Final Report Summary - ERA-MIND (European Research Area Mobile Researchers in Industry)
Executive summary:
ERAMIND project, which was conducted between 2008-2011, aimed to improve the overall competence of the Euraxess network in services provided to industry and to facilitate the cooperation between Euraxess members on this issue; as the follow up of the study and working document entitled 'Industry Participation in Eramore, A collection of ERAMIND (European Research Area - Mobile Researchers in Industry) project, which was conducted between 2008 and 2011, aimed to improve the overall competence of the Euraxess network in services provided to industry and to facilitate the cooperation between Euraxess members on this issue; as the follow up of the study and working document entitled 'Industry Participation in Eramore, A collection of experiences' which had been published in November 2006.
These objectives has been achieved through:
1. a network of industry end-users
2. raising awareness of industry needs and expectations in Euraxess via targeted meetings
3. exchange of expertise and networking among ESCs in serving industry
4. preparing useful tools for Euraxess members.
ERAMIND consortium has realised coordination meetings with industry representatives and Euraxess network members, at which they had to chance to discuss the possible collaborations. Industry representatives expressed their needs and expectations from Euraxess and Euraxess network members presented their services. These meetings proved to be most successful tool in presenting the Euraxess to industry, as well as learning how to improve Euraxess services to industry.
With the help of interaction with industry representatives in various platforms; like advisory board (AB) meetings of the project, coordination meetings between industry and Euraxess network members, surveys and industry end users network; ERAMIND has developed implications to be employed in Euraxess network while communicating with industry. The further studies of the issue will be followed up in Euraxess TOP2 project.
Project context and objectives:
Work package one (WP1): project management
1. to facilitate efficient execution of the project within time and budget limits, by structuring the internal communication among partners, as well as European Commission (EC) and organisation of management committee meetings (MCM).
WP2: Raising awareness of industry needs and expectations
1. to develop an analysis of industry's specific needs and expectations in relation to the services provided by Euraxess and production of a mapping study report. To update the mapping report/ Industry participation document analysing industry's specific needs and expectations in relation to Euraxess services provision.
2. to establish a network of industry end-users across various industrial sectors and countries to enhance communication between industry stakeholders and the Euraxess network. To develop the established network of industry end-users across various industrial sectors and countries to enhance communication between industry stakeholders and the Euraxess network.
3. organisation of coordination meetings between Industry end-users and services centres for improved communication, exchange of best practice, the dissemination of Euraxess Services and analysis of the European portal for researchers and organisations in the private sector.
4. delivery of information sessions throughout the network to ensure industry's needs are identified and catered for and Euraxess has increased visibility to the private sector.
WP3: Exchange of expertise and networking among mobility centres (MoCs)
1. to carry out a survey among the industry end-users identified in WP2 for identifying the best practices of cooperation between industry and Euraxess members.
2. to establish a forum specifically for Euraxess Services Centres (ESCs) and industry to exchange views and answer questions on mobility of researchers within the industry and cooperation between Euraxess and industry.
3. to establish an AB consisting of six representatives from the industry end-users. The group is chaired by an expert in mobility of researchers in Europe. The purpose of the AB is to give input to the project and monitor its progress and usefulness for industry.
4. to organise annual meetings of the AB aimed at assessing the efficiency of Industry-ESC cooperation and making recommendations.
WP4: Industry toolkit for Euraxess members
1. to develop a brochure and fact sheets for promoting the services of the ESCs to industry. The material produced by the project is made available for the use of the Euraxess network members in order to improve the promotion and the utilisation of the Euraxess services by the industry sector.
2. to prepare example material for the info sessions (WP2) and aimed at ESCs and industry. The training material is made available to the network trough the Extranet of the Euraxess portal.
3. increase the awareness of ESCs services to industry through the updating of the promotional kit ('EURAXESS for Industry' general brochure and the 'Factsheet for Industry') according to the AB inputs and the coordination meetings (WP2) outputs
4. facilitate the promotion of the ESCs activities developing a Press kit
5. enhance the ESCs skills updating the example training material already available and collecting new material and success stories.
WP5: Industry involvement in Euraxess portal
1. to raise awareness of Industry concerning Euraxess by developing a concept of a specific section targeted to industry on the European portal and a web page dedicated to the Euraxess services and researchers mobility targeted to industry.
2. to collect suggestions and opinions on the Euraxess portal useful for task 5.2 and 5.3. The portal was analysed during the coordination meeting, with the participation of industry end-users and ESCs.
3. to promote among the bridgehead srganisations (BHO) the adoption of a standard model (template and standard pages) to make the national portal more attractive for industry.
Project results:
WP1: project management
The activities under this WPduring the first period, has been realised in order to set up the most efficient lines of communication among partners. For the e-mail and file exchanges, a virtual communication group has been set-up under Google Groups facility; as eramind@googlegroups.com The Google Groups facility has been chosen because it provides an efficient environment for e-mail exchanges, archiving the exchanged e-mails, broad capacity for file upload/download and a trustable server. Tubitak has also set up an umbrella e-mail account as eramind@tubitak.gov.tr which is distributed to the individual e-mail addresses of all the Euraxess Turkey team, including the superior officials of the respondent department in Tubitak. The logo of the project and the templates for presentations and reports have been designed in-house by Tubitak.
The kick-off and first MCM of the project has been organised in Istanbul, Turkey on 19 December 2008, which provided the initial discussion and decisions for the execution of the project. The partners have shared their plans and ideas in each WP.
Despite the fact that the management meetings have been designed to include two sessions, one being open to all Euraxess network partners and the other being restricted to consortium. Euraxess network partners have not been interested in joining the management meetings on their own cost, so there emerged a need to discuss the project activities with Euraxess network members at another platform. During the Euraxess Postdam conference in Germany, between 16 and 18 March 2009; with the initiative of EC, a special session has been organised in order to share the views, plans and activities of the project with other Euraxess network members.
In August 2009, the responsibility of the project has been shifted to Tubitak's Science, Technology and Innovation Policies Department, together with the responsibility of Euraxess Turkey team. This shift has enabled the work to be more efficient and focussed, under the Policies Department being more close to senior management of Tubitak, directly reporting to the President. The new coordination team of Tubitak has organised the second MCM in The Hague, the Netherlands on 28 October 2009. In Hague, the progress of the project has been assessed by the project partners and it was decided that another MCM shall be organised in order to ensure the efficacy of the planning. At the meeting in Hague, templates for the first reporting period and financial administration of the project have been presented to the project partners by the coordinator. Upon the issues raised decisions taken during the meeting, the third MCM has been organised in Warsaw, Poland on 23 November 2009. During this third meeting, all the work in each WPhas been discussed by the consortium and initiatives to ensure the completion of the activities has been determined.
The suggestion and decision of the consortium is that a plan shall be prepared by Tubitak, in order to ensure efficient communication within the consortium. For the upcoming period of the project, it is planned that a method will be developed to increase the interaction among partners, Euraxess network and EC.
The submission of the official reports for the first period has been delayed, due to technical problems with the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) reporting tool and planning of the activities at the starting period of the project, beginning from 1 November 2008. However, the reports reflect the actualisation of significant part of the planned activities and additional plans in order to foster the effectiveness and structure. Each WPleader has prepared all the aspects included in this report related with their lead WP; the report has been consolidated by the coordinator.
The coordination of the project has been very challenging during the last period with the two countering factors: the slow procedure and technical difficulties for reporting and amendment versus the enthusiastic and ambitious consortium. In 2010, the coordination and execution of the managerial tasks has been through e-mail exchange, as well as informally during the coordination and training sessions. In 2011, two MCM have taken place, one being actual and the other being virtual. Two presentations and questions and answers (Q&A) sessions have been made to Euraxess BHOs in 2010 and 2011. The amendment for the extension of the project has taken more time than expected and the consortium had no confirmation for the acceptance during the extended time. This has forced the consortium to make some of the activities virtually, via e-mail exchange or via teleconference, in order to avoid risk of making unacceptable costs.
Progress details of each task
Task 1.1: Relations with EC and other stakeholders
Communication of important aspects about the activities of the project in the first period has been made during Euraxess-related events and meetings. An initial assessment has been made with EC officials and Euraxess members during Euraxess Postdam conference in March 2009. The special session enabled the members of the consortium, other EC funded Euraxess projects and Euraxess members to share views, suggestions and comments on the project.
During the first quarter of 2010, EC was in close contact with the project due to the technical issues of uploading of reports. In 2011, the consortium has made a MCM with the project officer, assessing and discussing the workplan and ways to improve the results.
Task 1.2: MCM
As already mentioned, three MCM were organised during the first reporting period of the project, in Turkey, the Netherlands and Poland. In 2010, there has been an attempt to organise the MCM in Dublin, Ireland on 11 November 2010. However, this had to be cancelled due to visa formalities of Ireland to Turkish government officials and service passports, informed by Irish authorities in Turkey as to take normally two months.
In 2011, the consortium has organised a MCM on 10 January 2011 with the project officer, Ms Fehringer. All the tasks and deliverables were discussed and suggestions for improving the outcome have been turned into an amendment for extension of the duration of the project. At the end of the project, the MCM was organised on 28 to 30 September 2011 virtually via e-mail exchange, due to lack of certainty of the extension and to avoid costs. The meeting was on final reporting templates, activity and financial based templates.
Task 1.3 Information note for Euraxess members
During the first period, two information notes were prepared in December 2008 and March 2009. The information notes were electronically distributed to the e-mailing lists of the partners and Euraxess network.
However during the last period, in order to increase effectiveness, instead of information notes, there has been two presentations to the Euraxess BHOs. On 23 June 2010, ERAMIND and the material which can be used by Euraxess network members have been presented to BHOs during BHO workshop of Euraxess TOP project. Additionally, during the BHO meeting on 30-31 May 2011, ERAMIND project and implementation of its results by Euraxess have been presented to BHOs.
Task 1.4 Analysis and reporting
Each partner prepared the WPreports for the periodic reporting, as well as financial reports for management report.
Significant achievements
Task 1.1
ERAMIND special session has been organised within Euraxess Postdam conference on 17 March 2009 and project activities has been presented to and discussed with Euraxess network members.
The work plan and some tasks of the project have been discussed by EC. Some modifications have taken place in order to better execution of the project and to improve the quality of the results of the project.
Task 1.2
Five MCM have been realised, namely 19 December 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey; 28 October 2009 in the Hague, the Netherlands; 23 November 2009 in Warsaw, Poland; 10 January 2011, Brussels, Belgium; 28 to 30 September 2011, virtually via internet.
Task 1.3
Two information notes have been prepared and disseminated in November 2008 (month two) and March 2009 (month six). Two presentations and Q&A sessions have been made to BHOs, on 23 June 2010, Brussels, Belgium and 30 and 31 May 2011, Brussels, Belgium.
Task 1.4
For the first period, interim progress reports were prepared in April 2009 and periodic reports of the project have been prepared in March 2009. For the last period, periodic report and final report of the project have been prepared in November 2011
WP2: Raising awareness of industry needs and expectations
With the main objective of determining the specific needs and expectations of industry from ESCs, the mapping document was delivered on schedule and was produced to determine needs already identified in previous Euraxess network initiatives and will be updated over the course of the ERAMIND project. This exercise complements the work planned within the project timeframe and the updated version of the 'Industry Participation in Eramore: A collection of experiences' document.
