Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EPFLeaders4impact (A new postdoctoral fellowship to address grand societal challenges)
Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2024-05-31
The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, www.epfl.ch) is one of the two Federal Institutes of Technology in Switzerland. Its mission is to provide first-rate education foster pioneering research and promote cutting-edge technological innovation. As a world leading scientific institution, EPFL is a leading actor driving innovation in Switzerland and beyond and is playing a critical role in the transition towards a sustainable society. Such transition requires not only new knowledge and technology but also responsible scientific leaders with an ability to think across boundaries, to envision all-encompassing solutions to critical societal problems, and to communicate their research to policymakers.
The EPFLeaders4impact programme is aimed at training the next generation of sustainability science leaders. This programme supports experienced researchers with the ambition and potential to develop innovative solutions addressing one or several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides postdoctoral fellows with funding, training, lab facilities, and expert advice allowing them to develop a novel and impactful product or service. During the programme, they are able to evaluate the potential for the commercialization of this product or service before founding a startup or licensing intellectual property to an existing company.
The programme contributes to the strengthening of human resources in the field of sustainable innovation in Switzerland and Europe, to the increased availability of new products and services addressing the SDGs and to the strengthening of the sector of sustainable business in Switzerland and Europe.
This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034260.
The EPFLeader4impact project was launched in June 2022 and will end in May 2027.
The EPFLeaders4impact programme is aimed at training the next generation of sustainability science leaders. This programme supports experienced researchers with the ambition and potential to develop innovative solutions addressing one or several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides postdoctoral fellows with funding, training, lab facilities, and expert advice allowing them to develop a novel and impactful product or service. During the programme, they are able to evaluate the potential for the commercialization of this product or service before founding a startup or licensing intellectual property to an existing company.
The programme contributes to the strengthening of human resources in the field of sustainable innovation in Switzerland and Europe, to the increased availability of new products and services addressing the SDGs and to the strengthening of the sector of sustainable business in Switzerland and Europe.
This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034260.
The EPFLeader4impact project was launched in June 2022 and will end in May 2027.
Three calls were launched with a view to attracting top-talent from all over the world, with deadlines of 31 January 2022, 2 May 2022 and 1 March 2023 respectively.
The programme and its calls were widely promoted on a local, national and international levels to attract excellent experienced researchers of any nationality. A dedicated visual identity was developed specifically for EPFLeaders4impact along with a website and a flyer, among others. The three calls were published on the EURAXESS website and promoted via the Research Office social media channels. The communication plan also targeted various EPFL departments and stakeholders in the EPFL community as well as external network of partners such as universities worldwide and non-academic partners such as associations to disseminate the open calls.
A total of 40 applications were received for the three calls. Following a fair, equitable, and transparent review process involving an Intersectoral Excellence Committee (IEC), 16 applicants were selected. Of these, 14 accepted and started their Marie-Sklodowska Curie postdoctoral fellowships during the first reporting period. A total of 9 countries are represented with one female fellow (7% of the total). 57% of the fellows are nationals of a non-EU country.
To foster entrepreneurial capacity and to enable the fellows to pursue translational research, a multifaceted training programme is provided, including a collaboration with the non-academic sector. The training programme is focused on scientific training, innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and responsible leadership/transferable skills.
The EPFLeaders4impact programme is now mid-way. Fellows are now in the first year or second year of their fellowship and they have already shown very good achievements in a relatively short time. For example, 11 fellows succeeded in establishing collaboration agreements with the non-academic sector (with 2 more in process). Another fellow is involved in knowledge transfer, and 4 fellows already gave positive feedback about possible patent creation. Additionally, two fellows obtained professorship positions and one fellow received the second prize of the Euro Tech Future Award 2023.
Two open access publications have been published and 18 are currently in preparation. In total, fellows participated in conferences (16), workshops (12) and events (3).
