The COVID-19 crisis has forced researchers in Ecology to change the way
we work almost overnight. Nonetheless, the pandemic has provided us with
several novel components for a new way of conducting international
Science. In this perspective piece, we summarize eight central insights
that are helping us, as early career researchers, navigate the
uncertainties, fears and challenges of advancing Science during the
COVID-19 pandemic. We highlight how innovative, collaborative and often
Open Science-driven developments that have arisen from this crisis can
form a blueprint for a community reinvention in academia. Our insights
include personal approaches to managing our new reality, maintaining
capacity to focus and resilience in our projects, and a variety of tools
that facilitate remote collaboration. We also highlight how, at a
community level, we can take advantage of online communication platforms
for gaining accessibility to conferences and meetings, and for
maintaining research networks and community engagement while promoting a
more diverse and inclusive community. Overall, we are confident that
these practices can support a more inclusive and kinder scientific
culture for the longer term.