After setting the frame of the conference the main issue is currently to motivate speakers to attend.
A milestone on the side of the organisers was the editing of the programme, finalising the input to the conference website and to compile the speakers booklet.
The cooperation with the chairs and rapporteurs was intense while preparing the workshops. The EC was really helpful especially I introducing the latest developments and ideas on MSCA within Horizon Europe.
It was great fun to set the MSCA award 2018 as For the first time in the story of the MSCA Awards the applicants were not invited to send their written application but to send their videos or selfies illustrating their research project and their creative approach.
WHAT WERE THE CRITERIAS FOR THE SHORTLIST?
Based on the applications of around 106 MSCA fellows which represented highly competitive grant schemes and addressing different subject areas a shortlist was set during a virtual panel meeting connecting the experts in Brussels and Vienna using the following selection criteria:
The CV and track record of the MSCA fellow
Category chosen
Gender Diversity and geographical spread
Creative approach
Research topic
WHO SELECTED THEM?
The selection panel was composed by experts of the European Commission and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.
WHO ARE THE FINALISTS SELECTED FOR THE AWARDS?
Category I: Outreach of the MSCA Project:
Beatriz Rodriguez Alonso, University College Dublin, Ireland
Gwendolyn Bailey, KU Leuven, Belgium
Adrien Donneaud, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Germany
Category II: Meeting societal challenges
Alejandro Catalá, Research Center on Information Technology of the University Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Elias Munthali; Catalan Institute for Water Research, Girona, Spain
Deepak Palaksha, University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway
Category III: Bridging (career) paths
Francisco Marcus Gonçalves, Centre for Psychological Research and Social Intervention, ISCTE-Lisbon University Institute, Portugal
Susana Ladra González, University of Coruna, Spain
Enrico Risaliti, Siemens PLM Software, Leuven, Belgium
AWARD CEREMONY
The audience had the opportunity to see the videos at the MSCA Conference on October 1, 2018. The winners were awarded at the conference dinner.