Oscar attended the International Conference on Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions (EMAPI), in Lisbon, Portugal in September 4-8.  He presented a paper on “Allocating resources to manage invasive plant populations”. This is a great conference because it brings together academics, practitioners and government scientists, making it more likely that our research will be adopted and have impact.

In addition to attending a very stimulating conference, Oscar had the fortune of being hosted by Paulo Caldas and Rui Marques, who showed him around their beautiful city. Paulo was our PhD student until last week, when he submitted the final version of his thesis, so we can call him Dr Caldas now. He has already published five papers from his PhD and has more to come.  Prof Rui Marques is known to many as an Adjunct Professor who has spent a few stints at UNE working with Professor Brian Dollery and his team. Beyond enjoying their hospitality, the professional spinoffs look very promising. Oscar got to meet Rui’s colleagues and PhD students at the Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon and they have created closer links beyond their already very productive collaboration with Brian.

On the way to Lisbon Oscar spent three days in Paris visiting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where he gave a seminar on “Combining evidence and modelling to contribute to climate adaptation by farmers in developing countries”. The main reason for this detour was to work with Ben Henderson, another one of our PhD students, who works as an environmental economist in the Natural Resources Policy Division at the OECD. Ben will submit in February 2018 and he is currently preparing the last paper for his thesis. This was another stimulating visit with a lively discussion after Oscar’s seminar which has provided ideas for future research and useful contacts. Overall a very productive and enjoyable trip.

Clockwise from top left: Oscar enjoying the hospitality of PhD student Paulo Caldas in Lisbon; the view from the nearby OECD conference; Lisbon rooftops; the OECD in Paris.