Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EuroTechPostdoc (International Network of Excellence in Science Technology)
Reporting period: 2019-06-01 to 2023-05-31
The EuroTechPostdoc Programme aimed at combining complementary research & innovation strengths with unique infrastructures across four leading European Universities of Science & Technology that provides the basis for an internationally competitive fellowship programme. The programme attracted excellent experienced researchers from all over the world through an open, transparent and structured recruitment process. EuroTechPostdoc provided exceptional research and training opportunities for 80 experienced researchers funded for a 2-year period (divided in 2 calls, 10 fellowships per participant per call). All fellows of both calls 2018 and 2019 were employed at their host institutions with full-time working contracts. The fellows developed their skills in interdisciplinary collaboration projects between two universities within the EuroTech Universities Alliance. The research programme has been carefully selected to provide the fellows with the complementary strengths, established networks and industrial collaboration in areas of high relevance to the EU’s industrial leadership: Health & Bioengineering, Smart & Urban Mobility, Data Science & Engineering, High Performance Computing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation. The fellows have been provided with the opportunity to transfer knowledge in entrepreneurship activities or by collaboration with public and industrial organisations from the combined networks of the participants. The fellows gained access to the excellent and complementary training options offered at the four participants, and were supported by a personal supervision and mentoring scheme, as well as excellent local support structures. The EuroTechPostdoc 3-days workshops focused on strengthening the fellows’ skills and network, preparation ahead of their careers. Detail information on the achieved goals and the outcomes of the project are included in the final report. A summary of the work carried out is given below.
The fellows of both calls 2018 and 2019 were employed at their host institutions with full-time working contracts. From the date of acceptance of the fellowship offer, each fellow has been in close contact with the respective local programme manager at his/her host institution. Towards the beginning of each fellowship, a kick-off meeting took place with each fellow to give in-depth information on the fellowship including:
The Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP), usually submitted in months 1, 13 and 21, documented the career development of the fellows. In most cases, the PCDP reflected consistent agreement with the project plan. The majority of fellows reported regular meetings with their host and co-host supervisors. In cases of discrepancies, the PMO contacted the fellows and the supervisors for clarifications and suggestions. The PCDP included updated information on the planned research activities, publications, trainings, and research goals. In addition to the PCDP, all fellows have filled-in an online Questionnaire towards the end of their fellowships. The Questionnaire was formulated to act as a thorough final report that covers all aspects of the project and to help the fellows to easily report measurable details on the projects’ outcomes and the activities undertaken during the fellowship.
162 open access publications stemmed from the programme. All fellows were asked to regularly report all publications, conference and outreach activities through an online form. Emphasis was laid on the open access obligation that comes with the MSCA-grant and that all publications have to at least be ‘green’ open access. Open access experts were available at the participating universities to support the fellows with any specific questions making their publications science openly accessible. All publications have been deposited in the repository of the host institutions (post print): DTU (DTU orbit), EPFL (infoscience), TU/e (repository TU/e), TUM (mediaTUM). In all publication, the funding was acknowledged. The compliance with both the open access obligation and acknowledging the fund was closely observed by the PMO. To the best of our knowledge, all publications have complied with these obligations.
Four workshops have been organized within the programme; one at each host institution. The first Workshop for the 2018 EuroTechPostdoc Call was held from 23 to 25 September at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The second Workshop for the 2018 Call EuroTechPostdoc Fellows was held on March 2-4th 2022 at Technische Universität Munich (TUM). The first EuroTechPostdoc Workshop for the 2019 Call was held at the Technical University of Denmark from 9 to 11 March 2020. Eindhoven University of Technology hosted the final meeting and second workshop for the second cohort of EuroTechPostdoc fellows. Due to restrictions on international travel and further restrictions on meetings in large groups on location, the entire meeting was planned via MS Teams as an online event from 24 June until 8 July 2021. Fellows from the first cohort of the programme have been invited to participate in the workshop as well. Seminars and training aimed at reinforcing the skills of the fellows and establishing new synergies among their respective research areas.
The Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP), usually submitted in months 1, 13 and 21, documented the career development of the fellows. In most cases, the PCDP reflected consistent agreement with the project plan. The majority of fellows reported regular meetings with their host and co-host supervisors. In cases of discrepancies, the PMO contacted the fellows and the supervisors for clarifications and suggestions. The PCDP included updated information on the planned research activities, publications, trainings, and research goals. In addition to the PCDP, all fellows have filled-in an online Questionnaire towards the end of their fellowships. The Questionnaire was formulated to act as a thorough final report that covers all aspects of the project and to help the fellows to easily report measurable details on the projects’ outcomes and the activities undertaken during the fellowship.
