MARiS Meet 2026: A Warm and Welcoming Start to the Year

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first MARiS Meet of 2026! 

We were delighted to see such a wonderful turnout — with just over 20 Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and several academic colleagues in attendance, including Lynne Shannon, Louise Gammage and Astrid Jarre. It was truly encouraging to see academics and ECRs mingling, sharing conversations, and building connections across the MARiS community.

The gathering offered a relaxed and welcoming space to reconnect with familiar faces, warmly welcome new MARiS ECR members, and begin the year together on a positive note — complete with delicious treats to enjoy.

Leila Nefdt opened the event with a brief welcome, followed by Professor Lynne Shannon, who shared a few reflections on MARiS and it's mission on behalf of the MARiS Directorship. Our ECR Representative, Natalie Le Roux, then got the icebreaker underway, encouraging everyone to step outside their usual circles and engage with fellow members of the community. The room quickly filled with energy, conversation, and laughter — a wonderful reminder of the strength and collegiality within MARiS.

We extend a special welcome to the new faces who joined us — we are thrilled to have you as part of the MARiS ECR community.

Looking ahead, the ECR Working Group is planning an exciting calendar of quarterly events to keep the momentum going. Keep an eye out for upcoming ECR Hikes, an ECR Games Night, the much-anticipated Annual MARiS Quiz Night, an ECR Sip and Paint session, and of course, our regular monthly Coffee Talks. We look forward to creating many more opportunities to connect throughout the year — so watch this space!

If you have any queries related to ECR matters, please feel free to reach out to our current ECR Representatives, Dayna Collins and Natalie Le Roux, at ecr.maris@uct.ac.za.

Thank you again for helping us start 2026 strong — we look forward to seeing you at the next MARiS gathering!