A number of initiatives have been carried out to identify the network of industry end users - some of whom have actively participated in the information/coordination meetings and other tasks in WP3. Tasks 2.3 and 2.5 have been re-scheduled according to availability of services centres. A number of coordination meetings and Information sessions have been organised jointly, in order to ensure maximum use of resources, combined objectives and as a cost effective measure. There is a large amount of activity from all the partners in relation to each of the tasks, specifically Task 2.4 - Information campaign - a detailed note on these activities has been included in the annex.
WP2 reached all of its objectives in not just raising awareness of industry expectations and needs but also established a more effective way for the Euraxess network to approach and work with the private sector and researchers in industry via the information and coordination meeting activities. The regularly updated mapping document served as a key instrument in informing the content of the joint information sessions and coordination meetings. As the document grew in content and analysis, the format and content of the planned events became more relevant and developed to assist the Euraxess network members in identifying industry's needs and expectations.
The joint information sessions and coordination meetings were a key achievement in the project and these activities had such an impact due to the dedication and involvement from each of the partners. Most importantly, it was the level and participation of those industry network partners who took time out of their own busy schedules to travel and participate in the events, share their experiences that greatly informed the Euraxess network and the project partners. One of the most interesting activities of the session was the interative discussion between a representative from a research organisation and a researcher working in industry. This served as a catalyst in creating interest for the network members and enabled a rich sharing of knowledge and learning encouraging increased collaboration and hopefully enhanced provision of Euraxess services to industry.
Progress details of each task
Task 2.1: Mapping industry needs and expectations
The aim of the mapping study is to provide a better understanding of the needs and expectations across the broad range of industry stakeholders. In addition the document informs the development of activities planned within this project, which in turn will enhance delivery of ERAMIND objectives. This is a working document and will be updated over the duration of the project. In addition, the 'Industry Participation in Eramore: A collection of experiences' has been updated with input from each partner and will be further updated with results and sharing of good practice within the coordination meetings with industry end-users and services centres; AB input and recommendations; planned information/training sessions to the network and survey results. The benchmarking report from WP3 will be later included in the D2.1 as part of SenterNovem's activities. Each of the partners updated the country specific sections in the document 'Industry participation in ERAMORE: A Collection of experiences', which feeds in the document on the Mapping of industry needs and expectations.
Valuable material and analysis was collated during the coordination sessions to enhance the mapping activities and industry participation document. In addition, the document was reviewed by a number of the network of industry end users, Euraxess network members and the AB. The final version of the document contains additional country specific practices from some of the networks that were successfully reached as part of the ERAMIND Information and coordination sessions.
Task 2.2: Identification of industry end users
A network of industry end-users has been identified and utilised, but will expand over the lifetime of the project. To date, the network has been developed with input from each of the partners and in response to a request to the Euraxess network for the identification of participants. In addition, many of the candidates not short-listed from the AB nominations accepted an invitation. A lot of effort in this task has been made in targeting a large pool of network members to ensure that their time commitment is kept to a minimum - i.e. invited to attend one organised coordination meeting and training session over the course of the project. For the purpose of this report, three of the network participated in the ERAMIND event in Warsaw and provided some advice in relation to the various activities (such as the information material, Report and survey). SenterNovem participated in the identification of industry end users by collecting possible participants to the network in the Netherlands, as well as from Europe. The latter one was done in connection with the identification of AB members. There was some success in contacting AB nominees however a number of those approached did not respond to the invitation. The network has been advised of events scheduled for 2010 and it is hoped that a large number of the users can participate in all activities including the survey and e-forum developed as part of WP3.
The initial network was established and the corresponding deliverable reached in the first reporting period. It was still important to develop the network for the duration of the project. Greater effort was needed to identify additional members as many who joined in the first phase of the project proved either inactive, were unable to dedicate time to the activities when requested and some simply did not respond to invitations to participate in the WP3 activities such as the surveys and forum and WP2 events. The network gathered momentum as the project activities grew within the framework of the combined Information Sessions and coordination meetings. As a result those who proved active and interested members were those participating in the organised events. They were keen to continue to work with the project once they gained firsthand knowledge of the broad range of services provided by Euraxess and the level of interest in ERAMIND.
New cohorts of network members were reached from ERAMIND partners participating at meetings/seminars at European Union (EU) level, collaboration with other activities/projects at national and EU level (REAP collaboration in Ireland and I-SEE Mob project) and through word of mouth from successful industry organisations. This enhanced the visibility and recommendation of the services offered by Euraxess to both organisations and researchers in the private sector and proved hugely beneficial to the success of the project.
Task 2.3 Organisation of coordination meetings between industry end users and MoCs
This task aims to network the service centres and the industry end users for exchange of best practices and dissemination of information - through coordination meetings. The first meeting took place in Warsaw on 24 November 2009 and was arranged in collaboration with the first training session in task 2.5. The theme of the discussion was the effectiveness of Euraxess portal in terms of helping about industry needs (to feed into WP5) and the Survey developed in WP3. For the most part, the event was quite successful and a number of key messages for approaching and addressing the needs of industry were achieved (see D2.3 minutes attached). Three of the network of industry end users participated in this event - Israel, France and Poland/Ireland. A number of industry representatives from Poland also participated in the discussion. SenterNovem helped with input to IUA on the topics and logistics regarding the first coordination meeting which took place in Warsaw.
The coordination meetings combined with the Information sessions are considered to be one of the most successful activities in realising the objectives of the project by continuing to network the service centres and the industry end users for exchange of best practices and dissemination of information. The 2010 events took place with the Italian network in Trieste in collaboration with the Area science park initiative in May with participation from the EC and in November with the Spanish network in Madrid. The Trieste event proved to be most effective in attracting new industry network members and a lot of the content planned for the coordination meeting was delivered within the framework of the information session on the same day. In addition, this event included EC participation and the portal discussion enabled a two way process of learning and sharing information. It was a key event that enabled the EC to gather feedback and participate in discussion from the private sector's perspective and its use for the Euraxess portal.
It should also be acknowledged that an additional meeting had been scheduled to take place in Thessaloniki in April 2010 which was unfortunately cancelled at the last minute due to the Ash Cloud disaster. Considerable effort, planning and resources had gone into making this event a success and the positive outcome was that the last event of the project was realised in Thessaloniki in 2011.
2011 proved successful with collaborative efforts nationally with the REAP project in Waterford, Ireland in February 2011, the Estonian network in Tallinn in March 2011 and finally with the Greek network and I-SEE Mob partners in Thessaloniki in July 2011.
One of the key objectives in the coordination meetings was the assessment of portal and its suitability for industry. Suggestions and analysis from each of these meetings formed the framework for the portal mapping task 5.1 in WP5.
Task 2.4. Information campaigns
Each of the partners have committed to promoting both the network and the ERAMIND project in as many ways as possible - participation at events, by electronic format and through the network of industry end users. This activity is interlinked with Task 4.1 and ensures the distribution of the following material prepared:
1. ERAMIND brochure
2. factsheets for Industry
3. foster developed to foster industry's awareness of services provide by Euraxess.
During the second period, the posters and brochures of the project were made available at these events:
1. BHO workshop (EURAXESS TOP project), 23 June 2010, Brussels, Belgium
2. BHO Meeting, 30 and 31 March 2011, Brussels, Belgium
Task 2.5 Information (formerly 'Training') sessions for ESCs
Agreement was reached at the kick off meeting to rename the training sessions to 'Information sessions'. The aim is to provide new tools to the Services Centres in order to improve their services for specific clients: Industries and SMEs. Services Centres are informed on how to approach industries and are encouraged to facilitate researcher mobility between industry and academia. To do that, is important that Services Centres know industry's needs and learn the right way to approach industries and then adapt their assistance to their industry clients. In addition, services centres are shown ways in which to target industry and utilise tools such as free job opportunities facility on the Euraxess portal to encourage participation.
The ERAMIND team delivered its first information/training session at the Potsdam conference in March 2008 and the preparation for this event has provided a framework for future information sessions over the course of the project. It also gave the team ideas on where improvements could be made in delivering official sessions, of which there will be five in total. Both SenterNovem and IUA played a key role in designing the content and the delivery of the interactive session and it proved to be quite an effective session. All of the partners participated as trainers in the training, by presenting each WP, as well as participating in an interactive part of the session. Tubitak participated in the organisation and delivery of the session.
As mentioned in Task 2.3 the next information session was organised on the same day as the coordination meeting in Warsaw on 24 November. APRE, SenterNovem and IUA participated in the event as presenters and trainers. Tubitak took an active role in recording minutes and outcomes of the event.
Further on, SenterNovem organised together with APRE the training in Warsaw, where it took part as a trainer in an interactive part of the training: 'Making Euraxess services attractive to industry'. Description and report from the interactive session is attached.
As discussed in Task 2.3 information sessions were generally delivered in conjuction with the coordination meetings, except for the event in Waterford in February 2011. Therefore 2010 information sessions were delivered in Italy and Spain. Euraxess networks in Estonia and Greece hosted the remaining two sessions in 2011.
The information sessions were mainly targeted to the ESCs. However, in order to encourage networking and exchange of experience the invitation was extended to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), industry representatives and industrial organisations participating in the afternoon coordination sessions. Therefore the private sector learnt about the services provided by Euraxess in addition to success cases and the Service Centres gained from learning about industry's needs and expectations.
The information sessions organised in 2010 and 2011 followed the structure developed by APRE, with the support of IUA and Agentshap NL and validated during the first training session in Warsaw (24 November 2009). The information sessions agenda was structured around four main topics for addressing the objectives of this task:
1. overview of industry needs and expectations: presentation of ERAMIND objectives and activities and presentation of the outcomes from the document 'Industry Participation in Euraxess; A Collection of Experiences';
2. sharing best practices: success story of good interaction between industry and academia;
3. two experiences in comparison: e.g.needs and expectations of a coordinator and a researcher involved in an IAPP/ITN project;
4. interactive session addressed to ESCs: exchange of experiences and lessons learned between a researcher in industry and an organisation hiring researchers - this proved to be the most successful format for relaying industry's needs to the Euraxess participants.
The agenda has been structured with the intention of developing it into a 'training module' that could be utilised and enhanced by the BHOs and ESCs according to their needs and research landscape beyond the lifecycle of the ERAMIND project - therefore adding to the tools for dealing with industry.
For each topic, APRE and the ERAMIND partners selected and invited speakers that contributed to the positive result of the information sessions. Many of the speakers were members of the network of industry end users and proved significant providing added value for the ESCs, the SMEs and industry representatives that attended the events.
The information sessions, together with the coordination meetings, were one of the most successful activities carried out during the ERAMIND project and commended both from the organisations that hosted the events and the participants representing Euraxess, the private sector and of course, the researcher community.
The outputs of the information sessions are contained in the official Minutes prepared by the ERAMIND partners and have been taken into consideration in the updated industry participation document as well as impacting other tasks in the project (e.g. WP4 and WP5).
In addition to the planned information sessions, IUA and Agentschap NL increased efforts in the delivery of three additional sessions. These took place within the framework of the Euraxess TOP winter workshop in Croatia in December 2010, the Euraxess bi-annual conference in March 2011 and at the Hungarian Presidency conference in June 2011 - each of which proved successful in raising awareness and increased visibility.
