In 2027 young Radiation Oncology professionals feel at home in ESTRO, and are being prepared to lead ESTRO and the profession into the 2030’s.
That is the Vision of the yESTRO Committee.

“Feeling at home” means for us that young members know what ESTRO can do for them. And that young members know what they can do for ESTRO and feel comfortable contributing.
“Are being prepared to lead” underlines the importance of young members for the future of ESTRO. In addition, it stresses the need for professional programs for leadership development (like the mentorship program).

If you would like to know more about how we aim to reach our vision, watch the video above, recorded at ESTRO 2023 in Vienna.

yESTRO represents the young radiotherapy community within Europe, and consists of members from four specialities (clinicians, physicists, biologists and RTTs). The committee has the responsibility to ensure that the voices of the next generation of researchers and practitioners are heard, regarding the future of ESTRO as an interdisciplinary organisation. The aims of yESTRO are to secure a high level of relevance of ESTRO for young members in the field of radiation oncology in terms of educational, scientific and professional issues. 

• Provides a networking platform for young professionals
• Is responsible for the annual congress young track
• Collaborates with the National Societies and supports the creation of young groups at national level
• Has observers in the ESTRO standing committees
• Engages in educational activities
• Organises the mentoring programme
• Manages the Opinion Panel
• Connects young professionals in Radiation Oncology through the yESTRO LinkedIn group

Chair: Steven Petit, Medical Physicist, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute (NL) 

Azadeh Abravan, Medical Physicist, University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (UK) 

Jenny Bertholet, Medical Physicist, Insel Gruppe (CH) 

Dylan Callens, RTT, UZ Leuven (BE) 

Jolien Heukelom, Radiation Oncologist, The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NL) 

Morten Horsholt Kristensen, Radiation Oncologist, University of Aarhus (DK) 

Pierre Montay-Gruel, Biologist, University of Antwerp (BE) 

Daan Nevens, Radiation Oncologist, UZA (BE) 

Rachel Brooks-Pearson, RTT, Northern Centre for Cancer Care, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UK) 

Daniel Portik, Radiation Oncologist, EORTC (BE)  

Bartłomiej Tomasik, Radiation Oncologist, Medical University of Gdańsk (PL) 

Amanda Webster, RTT, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UK) 

Past Chairs: 

Pierfrancesco Franco, Radiation Oncologist, University of Turin Hospital (IT)

Find out about the articles of the Young ESTRO Corner

Are you a young professional working, training, or studying in Radiation Oncology? Would you like to be able to share your opinion, help us better represent you, contribute to taskforces or simply just take your first step within the ESTRO community?

Here is your chance!

ESTRO is delighted to announce that we have established an opinion panel for our young members. We are looking for Radiotherapy professionals up to 39 years of age or within 10 years from finishing their training/Phd, who are ESTRO members or are motivated to contribute to ESTRO initiatives. Panellists would be expected to complete the opinion panel questionnaire every 2 months. Panellists would also be agreeing to their information being shared with ESTRO committees, task forces, and initiatives.

ESTRO strives for a diverse cohort of panellists in terms of gender, professional background, and geographical location, and we look forward to hearing from you!
 

Sign up here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SP2R97H

2024

• Professional development through mentoring: Final evaluation of the pilot mentoring programme of the European society of radiotherapy and oncology

2023

• Qualitative Study on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Within Radiation Oncology in Europe - ScienceDirect

2022

• An impact model to understand and improve work-life balance in early-career researchers in radiation oncology
• Establishing a benchmark of diversity, equity, inclusion and workforce engagement in radiation oncology in Europe - An ESTRO collaborative project.

2021

• Alexithymia and professional quality of life in radiation oncology: The moderator effect of the professional profile.

2020

• Conducting research in Radiation Oncology remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic: Coping with isolation.
• Professional quality of life and burnout amongst radiation oncologists: The impact of alexithymia and empathy.
• Professional quality of life and burnout among medical physicists working in radiation oncology: The role of alexithymia and empathy.
• The role of alexithymia and empathy on radiation therapists' professional quality of life.
• In response to Chaturvedi: Professional quality of life, burnout and alexithymia - PubMed (nih.gov)
• In response to Leung - PubMed (nih.gov) 

2018

• Learning radiation oncology in Europe: Results of the ESTRO multidisciplinary survey.

Following the success of the last two editions, the ESTRO mentoring programme will continue with a 3rd edition starting at ESTRO 2024 in Glasgow.