The programme and its calls were widely promoted on a local, national and international levels to attract excellent experienced researchers of any nationality. A dedicated visual identity was developed specifically for EPFLeaders4impact along with a website and a flyer, among others. The three calls were published on the EURAXESS website and promoted via the Research Office social media channels. The communication plan also targeted various EPFL departments and stakeholders in the EPFL community as well as external network of partners such as universities worldwide and non-academic partners such as associations to disseminate the open calls.
A total of 40 applications were received for the three calls. Following a fair, equitable, and transparent review process involving an Intersectoral Excellence Committee (IEC), 16 applicants were selected. Of these, 14 accepted and started their Marie-Sklodowska Curie postdoctoral fellowships during the first reporting period. A total of 9 countries are represented with one female fellow (7% of the total). 57% of the fellows are nationals of a non-EU country.
To foster entrepreneurial capacity and to enable the fellows to pursue translational research, a multifaceted training programme is provided, including a collaboration with the non-academic sector. The training programme is focused on scientific training, innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and responsible leadership/transferable skills.
The EPFLeaders4impact programme is now mid-way. Fellows are now in the first year or second year of their fellowship and they have already shown very good achievements in a relatively short time. For example, 11 fellows succeeded in establishing collaboration agreements with the non-academic sector (with 2 more in process). Another fellow is involved in knowledge transfer, and 4 fellows already gave positive feedback about possible patent creation. Additionally, two fellows obtained professorship positions and one fellow received the second prize of the Euro Tech Future Award 2023.
Two open access publications have been published and 18 are currently in preparation. In total, fellows participated in conferences (16), workshops (12) and events (3).
The granted projects can be found on the programme’s website: https://www.epfl.ch/research/funding/epfl-programmes/epfleaders4impact/fellows/(opens in new window)
The fellows are integrated in the following EPFL faculties: School of Engineering (6), School of Basic Science (4), School of Life Science (2), School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (2) and their projects cover a variety of fields ranging from neuroscience, materials science, environmental sciences, medical robotics, public health and civil engineering.
All projects have potential implications to make significant contributions to the implementation of the UNDSGs, but they are still in early stages. Fellows are embedded in EPFL's top-level, interdisciplinary research environment, benefiting from cutting-edge infrastructure, first-rate supervision, and a comprehensive training program to reach a high level of scientific excellence. The Personal Career Development Plans (PCDP) ensure that they also focus on their professional development and plan effectively for their next career steps to lead impactfully on sustainability initiatives.
Overall, this programme contributes to training a new generation of creative science leaders who have the capacity to provide sustainable answers to global challenges and to communicate research evidence to policymakers. The collaboration of the Fellows with the non-academic sector fosters technological innovations and market opportunities, leading to new startups and job creation. This program supports EPFL and European Research Area (ERA) efforts in addressing global challenges and maintaining a leadership position in sustainable innovation.
The fellows are integrated in the following EPFL faculties: School of Engineering (6), School of Basic Science (4), School of Life Science (2), School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (2) and their projects cover a variety of fields ranging from neuroscience, materials science, environmental sciences, medical robotics, public health and civil engineering.
All projects have potential implications to make significant contributions to the implementation of the UNDSGs, but they are still in early stages. Fellows are embedded in EPFL's top-level, interdisciplinary research environment, benefiting from cutting-edge infrastructure, first-rate supervision, and a comprehensive training program to reach a high level of scientific excellence. The Personal Career Development Plans (PCDP) ensure that they also focus on their professional development and plan effectively for their next career steps to lead impactfully on sustainability initiatives.
Overall, this programme contributes to training a new generation of creative science leaders who have the capacity to provide sustainable answers to global challenges and to communicate research evidence to policymakers. The collaboration of the Fellows with the non-academic sector fosters technological innovations and market opportunities, leading to new startups and job creation. This program supports EPFL and European Research Area (ERA) efforts in addressing global challenges and maintaining a leadership position in sustainable innovation.