proposed solution that particularly resonated with me was the creation of a more centralised platform for the community, a shared space where researchers could exchange information about projects, ask questions, and improve the discoverability of the many initiatives and programmes within CMIP. Such a resource has the potential to significantly lower entry barriers, strengthen connections, and ultimately make the community more cohesive and accessible. It is a simple idea, but an ambitious one to implement, and it will be interesting to see whether something like this materialises in the future.
Final remarks
Overall, the ECR workshop and the conference as a whole served as a reminder that scientific progress is not driven solely by data and models, but by people and the networks they form. The exchange of ideas, the building of collaborations, and the collective planning of future directions are not secondary outcomes; they are essential components of the process.
This was not merely a meeting about climate models. It was a demonstration of a community actively shaping its future one conversation, one collaboration, and one fresh perspective at a time. As the climate crisis intensifies and the scientific community comes under increasing scrutiny, such collective efforts will only become more important. Which naturally raises the question: why wait another seven years for the next one?
