Skip to main content
European Commission logo print header

Eurotalents: a European programme for transnational mobility of experimented researchers managed by CEA

Final Report Summary - EUROTALENTS (Eurotalents: a European programme for transnational mobility of experimented researchers managed by CEA)

Eurotalents was an international mobility program for researchers developed and run by the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). The program lasted four years, from March 1, 2009 to February 28, 2013. Eurotalents' mission statement was to foster mobility for postdoctoral fellows and advanced researchers.

The program consisted in two types of fellowships: Incoming CEA Fellowships (ICFs) and Outgoing CEA Fellowships (OCFs). 84 ICFs and 8 OCFs were granted in total and 27 different countries represented among the fellows (see attachment - Attachment publishable summary.pdf)

Eurotalents offered fellowships in 5 different research fields in CEA laboratories:

- Energy, environment, and climate change (E2C2),
- High Energy physics, high energy density physics and physics of the Universe (HEPDPPU),
- Life sciences and biotechnology (LSB),
- Microelectronics, nanoscience and nanotechnology (MNN),
- Science and Technology of high performance computing (STHPC).

42% of the grants were awarded in the MNN field, 36% in HEPFPPU, 20% in E2C2, 19% in LSB and 13% in STHPC.Please note that because of the multi-disciplinary nature of most projects, the total sum does not equal 100 %.

The program was developed on the basis of the COFUND approach, which consists in letting researchers propose their own research projects and not applying to predetermined projects. The application and selection process was precisely described in the Guide for Applicants available online at http://eurotalents.cea.fr/. The process was divided into 4 phases and managed via a management platform -- https://jobs.eurotalents.cea.fr -- specifically designed for the program and accessible to applicants, CEA's scientific counselors, international experts and the project team. The 4 selection steps consisted in:

- Registering on the public website and sending a resume. Immediately after the researcher's registration, the project team would check his/her eligibility and provide him/her with a contact person in a CEA laboratory or a scientific counselor;
- Getting in touch with the scientific counselor or contact person in the laboratory;
- Writing a research project proposal;
- Review of the project proposal by an international panel of experts.

In order to apply to the program, researchers had to comply with Marie Curie Actions mobility rules and the following criteria:

- Researchers should not be nationals of the state in which they plan to move and carry out their research;
- Researchers have not lived, worked or studied in that country for more than 12 months out of the three years immediately prior to either the time of application, or the start of their work."

Exceptions from the first rule have been granted for European researchers that have been working outside the EU for a long period.

Fellowships were granted for any duration between 1 and 3 years, provided that the requested duration was justified in the research project. The adequacy of the research project with the duration being one of the elements assessed during the review, alongside with scientific excellence, originality and feasibility. All these elements were examined with regards to the chosen host laboratory.

Incoming fellows were welcomed in all 10 CEA centers throughout France, according to their choice of laboratory and field of research. Outgoing fellows were welcomed in various research institutions in the US, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, namely, UC Berkeley, Caltech, Stanford, University of Washington at Seattle, Cambridge and CERN.

Out of the 84 selected Incoming fellows, 28 found a permanent research contract after their fellowship and 40 found a temporary position, a postdoctoral position, or were granted a fellowship to carry out research in prestigious laboratories. A total of about 1200 publications were written by ICFs and 232 by OCFs over the four years of the program and accepted in peer reviewed journals.

For more information about Eurotalents, please visit our public website: http://eurotalents.cea.fr/ or contact us at eurotalents@cea.fr