INternational VEnue for poSTgraduate education

Final Report Summary - INVEST (INternational VEnue for poSTgraduate education)

The International Venue for Postgraduate Education (INVEST) project aims at favouring transnational mobility in the EU Higher Education Area, providing training and career development opportunities for Experienced Scientists of any nationality, increasing the international quality of the postdoctoral community at large, and fostering state-of-the art research activity in Europe.
San Raffaele Scientific Institute (SRSI) is one of the major Biomedical Research Campuses in Italy. It comprises Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (USR), the beneficiary of the project, Ospedale San Raffaele (OSR), the leading research hospital in Italy, and Fondazione Centro San Raffaele (FCSR), a private non profit research foundation.

The mission of the SRSI is integration and interdisciplinarity for excellence in teaching, innovation in research, and optimal patient's care. SRSI hosts an International Postdoctoral Programme (IPP) devoted to the development and support of an international postdoctoral community through the recruitment of fellows according to excellence standards. Through the INVEST project, USR is committed to further develop such programme. Given its position within SRSI, USR offers INVEST postdocs the opportunity to be trained in cutting-edge research topics in a highly supportive, intensely collaborative and interdisciplinary environment.

The INVEST Project from November 2011 to April 2017 involved:
• three Calls for Applications
• the enrolment of 17 postdocs
• both incoming and reintegration schemes
• funding including fellowship and research costs

Postdoctoral fellows were recruited through merit-based transparent selection procedures and had the chance to freely choose the research topic of interest among those present within the Scientific Institute. Teaching activities are carried out in three University Faculties (Medicine, Philosophy and Psychology), whereas research activities spanning the field of Molecular Medicine are carried out in 5 Research Divisions and 3 specialized Research Centres. Moreover, 4 largely independent but integrated Research Institutes are present on Campus.

Three international calls for applications were launched in 2011, 2013, and 2014. Three independent Selection Committees performed the selection of potential candidates. 21 fellowships were awarded overall and 17 have been assigned. All the fellows received a welcome booklet to support them with administrative procedures, legal issues, and for information on local facilities and activities.
Since the beginning of the project, a public website has been active (http://www.unisr.it/en/international-post-doctoral-program/) and continuously updated to advertise all the calls for applications, disseminate information concerning the above mentioned calls, as well as for promoting INVEST training activities and events. The International Postdoctoral Programme Committee (IPPC) organized and managed INVEST activities; its members also served as tutors to the INVEST postdocs.

In line with the commitment of USR to a life-long training of the future generation of EU-based scientists and science-related professionals, several training activities were organized and
every postdoc was encouraged to participate in order to develop new research skills, exploit future career opportunities, and gain insights into specific themes and technologies.

The overall outcome of the project was to provide the postdoc fellows with life-long career development opportunities, and generate new knowledge. INVEST researchers had a unique opportunity to expand their technical and scientific skills by joining internationally renowned laboratories and collaborating in an international setting.

Final Report Summary - INVEST (INternational VEnue for poSTgraduate education)

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