Significant achievements
Task 2.1
D2.1 Industry participation handbook mapping document finalised with updates from partners and country specific cases collated at the Information Sessions and coordination meetings
Task 2.2
D2.2 network of industry end-users identified, participation from some members in information/coordination sessions. Regularly encourage active participation in Survey and functionality of e-forum. network of industry end users increased and utilised as speakers in training sessions and experts in coordination meetings
Task 2.3
D2.3 Successful completion of coordination meetings in conjunction with information sessions in Task 2.5. This included enhanced collaboration and shared knowledge with other projects in this remit at national and EU level
Task 2.4
D2.4 ERAMIND was presented to network members and implementation of the results were discussed
Task 2.5
D2.5 Successful delivery of information sessions in conjunction with coordination meetings in Task 2.3. In addition, sessions delivered at training workshops for the Euraxess network and a presidency conference
Overall, awareness of Euraxess to industry/ private sector was increased via:
1. enhanced skills and knowledge throughout Euraxess network
2. EC have greater awareness of industry needs!
3. greater two way communication and interaction
4. improved awareness of issues for researchers in industry and academia.
WP3: Exchange of expertise and networking among MoCs
Considering the first period, the survey and the forum are both online and have been widely publicised. The response rate to the survey and the active participation on the forum was not optimal. Additional efforts will be made throughout the project duration to improve participation to the survey and the forum. The AB was nominated and a first meeting took place on 28 October 2009 in the Hague, the Netherlands. The AB gave very useful comments to the project team, which will be examined and implemented accordingly in different tasks through all of the WPs in the project.
The AB was installed and actively contributed input for the project.
Unfortunately, tasks 3.1 and 3.2 did not yield the impact that had been aimed and hoped for. The survey (3.1) and the forum (3.2) were both published online and widely publicised. The response rate to the survey and the active participation on the forum were both far from optimal, despite additional efforts to improve participation to the survey and the forum.
Progress details of each task
Task 3.1: Benchmark cooperation between MoCs and industry L%
The aim of this task was to map best practice examples of cooperation between ESCs and companies. The project team decided to develop, in addition to the survey addressed at the industry end-users, also a survey asking ESCs directly about their contacts with industry. This activity was added in order to aim for optimal coverage of the state of play on this issue. Therefore, two versions of a survey questionnaire were developed, one aimed at ESCs and one aimed at companies. The surveys were published on-line using the 'SurveyMonkey' software and facility, which is well-tested and user-friendly for the respondents. Since the number of responses was below expectation, the team sent out many reminders and used also face-to-face meetings, such as those of Euraxess service centres/BHO's or ERAMIND meetings with industry end-users, to increase the response rate. Please see deliverable 3.1 for the findings of this survey.
Task 3.2: networking MoCs and industry
The team discussed at length about the most suitable form and structure for the Forum and the most user-friendly, low-threshold solution was aimed for. For ESCs the best place to hold the forum would be the Euraxess Extranet, but it was not possible for companies to access this. The most visibility would be if the Forum were hosted on the public Euraxess website of the Commission, but this cannot be administered by anybody outside the Commission. So an external portal had to be found. The most efficient and user-friendly provider was identified in PHPBB and the forum was established in June 2009 at the address http://www.eramind-forum.eu/phpbb/ with the following sections: Euraxess support, Better and efficient Euraxess support to industry, Funding, Researcher in industry, How to find researchers for industry vs. How to find a good industrial employer, Industry-Academia collaboration, Legal issues, Problems, Success stories, Events, Links, Other.
However, this e-forum was not visited sufficiently and it had a low impact on improving networking between ESCs and industry. Following advice from the AB, which indicated that an e-forum was not the most user-friendly option, a new approach was decided on. The networking occasions were merged with the face-to-face meetings between ESCs and industry end-users under WP2. At the same time, so as not to abandon completely the idea of an on-line forum, a discussion group was created on LinkedIn, since this was seen as being easier to access and with a lower psychological threshold, since many people are already active on LinkedIn. For further detail please see deliverable 3.2.
Task 3.3 Organise AB meetings
For this task, an AB was set up and three meetings were organised throughout the project duration. AB gave input to the project and monitored its progress and usefulness for industry. The members, from outside the project consortium, provided the project team with comments, advice, assistance and constructive criticism.
The first meeting of the AB was organised on 28 October 2009, jointly with the project management meeting, in the Hague, the Netherlands. The second meeting was convened on 18 November 2010, in Madrid. A third meeting was scheduled to take place in Rome on 20 September 2011, but since there was uncertainty about the successful outcome of the contract amendment postponing the project end date (and consequently the end date for eligibility of costs for the project), this physical meeting had to be cancelled one week before the scheduled date and took place by telephone conference.
Significant achievements
Task 3.1
Report on benchmark study: an intermediate and a final version of this report with recommendations and best practice identified was produced.
Task 3.2
Info note on establishment and usage frequency of the forum was prepared
Task 3.3
AB meetings were organised and advice from AB members taken on board for an effective implementation of the project tasks.
WP4:
The main objectives of WP4 were reached and all the tasks delivered. The activities implementation followed the timing foreseen in the technical annex for the second period of the project (months 16 to 36). APRE (WP leader), Tubitak and Agentschap, the Netherlands were the partners mainly involved in WP4.
The WP4 foresees both the production of promotional material and training material for the info sessions (WP2). The main objective of the WP4 is to provide to the ESCs useful tools in order to inform and to improve their competences in attracting and supporting industries in the utilisation of the Euraxess services. The toolkit developed by the project aims also at facilitating networking activities between Euraxess and Industry. In this perspective, the main beneficiaries of the deliverables of WP4 are the ESCs that can download and share the toolkit trough the Euraxess portal Extranet. The indirect beneficiaries of this task are SMEs, big industries, representatives of industry associations, researchers and in general industry end-users.
The main tasks of WP4 has been delivered. The promotional material (brochure and poster) has been developed by APRE in the first eight months (from month three to month eight) of the project with the contributions of the partners. The training material has been developed and defined in occasion of the first info session in Warsaw (months 10 to 13). All the material produced by APRE has been updated and improved during the time of the project taking into account:
1. the inputs of the ABs;
2. the suggestions produced during the first info session in Warsaw (24th November 2009) and the ERAMIND interactive session in Potsdam (17 March 2009)
3. the target audience (mainly industry).
The deliverables will be updated continually till the end of the project and shared with the ESCs trough the Euraxess Extranet.
During the second period of the project APRE and Agentschap NL defined a more focused key message of the promotional material, identified the target audiences, edited a more effective content and created a new and more appealing graphic layout. Particular attention was given in the identification of the right 'language' for assuring an effective communication towards SMEs and companies.
The promotional material developed in the first six months of the project was utilised as a basis for the preparation of the final version of the brochure and the factsheet. According to the project officer and the ERAMIND partners inputs, was decided to put efforts on the achievement of two good quality communication tools: the Euraxess for industry brochure and factsheet.
About the Task 4.3 APRE and the project partners involved updated the example material and adapted the agenda of each Information session, accordingly to the specific needs of the audience, the speakers and the ESCs invited.
Progress details of each task
Task 4.1 - Development of ERAMORE brochure and factsheets aimed at industry
The aim of this task is to produce promotional material that can be used by ESCs to promote their services to industry. Services Centers can use, translate and adapt the promotional material developed by ERAMIND. APRE is task leader.
APRE has elaborated the graphic lay out and text for brochure and poster and the template for power point presentations. The peculiarity of the promotional material is that is 'industry oriented': content, information and 'language' has been selected to attract and interest industry. The first version of the promotional material has been developed taking into account the material already available, such as material produced by ESCs (brochure, leaflet, etc) and has also been the results of a fruitful discussion among the partners.
APRE has taken a lot of useful information and inputs for the elaboration of the first version of the promotional material during the interactive session organised by ERAMIND in Potsdam, within the annual Euraxess conference (17 March 2009).
The first version of the promotional material was showed to the AB during its first meeting (28 October 2009, the Hague) and then discussed by the AB members. APRE is reviewing the first version on the basis of comments and suggestions provided by the AB. The second version of the promotional material will be discussed within the consortium.
Due to the number of good quality materials and information, on Euraxess services, produced and spread by the ESCs and the EC, APRE call the attention of the partners to the opportunity to produce, or not, the factsheet, as stated in the technical annex. APRE asked to re-think the activities in WP2 on the basis of the new scenario created after the launch of the new Euraxess portal. At the moment is available only a rough draft of factsheet template.
The consortium has accordingly decided to postpone the printing of the promotional material after the finalisation of the definitive version. The consortium will continue to involve the AB and collect their comments.
Due to the complexity of the Task 4.1 and the different subjects (ERAMIND partners, AB members, ESCs, industry representatives, etc) involved in this task, were necessary much more efforts and time than those foreseen by the technical annex and consequently was necessary postpone the deliverable 4.1 from month four to month six.
For the second period of the project the aims of this task were:
1. involve key actors (both Industry representatives, as target audience and Euraxess ESCs, as direct beneficiaries of the promotional material) and collect their inputs for elaborating effective communication tools
2. finalise the promotional material
3. start promoting the material developed by ERAMIND among the Euraxess network that can use, translate and adapt the promotional material.
APRE was task leader. Agentschap NL was the partner mainly involved in this task, especially for the preparation of the factsheet.
In respect to the first period of the project, some changes was introduced in this Task. Following the APRE's request to update the WP2 activities on the basis of the new scenario created after the launch of the Euraxess portal and agreed with the project officer, efforts was focused on delivering an 'EURAXESS for industry general brochure' and a 'Factsheet'.
The poster, initially foreseen in the technical annex, was not considered a strategic tool for Industry target audience.
APRE elaborated a new graphic lay-out taking into account the Guidelines developed by Euraxess. Many efforts were given to make the content direct, lean and effective.
Agenthscap NL was in charge for the creation of a Euraxess factsheet for industry. On the basis of its experience in working with companies at national level, Agentschap NL elaborated content and text of the factsheet.
APRE and Agentschap NL took constantly into consideration the inputs came out from the four coordination meetings hold during the second period of the project.
The final version of the promotional material was sent to the AB for collecting their comments. No additional changes were made afterwards.
Agenschap NL started showing and promoting the Euraxess for industry promotional material to the ESCs during the Euraxess annual conference and other initiatives targeted to the Euraxess network.
Due to the complexity of the Task 4.1 the technical expertises required and the different actors involved in this task (ERAMIND partners, AB members, ESCs, industry representatives, etc), were necessary more efforts than those initially foreseen by the technical annex. The final version of the brochure and factsheet was delivered by month 32, as stated in the technical annex.
Task 4.2 - Provision of press release
Instead of press releases, the modification has taken place in this task as to prepare a kit for the MoCs, aiming at facilitating their promotion to industry. The Impressions, suggestions and records, which have been gathered during our coordination and information sessions, have been consolidated into recommendations for ESCs while communicating industry.
Task 4.3 - Information and training material
The main objective of the Task 4.3 is the production of different kind of material (presentation template, facsimile agendas, instructions for hands-on simulation exercise, etc) for the info sessions aimed at industry and organised during the time of the project (WP2). The example material has been prepared before the first info session that took place in Warsaw (M14), with the contribution of the partners. In that occasion has been decided that the agenda of the sessions can be adapted to the events but, when possible, it should always foresee:
1. the experience of a participant of a IAPP or ITN projects, such as representative of a SME, University, Industry or researcher. This kind of projects foresees an high interaction between industry and academia.
2. the sharing of successful best practice of interaction/communication experiences between industry and academia.
3. exchange of experience and lessons learned among the ESCs in approaching industry.
4. an interactive session with the involvement of ESCs.
The material is adapted and improved after each info session. The material produced by the project (PPT presentations, agenda, instructions for exercises, etc) is made available on the Euraxess Extranet.
