European Science Foundation calls for commitment to supporting researcher mobility
Europe's incoherent research infrastructure is preventing mobility and putting European research at risk, according to the Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation, Bertil Andersson. 'The career systems in the EU are too heterogeneous. Resolving this is the most important issue for the future success of European science,' he said. This position is echoed by Christine Heller del Riego from Euroscience: 'There is a need for structural changes in national research bodies that reflect the need for scientists to move between European countries,' a statement from the European Science Foundation reports her as saying. Ms Heller del Riego adds, however, that mobility must be facilitated, but never imposed: 'We have to accommodate for the fact that women, for example, are often less mobile and should not forget that mobility is only an instrument.' The statement calls for the engagement of organisations at European level: 'ESF [the European Science Foundation] and the European Molecular Biology Association (EMBO) are two examples of best practice in supporting the next generation of researchers, but we need others to commit.'