ECSC activities currently include (but are not limited to):

• Organization of ECS-targeted events in ISME Conferences and regional meetings, including mentorship program and panel discussions;
• Together with ISME Publications, the ECS Reviewer Pool initiative to include ECS contributions in evaluating microbial ecology manuscripts;
• Promoting ECS publications and ECS with alternative career choices in the ISME social media channels;
• Creating awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the microbial ecology community;
• Organization of training and education activities to support the professional development of ECS in microbial ecology.

Governance structure

The ECSC consists of a chair, a co-chair, and committee members, each responsible for leading specific activities. The ECSC chair also serves as an advisor to the ISME Executive Board.

Meetings

The ECSC has online meetings every month to discuss the ongoing activities and to plan the actions in the future. The chair leads the meeting, and the co-chair records the meeting minutes. Meeting schedules will take into account time differences and alternate between the different time zones, where possible. Furthermore, the ECSC has a biennial in-person meeting which takes place at the ISME conference.

Election procedure

The ECSC shall comprise no more than 8 members in total, ensuring continental and regional representation, with the goal of having at least one representative from each continent. Gender balance is also carefully considered in the composition of the committee.

New members are invited through an open call for applications, coordinated by the ECSC Chair and the ISME Office. Selected members must be approved by the ISME Executive Board.

The term of service for all members is four years. Every two years, new members are selected to allow for knowledge and skills sharing as well as support for the incoming committee. Coinciding with the election of new members, the positions of chair and co-chair are rotated. The current co-chair automatically transitions to the chair role, and the committee chooses a new co-chair by nomination. If multiple candidates are nominated or volunteer, the committee holds a vote. Ideally, chairing and co-chairing should rotate among regions.