For the second period of the project, APRE and the project partners involved updated the example material and adapted the agenda of each Information session, accordingly to the specific needs of the audience, speakers and the ESCs.
The information sessions' agenda was initially structured around four main topics with the intention of developing it into a 'training module' that could be utilised and enhanced by the BHOs and ESCs according to their needs. The four topics was:
1. overview of industry needs and expectations: presentation of ERAMIND objectives and activities and presentation of the outcomes from the document 'Industry Participation in Euraxess; A Collection of Experiences';
2. sharing best practices: success story of good interaction between industry and academia;
3. two experiences in comparison: e.g.needs and expectations of a coordinator and a researcher involved in an IAPP/ITN project;
4. interactive session addressed to ESCs: exchange of experiences and lessons learned between a researcher in industry and an organisation hiring researchers - this proved to be the most successful format for relaying industry's needs to the Euraxess participants.
The structure and the content of the information session agenda proposed by ERAMIND has therefore been validated during the events of the projects and was particularly appreciated by the participants. For the definition of the agendas APRE work in close cooperation with IUA, in charge for the organisation of coordination meeting.
The agenda structure and the good selection of the speakers were the strong points of the Information sessions (WP2).
The training material prepared by APRE and the other partners was completed with the presentations of the speakers invited at the information sessions. The material is adapted and improved after each info session. The material produced by the project (presentations, agenda, instructions for exercises, etc) is made available on the Euraxess Extranet.
Significant achievements
Task 4.1
Euraxess for industry general brochure and factsheet finalised and new way of communication towards companies promoted.
Task 4.2
Recommendations have been prepared for ESCs while communicating industry.
Task 4.3
Training material for the information sessions updated, structure of the agenda validated during the information sessions and additional training material collected from the invited speakers.
WP5: Industry's involvement in the ERA-MORE portal
After the launch of the new portal Euraxess in 2008 the WP5 needed a revision and modification of its tasks and deliverables. The ERAMIND partners proposed different activities, in accordance to the new design and content of the Euraxess website, with the aim to guarantee an high impact of the results of the project. Therefore, with an amendment the activities foreseen by the WP5 were harmonised with the new objectives and strategies of the EC for Euraxess network and portal.
Taking into account what just explained above, the implementation of the WP5 started at month 12, with a slight delay in respect to the technical annex scheduled and the main results were delivered during the second reporting period, in particular between months 25 and 36.
Progress details of each task
Task 5.1- Mapping of portal
Task 5.1 is closely related to the Task 2.3 and Task 2.5. As foreseen by the technical annex, the Euraxess portal was deeply analysed during the coordination meetings organised and coordinated by IUA (Task 2.3) in the framework of the discussion with industry end-users and Euraxess Services Centres. The analysis of the portal was one of the key topic proposed by the ERAMIND partners during the discussion between industry end users and Services Centers (Task 2.3 and 2.5). The portal was showed in depth to the participants and the discussion focused on four key points:
1. posting a curriculum vitae (CV) / job opportunity by/for industry - Confidentiality problem
2. necessity of Industry-specific section at Euraxess portal
3. promotion of Euraxess portal to Industry
4. providing 'not legally binding answers' to industry.
The ERAMIND partners collected suggestions and opinion from participants of the coordination meetings, organised during the second reporting period and presented the outcomes to the AB periodically.
During the second reporting period IUA updated the Report D5.1. APRE and Agentschap were involved in the mapping of the portal. Agentschap contributed to the D5.1 carrying out an overview of the sections dedicated to industry on the national web portals and sharing recommendations collected with the survey (Task 3.1).
Task 5.2 - Industry emphasis in the ERAMORE portal
APRE and Agenschap were strongly involved in the development of the concept of a new section targeted to industry on the European portal. The idea to elaborate a concept of a section for industry was proposed to the project office in January 2011 with the aim to give feedback for improving the Euraxess portal and reach the project's goals.
According to the inputs received, the concept was structured taking into account:
1. the needs of industries and SMEs involved in mobility programmes or interested in recruiting researchers
2. the services provided by the Euraxess network and tailored for Industry.
After the identification of these preliminary issues, APRE and Agentschap organised a working meeting in Brussels and worked together on the first draft of the concept. After the meeting in Brussels, the partner involved focussed their attention on two main elements:
1. elaboration of a user-friendly structure for the section dedicated to companies: was identified how, in which part and when implement the new section within the European portal;
2. elaboration of an immediate and effective content for the new section: success stories, interviews, quick information on funding opportunities, etc.
The concept developed by the project will be propose to the EC as a preliminary study for the creation of a dedicated section to industry.
Task 5.3 - Web page targeted to industry
The objective of Task 5.3 was to launch a webpage that could become a model for a dedicated SMEs section on the national portals. The goal has been addressed by APRE and Agentschap with the creation and launch of a webpage dedicated to the Euraxess services and researchers mobility and target to industry. The webpage was hosted on the APRE's website in order to facilitate its updating and sustainability also after the end of ERAMIND. However, APRE according to the ERAMIND partners, agreed on moving the webpage, already launched, to a specific web-address hosted on its server, http://www.Euraxessforcompanies.eu.
The webpage was developed following the Euraxess standards and using the official logo, in order to be easily adopted by the National Euraxess portals.
The structure proposed by APRE was thought and prepared taking into account the instructions of the EC for creating a website; the Euraxess European portal; the Euraxess national portals (in particular, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France).
Agentschap, was involved in Task 5.3 providing texts and two success stories to publish on the web page. The material developed by APRE and Agenthschap (HTML file, texts, etc) will be provided to the Euraxess ESCs trough the Euraxess Extranet. After the end of ERAMIND the partners will continue in promoting the utilisation of the material delivered during the project by the Euraxess ESCs.
Significant achievements
Task 5.1
Euraxess portal analysed and short report on analysis of portal for industrial relevance prepared
Task 5.2
Concept note on development of industrial relevance section on Euraxess portal delivered
Task 5.3
Web page targeted to industry launched.
Potential impact:
WP2: It was agreed very early on that the objectives and deliverables for the project were over ambitious. There is only a certain amount that four partners can achieve with and with such an area and this was regularly recognised by the AB in its assessment of the project. However, it cannot be denied that a considerable amount of activity took place, reaching out to the Euraxess network that are mainly based in academia and do not have the time, resources or interest in expanding their services to the private sector. The most successful way of gaining 'buy in' from the network was when they were presented with real case studies from both industry organisations hiring researchers and researchers who had experienced a move from academia to industry.
The quality of the planned events improved with time and experience and they proved not only to be interesting and sometimes controversial but they broke down some of the barriers that network members have with collaborating with industry. Most importantly it definitely increased the visibility of the network and the services Euraxess can offer to those industry end users who participated and in turn to their colleagues and networks.
One of the main instruments developed within the scope of this project is the industry participation in Euraxess document. This document which was first published in 2006 has become a coherent and useful reference of examples of good practice which can be adopted by any member of the Euraxess network by adjusting it to their own national context and research landscape.
One of the most enlightening results is the development of a number of the ERAMIND outcomes and results within the framework of the Euraxess TOP II project. This project, following on from TOP I, plans to increase the use of Euraxess services by industry. It will provide specialist training in this area to be delivered at major workshops for the ethnic Euraxess network members.
There are pleas to pilot a web portal interface for Euraxess directed specifically at industry users. This will not be a european portal, rather it will be delivered by each network member, tailored to their own regional and national industry requirements.
All of the industry relevant work to be carried out in TOP II will rely heavily upon the outcomes of the ERAMIND project. Already one of the TOP II WP leaders has participated in the September ERAMIND Advising Board meeting. Some of the participants in ERAMIND will also participate in TOP II. This will ensure an effective transfer of knowledge.
This in itself can be seen as a great success for the ERAMIND project and it will ensure that much of the groundwork, interaction with the network members and industry during the planned events and the surveys developed will be used and carried on in another project which has a much wider far reaching number of participants that can stimulate results with the private sector.
WP3: The AB (task 3.3) is considered a positive outcome of the project. The AB members gave very useful comments and suggestions to the project team, which were examined and implemented in different tasks through all of the WPs in the project and which will be ready as advice also for future activities of the Euraxess network.
Tasks 3.1 and 3.2 did not yield the impact that had been aimed and hoped for. In all ERAMIND activities, but especially in these tasks, the uptake by the entire network of the facilities provided by the four partners of the ERAMIND consortium was crucial. Task 3.1 and 3.2 were based on virtual discussion and sharing of information. Practice has shown that this form of communication is not the most effective for the target group of ESCs and industry end-users. Not all ESCs demonstrated an intrinsic reason for wishing to enhance links with the private sector and an extrinsic reason, such as for example in the form of a monitoring of their performance in this respect, could not be introduced.
Notwithstanding the disappointing uptake of the forum and the survey, there were some valuable contributions. The project as a whole did contribute significantly to the overall WP3 aim of networking and exchange of expertise among Euraxess Service Centres, but this was most prominently done during the face-to-face meetings in WP2 (lead by IUA, with contributions from all partners), which were considered very useful.
WP4: All the activities foreseen by the WP4 has been successfully reached. The partners involved took particular attention on two aspects came out during the time of the project:
1. Tailor all the activities and deliverables of WP4 on the Industry needs of information, assistance and services;
2. Consider different key actors point of views (entrepeneurs, industrial organisation, EC and Eraxess network);
3. Validate the results obtained in the first 15 months of the project (e.g. Task 4.3).
During the second period (from month 16 to 36) the main challenge faced by the ERAMIND partners in all the tasks of WP4 was the choice of 'the right language' in order to achieve 'the best communication' towards companies.
Moreover, the results reached in the WPs 4 can go beyond the objectives identified in the technical annex. Therefore, added values for the WP4 were:
1. the idea behind was to 'inform and link' Companies and the Euraxess ESCs. The brochure and the factsheet were thought as a 'communication tools' and not only a promotional material;
2. the tasks implemented and the deliverables reached in WP4 contributed in filling the existing gap between Euraxess network and companies;
3. the involvement of key actors in the preparation of the promotional material, collecting their inputs during the Cordination meetings (entrepeneurs, Euraxess ESCs and Bridgehead organisations, researchers, industrial organisations, etc) and from the ABs members, allowed to produce more targeted deliverables;
4. the ERAMIND partners guarantee the availability of the promotional material on the Euraxess Extranet: the Euraxess ESCs can use the tools delivered by ERAMIND for enhancing communication towards Companies.
The WP4 was characterised with the intention of developing new tools for enhance communication towards SME's and, on the other hand, for improving skills of the Euraxess ESCs. Therefore, it is important to highight that the main beneficiaries of the WP4 results are the Euraxess network. So, since the beginning of the project the ERAMIND partners understood the necessity to make the project results available to the Euraxess network.
The presence in the consortium of an Euraxess Bridgehead organisation (IUA) and the active role of APRE, Agentschap NL and Tubitak in the Euraxess network and also in other european networks (e.g Enterprise Europe network, etc) will assure a good dissemination and utilisation of the Task 4.1 results also after the end of ERAMIND.
WP5: The difficulties initially encountered by the ERAMIND partners in carrying out the WP5 tasks were completely dissipated during the second period of the project.
APRE and the other partners involved reached the expected results and impact.
The activities carried out and the outputs of the WP were presented during the last AB meeting and the deliverables will be give at the ESCs disposal.
List of websites:
An external website for the project was not created in order to contribute to the synergy of the ESCs in Euraxess Extranet. Therefore, all the information and usable materials are uploaded to the Extranet.