162 open access publications stemmed from the programme. All fellows were asked to regularly report all publications, conference and outreach activities through an online form. Emphasis was laid on the open access obligation that comes with the MSCA-grant and that all publications have to at least be ‘green’ open access. Open access experts were available at the participating universities to support the fellows with any specific questions making their publications science openly accessible. All publications have been deposited in the repository of the host institutions (post print): DTU (DTU orbit), EPFL (infoscience), TU/e (repository TU/e), TUM (mediaTUM). In all publication, the funding was acknowledged. The compliance with both the open access obligation and acknowledging the fund was closely observed by the PMO. To the best of our knowledge, all publications have complied with these obligations.
Four workshops have been organized within the programme; one at each host institution. The first Workshop for the 2018 EuroTechPostdoc Call was held from 23 to 25 September at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The second Workshop for the 2018 Call EuroTechPostdoc Fellows was held on March 2-4th 2022 at Technische Universität Munich (TUM). The first EuroTechPostdoc Workshop for the 2019 Call was held at the Technical University of Denmark from 9 to 11 March 2020. Eindhoven University of Technology hosted the final meeting and second workshop for the second cohort of EuroTechPostdoc fellows. Due to restrictions on international travel and further restrictions on meetings in large groups on location, the entire meeting was planned via MS Teams as an online event from 24 June until 8 July 2021. Fellows from the first cohort of the programme have been invited to participate in the workshop as well. Seminars and training aimed at reinforcing the skills of the fellows and establishing new synergies among their respective research areas.
Overall, the measures proposed for dissemination and exploitation of project results increased the impact of EuroTechPostdoc COFUND programme in the following ways: i) strengthen fellows reputation and career perspectives at national and international level; ii) attract the interest of potential partners and public or private investors; iii) generate market demand for the project results.
The following activities have been reported: 162 open access publications; 91 Conference participation; organisation of 23 workshops; Participation in 55 workshops (Other than ETPD boot camps); Participation in 23 other events; participation in 8 activities organised within other EU projects; 15 press releases; 8 websites; 10 social media pages and 6 book chapters.
The fellows had access and right to participate in training activities and workshops at their host institutions. Participation in 156 training activities were reported, including:
Hands-on scientific training in lab
Soft and transferable skills such as grant writing, communication and management skills
Ethics and ethical conduct, GDPR and the FAIR principles, DMP, open science, open data
Entrepreneurship and innovation, IPR or business development
Sustainability and the UN SDGs
Gender dimension in science, research and innovation
Teaching or mentoring
Outreach (to peers and non-peers, e.g. social media, communication skills, etc.)
The majority of the fellows have reported the positive impact of the fellowship and the associated trainings on their career and other transferable skills. Most fellows reported that they have already secured their employment after the completion of their fellowships in prominent positions, including tenure track assistant professors, and other leading positions whether in the academia or in the industry.
The experiences gained through the programme allowed the consortium to apply for a second MSCA-Cofund in 2019. The new programme demonstrated considerable improvements, both in the application and selection process, and in networking and training schemes associated with the programme. Within the new programme, EuroTechPostdoc2, 70 fellowships have been already offered within the EuroTech Universities Alliance.
The following activities have been reported: 162 open access publications; 91 Conference participation; organisation of 23 workshops; Participation in 55 workshops (Other than ETPD boot camps); Participation in 23 other events; participation in 8 activities organised within other EU projects; 15 press releases; 8 websites; 10 social media pages and 6 book chapters.
The fellows had access and right to participate in training activities and workshops at their host institutions. Participation in 156 training activities were reported, including:
Hands-on scientific training in lab
Soft and transferable skills such as grant writing, communication and management skills
Ethics and ethical conduct, GDPR and the FAIR principles, DMP, open science, open data
Entrepreneurship and innovation, IPR or business development
Sustainability and the UN SDGs
Gender dimension in science, research and innovation
Teaching or mentoring
Outreach (to peers and non-peers, e.g. social media, communication skills, etc.)
The majority of the fellows have reported the positive impact of the fellowship and the associated trainings on their career and other transferable skills. Most fellows reported that they have already secured their employment after the completion of their fellowships in prominent positions, including tenure track assistant professors, and other leading positions whether in the academia or in the industry.
The experiences gained through the programme allowed the consortium to apply for a second MSCA-Cofund in 2019. The new programme demonstrated considerable improvements, both in the application and selection process, and in networking and training schemes associated with the programme. Within the new programme, EuroTechPostdoc2, 70 fellowships have been already offered within the EuroTech Universities Alliance.