The 2^nd edition matched 20 young, active professionals with ESTRO mentors with the goal of advancing their personal and professional goals! Do you want to be a part of the next generation of motivated radiation oncology professionals?

Then sign up for the program that will continue with its new edition at ESTRO 2024 in Glasgow.

Please find more information here.

Application

You can apply by filling the online motivation form here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B9S795B 

Quotes from a mentor and mentee:

“It brought me into a wider contact with ESTRO, making me much more confident to approach new positions.”

“Overall, it has been hugely rewarding and enjoyable, and has given me confidence and the skills to use when mentoring people within my own institution.”

“The program was like a safe net, which acts like a trampoline, too.”

Here you can find two lectures on the importance of mentoring by Dave Fuller and Kari Tanderup, recorded for the first edition of the ESTRO mentoring programme.

 

What we strive for?  
yESTRO committee strives for a radiation oncology community where all professionals and patients are included and have fair and equitable opportunities. We welcome and support individuals regardless of their ethnicity, sex, race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, beliefs, nationality, socioeconomic experience, character (ie: different roles, character type) and any other form of diversity.  

How do we behave?
yESTRO committee adheres to the principles of justice, equality, and DEI. We pledge to: 

• Show respect, kindness, and non-judgment towards colleagues and patients 

• Demonstrate empathy 

• Be thoughtful in wording and actions 

• Listen to and appreciate diverse views 

• Maintain an openness to new ideas and perspectives 

• Identify and address the lack of DEI in daily life situations  

• Aim to make to make positive changes, especially in group settings 

What actions do we want to take? 
yESTRO committee commits to the following actions: 

• Project an inclusive and positive image  

• Identify and challenge biases 

• Welcome feedback from all communities  

• Respect and protect confidentiality 

• Pursue DEI education as a constant goal 

What have we achieved so far? 

• DEI session during young track during ESTRO meetings 

• DEI statement 

• DEI studies (https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(23)00151-7/fulltext) 

If you want to give us remarks or suggestions related to this DEI statement, please contact us: young@estro.org

Dear Young ESTRO member,

We would like to draw your attention to a vacancy for 3 new members in the Young ESTRO – Early Career Committee.

Young ESTRO is the committee of ESTRO that represents the young radiation oncology community in Europe. We stand for that “young Radiation Oncology professionals feel at home in ESTRO, and are being prepared to lead ESTRO and the profession into the 2030’s”.

Our focus areas are:

• To connect young ESTRO members with one another, as well as with ESTRO and its community 
• To foster professional and leadership development of new members
• To detect unmet needs and improve the Society as a whole.

The Young ESTRO Committee consists of 12 members from all professional groups of the Society (radiation/clinical oncologists, medical physicists, biologists and radiation therapists). Due to the distribution of the current members among the professions, during this call, we have vacancies for Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists, or Biologists to join our team. For more information about our members, our activities, vision and strategy visit our website.

As a Young ESTRO committee member, you will …

• Work together with a highly motivated group of yESTRO Committee members
• Be a spokesperson for young professionals at the start of their career,
• Help organizing our activities, such as the young track at the annual congress, the Opinion Panel, the mentoring program, the yESTRO Committee newsletter, etc
• Typically spend 2 hours per week on average on yESTRO Committee activities

The term of the Committee member officially starts at the ESTRO 2025, taking place in Vienna 2-6th of May. However, the introduction and knowledge transfer process will start earlier, in February.

Who can apply?

For the current call, we are looking for three members, either medical physicists, radiation or clinical oncologists, or biologists, aged less than 35 years and/or within five years after finishing training / PhD*. Applicants that do not fulfill the age/years of experience requirement should motivate their application as a young ESTRO member (e.g. due to career breaks). We strive for a diverse committee in terms of gender, professional background and geographical allocation.

How to apply?

To apply, please fill out the online form and upload your motivation letter and CV using the following link. Deadline: December 13^th 2024

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DK6VFKT

Based on the received applications, candidates will be selected for an online interview, that will take place in the first half of January. Should you have any questions, please contact us at (young@estro.org).

The Young ESTRO Committee 

 * The criteria for a young member are younger than 40 years or within 10 years of finishing a PhD or training. Exceptions can be granted based on e.g career breaks. Since the term of a membership is 3 years and can be renewed once, the criteria for the vacancies of 35 years and 5 years from finishing training, more or less ensures that Young ESTRO Committee members can be considered ‘young’ during their terms.