ERAMIND project, which was conducted between 2008-2011, aimed to improve the overall competence of the Euraxess network in services provided to industry and to facilitate the cooperation between Euraxess members on this issue; as the follow up of the study and working document entitled 'Industry Participation in Eramore, A collection of ERAMIND (European Research Area - Mobile Researchers in Industry) project, which was conducted between 2008 and 2011, aimed to improve the overall competence of the Euraxess network in services provided to industry and to facilitate the cooperation between Euraxess members on this issue; as the follow up of the study and working document entitled 'Industry Participation in Eramore, A collection of experiences' which had been published in November 2006.
These objectives has been achieved through:
1. a network of industry end-users
2. raising awareness of industry needs and expectations in Euraxess via targeted meetings
3. exchange of expertise and networking among ESCs in serving industry
4. preparing useful tools for Euraxess members.
ERAMIND consortium has realised coordination meetings with industry representatives and Euraxess network members, at which they had to chance to discuss the possible collaborations. Industry representatives expressed their needs and expectations from Euraxess and Euraxess network members presented their services. These meetings proved to be most successful tool in presenting the Euraxess to industry, as well as learning how to improve Euraxess services to industry.
With the help of interaction with industry representatives in various platforms; like advisory board (AB) meetings of the project, coordination meetings between industry and Euraxess network members, surveys and industry end users network; ERAMIND has developed implications to be employed in Euraxess network while communicating with industry. The further studies of the issue will be followed up in Euraxess TOP2 project.
Project context and objectives:
Work package one (WP1): project management
1. to facilitate efficient execution of the project within time and budget limits, by structuring the internal communication among partners, as well as European Commission (EC) and organisation of management committee meetings (MCM).
WP2: Raising awareness of industry needs and expectations
1. to develop an analysis of industry's specific needs and expectations in relation to the services provided by Euraxess and production of a mapping study report. To update the mapping report/ Industry participation document analysing industry's specific needs and expectations in relation to Euraxess services provision.
2. to establish a network of industry end-users across various industrial sectors and countries to enhance communication between industry stakeholders and the Euraxess network. To develop the established network of industry end-users across various industrial sectors and countries to enhance communication between industry stakeholders and the Euraxess network.
3. organisation of coordination meetings between Industry end-users and services centres for improved communication, exchange of best practice, the dissemination of Euraxess Services and analysis of the European portal for researchers and organisations in the private sector.
4. delivery of information sessions throughout the network to ensure industry's needs are identified and catered for and Euraxess has increased visibility to the private sector.
WP3: Exchange of expertise and networking among mobility centres (MoCs)
1. to carry out a survey among the industry end-users identified in WP2 for identifying the best practices of cooperation between industry and Euraxess members.
2. to establish a forum specifically for Euraxess Services Centres (ESCs) and industry to exchange views and answer questions on mobility of researchers within the industry and cooperation between Euraxess and industry.
3. to establish an AB consisting of six representatives from the industry end-users. The group is chaired by an expert in mobility of researchers in Europe. The purpose of the AB is to give input to the project and monitor its progress and usefulness for industry.
4. to organise annual meetings of the AB aimed at assessing the efficiency of Industry-ESC cooperation and making recommendations.
WP4: Industry toolkit for Euraxess members
1. to develop a brochure and fact sheets for promoting the services of the ESCs to industry. The material produced by the project is made available for the use of the Euraxess network members in order to improve the promotion and the utilisation of the Euraxess services by the industry sector.
2. to prepare example material for the info sessions (WP2) and aimed at ESCs and industry. The training material is made available to the network trough the Extranet of the Euraxess portal.
3. increase the awareness of ESCs services to industry through the updating of the promotional kit ('EURAXESS for Industry' general brochure and the 'Factsheet for Industry') according to the AB inputs and the coordination meetings (WP2) outputs
4. facilitate the promotion of the ESCs activities developing a Press kit
5. enhance the ESCs skills updating the example training material already available and collecting new material and success stories.
WP5: Industry involvement in Euraxess portal
1. to raise awareness of Industry concerning Euraxess by developing a concept of a specific section targeted to industry on the European portal and a web page dedicated to the Euraxess services and researchers mobility targeted to industry.
2. to collect suggestions and opinions on the Euraxess portal useful for task 5.2 and 5.3. The portal was analysed during the coordination meeting, with the participation of industry end-users and ESCs.
3. to promote among the bridgehead srganisations (BHO) the adoption of a standard model (template and standard pages) to make the national portal more attractive for industry.
Project results:
WP1: project management
The activities under this WPduring the first period, has been realised in order to set up the most efficient lines of communication among partners. For the e-mail and file exchanges, a virtual communication group has been set-up under Google Groups facility; as eramind@googlegroups.com The Google Groups facility has been chosen because it provides an efficient environment for e-mail exchanges, archiving the exchanged e-mails, broad capacity for file upload/download and a trustable server. Tubitak has also set up an umbrella e-mail account as eramind@tubitak.gov.tr which is distributed to the individual e-mail addresses of all the Euraxess Turkey team, including the superior officials of the respondent department in Tubitak. The logo of the project and the templates for presentations and reports have been designed in-house by Tubitak.
The kick-off and first MCM of the project has been organised in Istanbul, Turkey on 19 December 2008, which provided the initial discussion and decisions for the execution of the project. The partners have shared their plans and ideas in each WP.
Despite the fact that the management meetings have been designed to include two sessions, one being open to all Euraxess network partners and the other being restricted to consortium. Euraxess network partners have not been interested in joining the management meetings on their own cost, so there emerged a need to discuss the project activities with Euraxess network members at another platform. During the Euraxess Postdam conference in Germany, between 16 and 18 March 2009; with the initiative of EC, a special session has been organised in order to share the views, plans and activities of the project with other Euraxess network members.
In August 2009, the responsibility of the project has been shifted to Tubitak's Science, Technology and Innovation Policies Department, together with the responsibility of Euraxess Turkey team. This shift has enabled the work to be more efficient and focussed, under the Policies Department being more close to senior management of Tubitak, directly reporting to the President. The new coordination team of Tubitak has organised the second MCM in The Hague, the Netherlands on 28 October 2009. In Hague, the progress of the project has been assessed by the project partners and it was decided that another MCM shall be organised in order to ensure the efficacy of the planning. At the meeting in Hague, templates for the first reporting period and financial administration of the project have been presented to the project partners by the coordinator. Upon the issues raised decisions taken during the meeting, the third MCM has been organised in Warsaw, Poland on 23 November 2009. During this third meeting, all the work in each WPhas been discussed by the consortium and initiatives to ensure the completion of the activities has been determined.
The suggestion and decision of the consortium is that a plan shall be prepared by Tubitak, in order to ensure efficient communication within the consortium. For the upcoming period of the project, it is planned that a method will be developed to increase the interaction among partners, Euraxess network and EC.
The submission of the official reports for the first period has been delayed, due to technical problems with the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) reporting tool and planning of the activities at the starting period of the project, beginning from 1 November 2008. However, the reports reflect the actualisation of significant part of the planned activities and additional plans in order to foster the effectiveness and structure. Each WPleader has prepared all the aspects included in this report related with their lead WP; the report has been consolidated by the coordinator.
The coordination of the project has been very challenging during the last period with the two countering factors: the slow procedure and technical difficulties for reporting and amendment versus the enthusiastic and ambitious consortium. In 2010, the coordination and execution of the managerial tasks has been through e-mail exchange, as well as informally during the coordination and training sessions. In 2011, two MCM have taken place, one being actual and the other being virtual. Two presentations and questions and answers (Q&A) sessions have been made to Euraxess BHOs in 2010 and 2011. The amendment for the extension of the project has taken more time than expected and the consortium had no confirmation for the acceptance during the extended time. This has forced the consortium to make some of the activities virtually, via e-mail exchange or via teleconference, in order to avoid risk of making unacceptable costs.
Progress details of each task
Task 1.1: Relations with EC and other stakeholders
Communication of important aspects about the activities of the project in the first period has been made during Euraxess-related events and meetings. An initial assessment has been made with EC officials and Euraxess members during Euraxess Postdam conference in March 2009. The special session enabled the members of the consortium, other EC funded Euraxess projects and Euraxess members to share views, suggestions and comments on the project.
During the first quarter of 2010, EC was in close contact with the project due to the technical issues of uploading of reports. In 2011, the consortium has made a MCM with the project officer, assessing and discussing the workplan and ways to improve the results.
Task 1.2: MCM
As already mentioned, three MCM were organised during the first reporting period of the project, in Turkey, the Netherlands and Poland. In 2010, there has been an attempt to organise the MCM in Dublin, Ireland on 11 November 2010. However, this had to be cancelled due to visa formalities of Ireland to Turkish government officials and service passports, informed by Irish authorities in Turkey as to take normally two months.
In 2011, the consortium has organised a MCM on 10 January 2011 with the project officer, Ms Fehringer. All the tasks and deliverables were discussed and suggestions for improving the outcome have been turned into an amendment for extension of the duration of the project. At the end of the project, the MCM was organised on 28 to 30 September 2011 virtually via e-mail exchange, due to lack of certainty of the extension and to avoid costs. The meeting was on final reporting templates, activity and financial based templates.
Task 1.3 Information note for Euraxess members
During the first period, two information notes were prepared in December 2008 and March 2009. The information notes were electronically distributed to the e-mailing lists of the partners and Euraxess network.
However during the last period, in order to increase effectiveness, instead of information notes, there has been two presentations to the Euraxess BHOs. On 23 June 2010, ERAMIND and the material which can be used by Euraxess network members have been presented to BHOs during BHO workshop of Euraxess TOP project. Additionally, during the BHO meeting on 30-31 May 2011, ERAMIND project and implementation of its results by Euraxess have been presented to BHOs.
Task 1.4 Analysis and reporting
Each partner prepared the WPreports for the periodic reporting, as well as financial reports for management report.
Significant achievements
Task 1.1
ERAMIND special session has been organised within Euraxess Postdam conference on 17 March 2009 and project activities has been presented to and discussed with Euraxess network members.
The work plan and some tasks of the project have been discussed by EC. Some modifications have taken place in order to better execution of the project and to improve the quality of the results of the project.
Task 1.2
Five MCM have been realised, namely 19 December 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey; 28 October 2009 in the Hague, the Netherlands; 23 November 2009 in Warsaw, Poland; 10 January 2011, Brussels, Belgium; 28 to 30 September 2011, virtually via internet.
Task 1.3
Two information notes have been prepared and disseminated in November 2008 (month two) and March 2009 (month six). Two presentations and Q&A sessions have been made to BHOs, on 23 June 2010, Brussels, Belgium and 30 and 31 May 2011, Brussels, Belgium.
Task 1.4
For the first period, interim progress reports were prepared in April 2009 and periodic reports of the project have been prepared in March 2009. For the last period, periodic report and final report of the project have been prepared in November 2011
WP2: Raising awareness of industry needs and expectations
With the main objective of determining the specific needs and expectations of industry from ESCs, the mapping document was delivered on schedule and was produced to determine needs already identified in previous Euraxess network initiatives and will be updated over the course of the ERAMIND project. This exercise complements the work planned within the project timeframe and the updated version of the 'Industry Participation in Eramore: A collection of experiences' document.
