-Impact on Science
Since 2015, P-Sphere fellows have: published more than 275 papers, attended to more than 300 conferences and workshop, been involved in different outreach activities, created and maintained an increasing network of professional contacts in and outside Europe have performed teaching and supervisory tasks. Some publications are still under review and in the process of being revised. P-Sphere fellows have also contributed to 4 patents (2 under review) and also to the creation of a start up.
-Impact on Career development
Fellows took advantage of the numerous opportunities to develop their skills and professional careers during the development of the project. They improved knowledge of best practices in professional conduct (Ethics, IPR, Open Science, leadership) and increased their language competencies. They were made aware of the importance of the Charter and Code for researchers and HRS4R. The development of these important new skills had a positive impact on improving their decision-making skills and job organisation. A broad range of training sessions and individual support for their personal development:
-Opportunities such as the P-Sphere meeting offered unique experiences that challenged them to think “outside the box” and to experience new ways of expression and interaction.
-Networking opportunities to meet non-academic partners (politicians, entrepreneurs and other professionals) who had the potential to influence their research careers and their research fields.
- Opportunities to work with others, to gain experience in a supervisory role, to train and mentor younger researchers and to develop their teaching skills.
- Opportunities to engage with the wider society and to develop their ability to disseminate their research using different media platforms. Since many postdocs recently completed their fellowship, it is difficult to estimate what the actual overall impact is on a researcher’s career, but this could be analysed over a longer period.
A survey was performed to determine the satisfaction of fellows with the programme in different points. The data collected shows a high overall satisfaction with 4,23 (from 1 to 5) in the question “To what extent did the COFUND Programme respond to your demands and expectations?”.
The survey also reflects the research quality performed by fellows and the quality of the research infrastructures and networks (Research quality=4.40; Laboratories=4.46; Equipment:4,33.
The same survey report reflects good results over 4) on the career development of the fellows, regarding the improvement in soft skills, languages skills, new contacts stablished and employability prospects.
Considering the rapid turnover in academia, most of our fellows have made significant progress in their career since finishing their P-Sphere fellowship. Some of the fellows has consolidate their career and got permanent positions. Most of them have continue in academic in important research groups in their field. Another fellow has created his own company and other a spin-off.
-Impact on UAB-CEI members practices
Many institutional procedures improved during the P-Sphere project. The UAB was awarded with the HRS4R award in 2014 and this programme helped to define and implement several elements in the action plan, notably the OTM-R procedures. - Top applications were selected using transparent OTM-R procedures according to the applicant’s project, merit and CVs (including career breaks or other considerations). UAB gained experience in writing guidelines for applicants and assessors, managing numerous applications within a short time frame, incorporating external evaluators in the process, training assessment teams and offering feedback to the applicants - Training workshops and events which individual career support were developed to reinforce the existing internal support structures. – Most of the measures implemented during the project were integrated in the HRS4R Action Plan to ensure the sustainability of the procedures.
Most of fellows rated over 4 the research environment within their groups and the supervisors. The same results show a high grade of satisfaction of fellows with the management of the project, especially with regard to the information given and the support provided by the management team (Did the P-Sphere MNG team help you in your arrival?= 4,15; Was the communication fluent?= 4,35; In case of problems, did the MNG team give you support?=4,40).
When the fellows were asked about what they appreciated most of working with the P-Sphere COFUND programme, the following points were highlighted:
- The freedom to pursue my own line of investigation
- The training and networking activities provided
- The support provided by the programme
