Himanshu Shekhar is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar. He was one of the Young Investigators selected to attend YIM 2020 in Mahabalipuram. In this invited article, he talks about the importance of learning and applying strategic management skills when a researcher is first setting up their independent lab.

Sudhir Ranganath is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Siddaganga Institute of Technology (SIT). He is one of the Young Investigators selected to attend YIM 2020 in Mahabalipuram. In this invited article, he talks about the role his mentors, collaborators, and scientific network have played in facilitating the process of setting up his lab.

Jagadis Gupta Kapuganti is Scientist V at National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi. He is one of the Young Investigators selected to attend YIM 2020 in Mahabalipuram. In this invited article, he writes about various strategies and ideas that have helped him establish fruitful national and international collaborations.

Karla P. Mercado-Shekhar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar. She is one of the Young Investigators selected to attend YIM 2020 in Mahabalipuram. In this invited article, she writes about her experience of moving to a new country to set up her lab and adapting to the Indian academic ecosystem.

Meghna Krishnadas is a Project Scientist at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad. She is one of the Young Investigators selected to attend YIM 2020 in Mahabalipuram. In this invited article, she writes about her unconventional path into science and the challenges this threw up due up by the unusual rigidity of the present academic system.