A number of initiatives have been carried out to identify the network of industry end users - some of whom have actively participated in the information/coordination meetings and other tasks in WP3. Tasks 2.3 and 2.5 have been re-scheduled according to availability of services centres. A number of coordination meetings and Information sessions have been organised jointly, in order to ensure maximum use of resources, combined objectives and as a cost effective measure. There is a large amount of activity from all the partners in relation to each of the tasks, specifically Task 2.4 - Information campaign - a detailed note on these activities has been included in the annex.
WP2 reached all of its objectives in not just raising awareness of industry expectations and needs but also established a more effective way for the Euraxess network to approach and work with the private sector and researchers in industry via the information and coordination meeting activities. The regularly updated mapping document served as a key instrument in informing the content of the joint information sessions and coordination meetings. As the document grew in content and analysis, the format and content of the planned events became more relevant and developed to assist the Euraxess network members in identifying industry's needs and expectations.
The joint information sessions and coordination meetings were a key achievement in the project and these activities had such an impact due to the dedication and involvement from each of the partners. Most importantly, it was the level and participation of those industry network partners who took time out of their own busy schedules to travel and participate in the events, share their experiences that greatly informed the Euraxess network and the project partners. One of the most interesting activities of the session was the interative discussion between a representative from a research organisation and a researcher working in industry. This served as a catalyst in creating interest for the network members and enabled a rich sharing of knowledge and learning encouraging increased collaboration and hopefully enhanced provision of Euraxess services to industry.
Progress details of each task
Task 2.1: Mapping industry needs and expectations
The aim of the mapping study is to provide a better understanding of the needs and expectations across the broad range of industry stakeholders. In addition the document informs the development of activities planned within this project, which in turn will enhance delivery of ERAMIND objectives. This is a working document and will be updated over the duration of the project. In addition, the 'Industry Participation in Eramore: A collection of experiences' has been updated with input from each partner and will be further updated with results and sharing of good practice within the coordination meetings with industry end-users and services centres; AB input and recommendations; planned information/training sessions to the network and survey results. The benchmarking report from WP3 will be later included in the D2.1 as part of SenterNovem's activities. Each of the partners updated the country specific sections in the document 'Industry participation in ERAMORE: A Collection of experiences', which feeds in the document on the Mapping of industry needs and expectations.
Valuable material and analysis was collated during the coordination sessions to enhance the mapping activities and industry participation document. In addition, the document was reviewed by a number of the network of industry end users, Euraxess network members and the AB. The final version of the document contains additional country specific practices from some of the networks that were successfully reached as part of the ERAMIND Information and coordination sessions.
Task 2.2: Identification of industry end users
A network of industry end-users has been identified and utilised, but will expand over the lifetime of the project. To date, the network has been developed with input from each of the partners and in response to a request to the Euraxess network for the identification of participants. In addition, many of the candidates not short-listed from the AB nominations accepted an invitation. A lot of effort in this task has been made in targeting a large pool of network members to ensure that their time commitment is kept to a minimum - i.e. invited to attend one organised coordination meeting and training session over the course of the project. For the purpose of this report, three of the network participated in the ERAMIND event in Warsaw and provided some advice in relation to the various activities (such as the information material, Report and survey). SenterNovem participated in the identification of industry end users by collecting possible participants to the network in the Netherlands, as well as from Europe. The latter one was done in connection with the identification of AB members. There was some success in contacting AB nominees however a number of those approached did not respond to the invitation. The network has been advised of events scheduled for 2010 and it is hoped that a large number of the users can participate in all activities including the survey and e-forum developed as part of WP3.
The initial network was established and the corresponding deliverable reached in the first reporting period. It was still important to develop the network for the duration of the project. Greater effort was needed to identify additional members as many who joined in the first phase of the project proved either inactive, were unable to dedicate time to the activities when requested and some simply did not respond to invitations to participate in the WP3 activities such as the surveys and forum and WP2 events. The network gathered momentum as the project activities grew within the framework of the combined Information Sessions and coordination meetings. As a result those who proved active and interested members were those participating in the organised events. They were keen to continue to work with the project once they gained firsthand knowledge of the broad range of services provided by Euraxess and the level of interest in ERAMIND.
New cohorts of network members were reached from ERAMIND partners participating at meetings/seminars at European Union (EU) level, collaboration with other activities/projects at national and EU level (REAP collaboration in Ireland and I-SEE Mob project) and through word of mouth from successful industry organisations. This enhanced the visibility and recommendation of the services offered by Euraxess to both organisations and researchers in the private sector and proved hugely beneficial to the success of the project.
Task 2.3 Organisation of coordination meetings between industry end users and MoCs
This task aims to network the service centres and the industry end users for exchange of best practices and dissemination of information - through coordination meetings. The first meeting took place in Warsaw on 24 November 2009 and was arranged in collaboration with the first training session in task 2.5. The theme of the discussion was the effectiveness of Euraxess portal in terms of helping about industry needs (to feed into WP5) and the Survey developed in WP3. For the most part, the event was quite successful and a number of key messages for approaching and addressing the needs of industry were achieved (see D2.3 minutes attached). Three of the network of industry end users participated in this event - Israel, France and Poland/Ireland. A number of industry representatives from Poland also participated in the discussion. SenterNovem helped with input to IUA on the topics and logistics regarding the first coordination meeting which took place in Warsaw.
The coordination meetings combined with the Information sessions are considered to be one of the most successful activities in realising the objectives of the project by continuing to network the service centres and the industry end users for exchange of best practices and dissemination of information. The 2010 events took place with the Italian network in Trieste in collaboration with the Area science park initiative in May with participation from the EC and in November with the Spanish network in Madrid. The Trieste event proved to be most effective in attracting new industry network members and a lot of the content planned for the coordination meeting was delivered within the framework of the information session on the same day. In addition, this event included EC participation and the portal discussion enabled a two way process of learning and sharing information. It was a key event that enabled the EC to gather feedback and participate in discussion from the private sector's perspective and its use for the Euraxess portal.
It should also be acknowledged that an additional meeting had been scheduled to take place in Thessaloniki in April 2010 which was unfortunately cancelled at the last minute due to the Ash Cloud disaster. Considerable effort, planning and resources had gone into making this event a success and the positive outcome was that the last event of the project was realised in Thessaloniki in 2011.
2011 proved successful with collaborative efforts nationally with the REAP project in Waterford, Ireland in February 2011, the Estonian network in Tallinn in March 2011 and finally with the Greek network and I-SEE Mob partners in Thessaloniki in July 2011.
One of the key objectives in the coordination meetings was the assessment of portal and its suitability for industry. Suggestions and analysis from each of these meetings formed the framework for the portal mapping task 5.1 in WP5.
Task 2.4. Information campaigns
Each of the partners have committed to promoting both the network and the ERAMIND project in as many ways as possible - participation at events, by electronic format and through the network of industry end users. This activity is interlinked with Task 4.1 and ensures the distribution of the following material prepared:
1. ERAMIND brochure
2. factsheets for Industry
3. foster developed to foster industry's awareness of services provide by Euraxess.
During the second period, the posters and brochures of the project were made available at these events:
1. BHO workshop (EURAXESS TOP project), 23 June 2010, Brussels, Belgium
2. BHO Meeting, 30 and 31 March 2011, Brussels, Belgium
Task 2.5 Information (formerly 'Training') sessions for ESCs
Agreement was reached at the kick off meeting to rename the training sessions to 'Information sessions'. The aim is to provide new tools to the Services Centres in order to improve their services for specific clients: Industries and SMEs. Services Centres are informed on how to approach industries and are encouraged to facilitate researcher mobility between industry and academia. To do that, is important that Services Centres know industry's needs and learn the right way to approach industries and then adapt their assistance to their industry clients. In addition, services centres are shown ways in which to target industry and utilise tools such as free job opportunities facility on the Euraxess portal to encourage participation.
The ERAMIND team delivered its first information/training session at the Potsdam conference in March 2008 and the preparation for this event has provided a framework for future information sessions over the course of the project. It also gave the team ideas on where improvements could be made in delivering official sessions, of which there will be five in total. Both SenterNovem and IUA played a key role in designing the content and the delivery of the interactive session and it proved to be quite an effective session. All of the partners participated as trainers in the training, by presenting each WP, as well as participating in an interactive part of the session. Tubitak participated in the organisation and delivery of the session.
As mentioned in Task 2.3 the next information session was organised on the same day as the coordination meeting in Warsaw on 24 November. APRE, SenterNovem and IUA participated in the event as presenters and trainers. Tubitak took an active role in recording minutes and outcomes of the event.
Further on, SenterNovem organised together with APRE the training in Warsaw, where it took part as a trainer in an interactive part of the training: 'Making Euraxess services attractive to industry'. Description and report from the interactive session is attached.
As discussed in Task 2.3 information sessions were generally delivered in conjuction with the coordination meetings, except for the event in Waterford in February 2011. Therefore 2010 information sessions were delivered in Italy and Spain. Euraxess networks in Estonia and Greece hosted the remaining two sessions in 2011.
The information sessions were mainly targeted to the ESCs. However, in order to encourage networking and exchange of experience the invitation was extended to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), industry representatives and industrial organisations participating in the afternoon coordination sessions. Therefore the private sector learnt about the services provided by Euraxess in addition to success cases and the Service Centres gained from learning about industry's needs and expectations.
The information sessions organised in 2010 and 2011 followed the structure developed by APRE, with the support of IUA and Agentshap NL and validated during the first training session in Warsaw (24 November 2009). The information sessions agenda was structured around four main topics for addressing the objectives of this task:
1. overview of industry needs and expectations: presentation of ERAMIND objectives and activities and presentation of the outcomes from the document 'Industry Participation in Euraxess; A Collection of Experiences';
2. sharing best practices: success story of good interaction between industry and academia;
3. two experiences in comparison: e.g.needs and expectations of a coordinator and a researcher involved in an IAPP/ITN project;
4. interactive session addressed to ESCs: exchange of experiences and lessons learned between a researcher in industry and an organisation hiring researchers - this proved to be the most successful format for relaying industry's needs to the Euraxess participants.
The agenda has been structured with the intention of developing it into a 'training module' that could be utilised and enhanced by the BHOs and ESCs according to their needs and research landscape beyond the lifecycle of the ERAMIND project - therefore adding to the tools for dealing with industry.
For each topic, APRE and the ERAMIND partners selected and invited speakers that contributed to the positive result of the information sessions. Many of the speakers were members of the network of industry end users and proved significant providing added value for the ESCs, the SMEs and industry representatives that attended the events.
The information sessions, together with the coordination meetings, were one of the most successful activities carried out during the ERAMIND project and commended both from the organisations that hosted the events and the participants representing Euraxess, the private sector and of course, the researcher community.
The outputs of the information sessions are contained in the official Minutes prepared by the ERAMIND partners and have been taken into consideration in the updated industry participation document as well as impacting other tasks in the project (e.g. WP4 and WP5).
In addition to the planned information sessions, IUA and Agentschap NL increased efforts in the delivery of three additional sessions. These took place within the framework of the Euraxess TOP winter workshop in Croatia in December 2010, the Euraxess bi-annual conference in March 2011 and at the Hungarian Presidency conference in June 2011 - each of which proved successful in raising awareness and increased visibility.
Significant achievements
Task 2.1
D2.1 Industry participation handbook mapping document finalised with updates from partners and country specific cases collated at the Information Sessions and coordination meetings
Task 2.2
D2.2 network of industry end-users identified, participation from some members in information/coordination sessions. Regularly encourage active participation in Survey and functionality of e-forum. network of industry end users increased and utilised as speakers in training sessions and experts in coordination meetings
Task 2.3
D2.3 Successful completion of coordination meetings in conjunction with information sessions in Task 2.5. This included enhanced collaboration and shared knowledge with other projects in this remit at national and EU level
Task 2.4
D2.4 ERAMIND was presented to network members and implementation of the results were discussed
Task 2.5
D2.5 Successful delivery of information sessions in conjunction with coordination meetings in Task 2.3. In addition, sessions delivered at training workshops for the Euraxess network and a presidency conference
Overall, awareness of Euraxess to industry/ private sector was increased via:
1. enhanced skills and knowledge throughout Euraxess network
2. EC have greater awareness of industry needs!
3. greater two way communication and interaction
4. improved awareness of issues for researchers in industry and academia.
WP3: Exchange of expertise and networking among MoCs
Considering the first period, the survey and the forum are both online and have been widely publicised. The response rate to the survey and the active participation on the forum was not optimal. Additional efforts will be made throughout the project duration to improve participation to the survey and the forum. The AB was nominated and a first meeting took place on 28 October 2009 in the Hague, the Netherlands. The AB gave very useful comments to the project team, which will be examined and implemented accordingly in different tasks through all of the WPs in the project.
The AB was installed and actively contributed input for the project.
Unfortunately, tasks 3.1 and 3.2 did not yield the impact that had been aimed and hoped for. The survey (3.1) and the forum (3.2) were both published online and widely publicised. The response rate to the survey and the active participation on the forum were both far from optimal, despite additional efforts to improve participation to the survey and the forum.
Progress details of each task
Task 3.1: Benchmark cooperation between MoCs and industry L%
The aim of this task was to map best practice examples of cooperation between ESCs and companies. The project team decided to develop, in addition to the survey addressed at the industry end-users, also a survey asking ESCs directly about their contacts with industry. This activity was added in order to aim for optimal coverage of the state of play on this issue. Therefore, two versions of a survey questionnaire were developed, one aimed at ESCs and one aimed at companies. The surveys were published on-line using the 'SurveyMonkey' software and facility, which is well-tested and user-friendly for the respondents. Since the number of responses was below expectation, the team sent out many reminders and used also face-to-face meetings, such as those of Euraxess service centres/BHO's or ERAMIND meetings with industry end-users, to increase the response rate. Please see deliverable 3.1 for the findings of this survey.
Task 3.2: networking MoCs and industry
The team discussed at length about the most suitable form and structure for the Forum and the most user-friendly, low-threshold solution was aimed for. For ESCs the best place to hold the forum would be the Euraxess Extranet, but it was not possible for companies to access this. The most visibility would be if the Forum were hosted on the public Euraxess website of the Commission, but this cannot be administered by anybody outside the Commission. So an external portal had to be found. The most efficient and user-friendly provider was identified in PHPBB and the forum was established in June 2009 at the address http://www.eramind-forum.eu/phpbb/ with the following sections: Euraxess support, Better and efficient Euraxess support to industry, Funding, Researcher in industry, How to find researchers for industry vs. How to find a good industrial employer, Industry-Academia collaboration, Legal issues, Problems, Success stories, Events, Links, Other.
However, this e-forum was not visited sufficiently and it had a low impact on improving networking between ESCs and industry. Following advice from the AB, which indicated that an e-forum was not the most user-friendly option, a new approach was decided on. The networking occasions were merged with the face-to-face meetings between ESCs and industry end-users under WP2. At the same time, so as not to abandon completely the idea of an on-line forum, a discussion group was created on LinkedIn, since this was seen as being easier to access and with a lower psychological threshold, since many people are already active on LinkedIn. For further detail please see deliverable 3.2.
Task 3.3 Organise AB meetings
For this task, an AB was set up and three meetings were organised throughout the project duration. AB gave input to the project and monitored its progress and usefulness for industry. The members, from outside the project consortium, provided the project team with comments, advice, assistance and constructive criticism.
The first meeting of the AB was organised on 28 October 2009, jointly with the project management meeting, in the Hague, the Netherlands. The second meeting was convened on 18 November 2010, in Madrid. A third meeting was scheduled to take place in Rome on 20 September 2011, but since there was uncertainty about the successful outcome of the contract amendment postponing the project end date (and consequently the end date for eligibility of costs for the project), this physical meeting had to be cancelled one week before the scheduled date and took place by telephone conference.
Significant achievements
Task 3.1
Report on benchmark study: an intermediate and a final version of this report with recommendations and best practice identified was produced.
Task 3.2
Info note on establishment and usage frequency of the forum was prepared
Task 3.3
AB meetings were organised and advice from AB members taken on board for an effective implementation of the project tasks.
WP4:
The main objectives of WP4 were reached and all the tasks delivered. The activities implementation followed the timing foreseen in the technical annex for the second period of the project (months 16 to 36). APRE (WP leader), Tubitak and Agentschap, the Netherlands were the partners mainly involved in WP4.
The WP4 foresees both the production of promotional material and training material for the info sessions (WP2). The main objective of the WP4 is to provide to the ESCs useful tools in order to inform and to improve their competences in attracting and supporting industries in the utilisation of the Euraxess services. The toolkit developed by the project aims also at facilitating networking activities between Euraxess and Industry. In this perspective, the main beneficiaries of the deliverables of WP4 are the ESCs that can download and share the toolkit trough the Euraxess portal Extranet. The indirect beneficiaries of this task are SMEs, big industries, representatives of industry associations, researchers and in general industry end-users.
The main tasks of WP4 has been delivered. The promotional material (brochure and poster) has been developed by APRE in the first eight months (from month three to month eight) of the project with the contributions of the partners. The training material has been developed and defined in occasion of the first info session in Warsaw (months 10 to 13). All the material produced by APRE has been updated and improved during the time of the project taking into account:
1. the inputs of the ABs;
2. the suggestions produced during the first info session in Warsaw (24th November 2009) and the ERAMIND interactive session in Potsdam (17 March 2009)
3. the target audience (mainly industry).
The deliverables will be updated continually till the end of the project and shared with the ESCs trough the Euraxess Extranet.
During the second period of the project APRE and Agentschap NL defined a more focused key message of the promotional material, identified the target audiences, edited a more effective content and created a new and more appealing graphic layout. Particular attention was given in the identification of the right 'language' for assuring an effective communication towards SMEs and companies.
The promotional material developed in the first six months of the project was utilised as a basis for the preparation of the final version of the brochure and the factsheet. According to the project officer and the ERAMIND partners inputs, was decided to put efforts on the achievement of two good quality communication tools: the Euraxess for industry brochure and factsheet.
About the Task 4.3 APRE and the project partners involved updated the example material and adapted the agenda of each Information session, accordingly to the specific needs of the audience, the speakers and the ESCs invited.
Progress details of each task
Task 4.1 - Development of ERAMORE brochure and factsheets aimed at industry
The aim of this task is to produce promotional material that can be used by ESCs to promote their services to industry. Services Centers can use, translate and adapt the promotional material developed by ERAMIND. APRE is task leader.
APRE has elaborated the graphic lay out and text for brochure and poster and the template for power point presentations. The peculiarity of the promotional material is that is 'industry oriented': content, information and 'language' has been selected to attract and interest industry. The first version of the promotional material has been developed taking into account the material already available, such as material produced by ESCs (brochure, leaflet, etc) and has also been the results of a fruitful discussion among the partners.
APRE has taken a lot of useful information and inputs for the elaboration of the first version of the promotional material during the interactive session organised by ERAMIND in Potsdam, within the annual Euraxess conference (17 March 2009).
The first version of the promotional material was showed to the AB during its first meeting (28 October 2009, the Hague) and then discussed by the AB members. APRE is reviewing the first version on the basis of comments and suggestions provided by the AB. The second version of the promotional material will be discussed within the consortium.
Due to the number of good quality materials and information, on Euraxess services, produced and spread by the ESCs and the EC, APRE call the attention of the partners to the opportunity to produce, or not, the factsheet, as stated in the technical annex. APRE asked to re-think the activities in WP2 on the basis of the new scenario created after the launch of the new Euraxess portal. At the moment is available only a rough draft of factsheet template.
The consortium has accordingly decided to postpone the printing of the promotional material after the finalisation of the definitive version. The consortium will continue to involve the AB and collect their comments.
Due to the complexity of the Task 4.1 and the different subjects (ERAMIND partners, AB members, ESCs, industry representatives, etc) involved in this task, were necessary much more efforts and time than those foreseen by the technical annex and consequently was necessary postpone the deliverable 4.1 from month four to month six.
For the second period of the project the aims of this task were:
1. involve key actors (both Industry representatives, as target audience and Euraxess ESCs, as direct beneficiaries of the promotional material) and collect their inputs for elaborating effective communication tools
2. finalise the promotional material
3. start promoting the material developed by ERAMIND among the Euraxess network that can use, translate and adapt the promotional material.
APRE was task leader. Agentschap NL was the partner mainly involved in this task, especially for the preparation of the factsheet.
In respect to the first period of the project, some changes was introduced in this Task. Following the APRE's request to update the WP2 activities on the basis of the new scenario created after the launch of the Euraxess portal and agreed with the project officer, efforts was focused on delivering an 'EURAXESS for industry general brochure' and a 'Factsheet'.
The poster, initially foreseen in the technical annex, was not considered a strategic tool for Industry target audience.
APRE elaborated a new graphic lay-out taking into account the Guidelines developed by Euraxess. Many efforts were given to make the content direct, lean and effective.
Agenthscap NL was in charge for the creation of a Euraxess factsheet for industry. On the basis of its experience in working with companies at national level, Agentschap NL elaborated content and text of the factsheet.
APRE and Agentschap NL took constantly into consideration the inputs came out from the four coordination meetings hold during the second period of the project.
The final version of the promotional material was sent to the AB for collecting their comments. No additional changes were made afterwards.
Agenschap NL started showing and promoting the Euraxess for industry promotional material to the ESCs during the Euraxess annual conference and other initiatives targeted to the Euraxess network.
Due to the complexity of the Task 4.1 the technical expertises required and the different actors involved in this task (ERAMIND partners, AB members, ESCs, industry representatives, etc), were necessary more efforts than those initially foreseen by the technical annex. The final version of the brochure and factsheet was delivered by month 32, as stated in the technical annex.
Task 4.2 - Provision of press release
Instead of press releases, the modification has taken place in this task as to prepare a kit for the MoCs, aiming at facilitating their promotion to industry. The Impressions, suggestions and records, which have been gathered during our coordination and information sessions, have been consolidated into recommendations for ESCs while communicating industry.
Task 4.3 - Information and training material
The main objective of the Task 4.3 is the production of different kind of material (presentation template, facsimile agendas, instructions for hands-on simulation exercise, etc) for the info sessions aimed at industry and organised during the time of the project (WP2). The example material has been prepared before the first info session that took place in Warsaw (M14), with the contribution of the partners. In that occasion has been decided that the agenda of the sessions can be adapted to the events but, when possible, it should always foresee:
1. the experience of a participant of a IAPP or ITN projects, such as representative of a SME, University, Industry or researcher. This kind of projects foresees an high interaction between industry and academia.
2. the sharing of successful best practice of interaction/communication experiences between industry and academia.
3. exchange of experience and lessons learned among the ESCs in approaching industry.
4. an interactive session with the involvement of ESCs.
The material is adapted and improved after each info session. The material produced by the project (PPT presentations, agenda, instructions for exercises, etc) is made available on the Euraxess Extranet.
For the second period of the project, APRE and the project partners involved updated the example material and adapted the agenda of each Information session, accordingly to the specific needs of the audience, speakers and the ESCs.
The information sessions' agenda was initially structured around four main topics with the intention of developing it into a 'training module' that could be utilised and enhanced by the BHOs and ESCs according to their needs. The four topics was:
1. overview of industry needs and expectations: presentation of ERAMIND objectives and activities and presentation of the outcomes from the document 'Industry Participation in Euraxess; A Collection of Experiences';
2. sharing best practices: success story of good interaction between industry and academia;
3. two experiences in comparison: e.g.needs and expectations of a coordinator and a researcher involved in an IAPP/ITN project;
4. interactive session addressed to ESCs: exchange of experiences and lessons learned between a researcher in industry and an organisation hiring researchers - this proved to be the most successful format for relaying industry's needs to the Euraxess participants.
The structure and the content of the information session agenda proposed by ERAMIND has therefore been validated during the events of the projects and was particularly appreciated by the participants. For the definition of the agendas APRE work in close cooperation with IUA, in charge for the organisation of coordination meeting.
The agenda structure and the good selection of the speakers were the strong points of the Information sessions (WP2).
The training material prepared by APRE and the other partners was completed with the presentations of the speakers invited at the information sessions. The material is adapted and improved after each info session. The material produced by the project (presentations, agenda, instructions for exercises, etc) is made available on the Euraxess Extranet.
Significant achievements
Task 4.1
Euraxess for industry general brochure and factsheet finalised and new way of communication towards companies promoted.
Task 4.2
Recommendations have been prepared for ESCs while communicating industry.
Task 4.3
Training material for the information sessions updated, structure of the agenda validated during the information sessions and additional training material collected from the invited speakers.
WP5: Industry's involvement in the ERA-MORE portal
After the launch of the new portal Euraxess in 2008 the WP5 needed a revision and modification of its tasks and deliverables. The ERAMIND partners proposed different activities, in accordance to the new design and content of the Euraxess website, with the aim to guarantee an high impact of the results of the project. Therefore, with an amendment the activities foreseen by the WP5 were harmonised with the new objectives and strategies of the EC for Euraxess network and portal.
Taking into account what just explained above, the implementation of the WP5 started at month 12, with a slight delay in respect to the technical annex scheduled and the main results were delivered during the second reporting period, in particular between months 25 and 36.
Progress details of each task
Task 5.1- Mapping of portal
Task 5.1 is closely related to the Task 2.3 and Task 2.5. As foreseen by the technical annex, the Euraxess portal was deeply analysed during the coordination meetings organised and coordinated by IUA (Task 2.3) in the framework of the discussion with industry end-users and Euraxess Services Centres. The analysis of the portal was one of the key topic proposed by the ERAMIND partners during the discussion between industry end users and Services Centers (Task 2.3 and 2.5). The portal was showed in depth to the participants and the discussion focused on four key points:
1. posting a curriculum vitae (CV) / job opportunity by/for industry - Confidentiality problem
2. necessity of Industry-specific section at Euraxess portal
3. promotion of Euraxess portal to Industry
4. providing 'not legally binding answers' to industry.
The ERAMIND partners collected suggestions and opinion from participants of the coordination meetings, organised during the second reporting period and presented the outcomes to the AB periodically.
During the second reporting period IUA updated the Report D5.1. APRE and Agentschap were involved in the mapping of the portal. Agentschap contributed to the D5.1 carrying out an overview of the sections dedicated to industry on the national web portals and sharing recommendations collected with the survey (Task 3.1).
Task 5.2 - Industry emphasis in the ERAMORE portal
APRE and Agenschap were strongly involved in the development of the concept of a new section targeted to industry on the European portal. The idea to elaborate a concept of a section for industry was proposed to the project office in January 2011 with the aim to give feedback for improving the Euraxess portal and reach the project's goals.
According to the inputs received, the concept was structured taking into account:
1. the needs of industries and SMEs involved in mobility programmes or interested in recruiting researchers
2. the services provided by the Euraxess network and tailored for Industry.
After the identification of these preliminary issues, APRE and Agentschap organised a working meeting in Brussels and worked together on the first draft of the concept. After the meeting in Brussels, the partner involved focussed their attention on two main elements:
1. elaboration of a user-friendly structure for the section dedicated to companies: was identified how, in which part and when implement the new section within the European portal;
2. elaboration of an immediate and effective content for the new section: success stories, interviews, quick information on funding opportunities, etc.
The concept developed by the project will be propose to the EC as a preliminary study for the creation of a dedicated section to industry.
Task 5.3 - Web page targeted to industry
The objective of Task 5.3 was to launch a webpage that could become a model for a dedicated SMEs section on the national portals. The goal has been addressed by APRE and Agentschap with the creation and launch of a webpage dedicated to the Euraxess services and researchers mobility and target to industry. The webpage was hosted on the APRE's website in order to facilitate its updating and sustainability also after the end of ERAMIND. However, APRE according to the ERAMIND partners, agreed on moving the webpage, already launched, to a specific web-address hosted on its server, http://www.Euraxessforcompanies.eu.
The webpage was developed following the Euraxess standards and using the official logo, in order to be easily adopted by the National Euraxess portals.
The structure proposed by APRE was thought and prepared taking into account the instructions of the EC for creating a website; the Euraxess European portal; the Euraxess national portals (in particular, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France).
Agentschap, was involved in Task 5.3 providing texts and two success stories to publish on the web page. The material developed by APRE and Agenthschap (HTML file, texts, etc) will be provided to the Euraxess ESCs trough the Euraxess Extranet. After the end of ERAMIND the partners will continue in promoting the utilisation of the material delivered during the project by the Euraxess ESCs.
Significant achievements
Task 5.1
Euraxess portal analysed and short report on analysis of portal for industrial relevance prepared
Task 5.2
Concept note on development of industrial relevance section on Euraxess portal delivered
Task 5.3
Web page targeted to industry launched.
Potential impact:
WP2: It was agreed very early on that the objectives and deliverables for the project were over ambitious. There is only a certain amount that four partners can achieve with and with such an area and this was regularly recognised by the AB in its assessment of the project. However, it cannot be denied that a considerable amount of activity took place, reaching out to the Euraxess network that are mainly based in academia and do not have the time, resources or interest in expanding their services to the private sector. The most successful way of gaining 'buy in' from the network was when they were presented with real case studies from both industry organisations hiring researchers and researchers who had experienced a move from academia to industry.
The quality of the planned events improved with time and experience and they proved not only to be interesting and sometimes controversial but they broke down some of the barriers that network members have with collaborating with industry. Most importantly it definitely increased the visibility of the network and the services Euraxess can offer to those industry end users who participated and in turn to their colleagues and networks.
One of the main instruments developed within the scope of this project is the industry participation in Euraxess document. This document which was first published in 2006 has become a coherent and useful reference of examples of good practice which can be adopted by any member of the Euraxess network by adjusting it to their own national context and research landscape.
One of the most enlightening results is the development of a number of the ERAMIND outcomes and results within the framework of the Euraxess TOP II project. This project, following on from TOP I, plans to increase the use of Euraxess services by industry. It will provide specialist training in this area to be delivered at major workshops for the ethnic Euraxess network members.
There are pleas to pilot a web portal interface for Euraxess directed specifically at industry users. This will not be a european portal, rather it will be delivered by each network member, tailored to their own regional and national industry requirements.
All of the industry relevant work to be carried out in TOP II will rely heavily upon the outcomes of the ERAMIND project. Already one of the TOP II WP leaders has participated in the September ERAMIND Advising Board meeting. Some of the participants in ERAMIND will also participate in TOP II. This will ensure an effective transfer of knowledge.
This in itself can be seen as a great success for the ERAMIND project and it will ensure that much of the groundwork, interaction with the network members and industry during the planned events and the surveys developed will be used and carried on in another project which has a much wider far reaching number of participants that can stimulate results with the private sector.
WP3: The AB (task 3.3) is considered a positive outcome of the project. The AB members gave very useful comments and suggestions to the project team, which were examined and implemented in different tasks through all of the WPs in the project and which will be ready as advice also for future activities of the Euraxess network.
Tasks 3.1 and 3.2 did not yield the impact that had been aimed and hoped for. In all ERAMIND activities, but especially in these tasks, the uptake by the entire network of the facilities provided by the four partners of the ERAMIND consortium was crucial. Task 3.1 and 3.2 were based on virtual discussion and sharing of information. Practice has shown that this form of communication is not the most effective for the target group of ESCs and industry end-users. Not all ESCs demonstrated an intrinsic reason for wishing to enhance links with the private sector and an extrinsic reason, such as for example in the form of a monitoring of their performance in this respect, could not be introduced.
Notwithstanding the disappointing uptake of the forum and the survey, there were some valuable contributions. The project as a whole did contribute significantly to the overall WP3 aim of networking and exchange of expertise among Euraxess Service Centres, but this was most prominently done during the face-to-face meetings in WP2 (lead by IUA, with contributions from all partners), which were considered very useful.
WP4: All the activities foreseen by the WP4 has been successfully reached. The partners involved took particular attention on two aspects came out during the time of the project:
1. Tailor all the activities and deliverables of WP4 on the Industry needs of information, assistance and services;
2. Consider different key actors point of views (entrepeneurs, industrial organisation, EC and Eraxess network);
3. Validate the results obtained in the first 15 months of the project (e.g. Task 4.3).
During the second period (from month 16 to 36) the main challenge faced by the ERAMIND partners in all the tasks of WP4 was the choice of 'the right language' in order to achieve 'the best communication' towards companies.
Moreover, the results reached in the WPs 4 can go beyond the objectives identified in the technical annex. Therefore, added values for the WP4 were:
1. the idea behind was to 'inform and link' Companies and the Euraxess ESCs. The brochure and the factsheet were thought as a 'communication tools' and not only a promotional material;
2. the tasks implemented and the deliverables reached in WP4 contributed in filling the existing gap between Euraxess network and companies;
3. the involvement of key actors in the preparation of the promotional material, collecting their inputs during the Cordination meetings (entrepeneurs, Euraxess ESCs and Bridgehead organisations, researchers, industrial organisations, etc) and from the ABs members, allowed to produce more targeted deliverables;
4. the ERAMIND partners guarantee the availability of the promotional material on the Euraxess Extranet: the Euraxess ESCs can use the tools delivered by ERAMIND for enhancing communication towards Companies.
The WP4 was characterised with the intention of developing new tools for enhance communication towards SME's and, on the other hand, for improving skills of the Euraxess ESCs. Therefore, it is important to highight that the main beneficiaries of the WP4 results are the Euraxess network. So, since the beginning of the project the ERAMIND partners understood the necessity to make the project results available to the Euraxess network.
The presence in the consortium of an Euraxess Bridgehead organisation (IUA) and the active role of APRE, Agentschap NL and Tubitak in the Euraxess network and also in other european networks (e.g Enterprise Europe network, etc) will assure a good dissemination and utilisation of the Task 4.1 results also after the end of ERAMIND.
WP5: The difficulties initially encountered by the ERAMIND partners in carrying out the WP5 tasks were completely dissipated during the second period of the project.
APRE and the other partners involved reached the expected results and impact.
The activities carried out and the outputs of the WP were presented during the last AB meeting and the deliverables will be give at the ESCs disposal.
List of websites:
An external website for the project was not created in order to contribute to the synergy of the ESCs in Euraxess Extranet. Therefore, all the information and usable materials are uploaded to the Extranet.