Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EuroTechPostdoc2 (International Postdoc Academy in Science and Technology)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-06-01 bis 2022-05-31
Within the EuroTechPostdoc2 programme, the universities of the EuroTech Universities Alliance offer seventy Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowships to experienced high-potential researchers, in two calls for 35 fellows each. Within the fellowship programme, we combine complementary research & innovation strengths with unique infrastructures and training facilities across our six EuroTech partners.
The EuroTechPostdoc2 programme aims at attracting excellent experienced researchers from all over the world through an open, transparent and structured recruitment process. The postdoctoral fellows develop their skills in interdisciplinary, cross-border collaboration projects between at least two EuroTech universities from two different countries, and are provided with the opportunity to transfer knowledge in entrepreneurship activities or by collaboration with public and industrial organizations from the ecosystems of the EuroTech universities. The research thematic is open to all areas within the Alliance enabling the exploration of emerging and promising fields and promoting new interdisciplinary research collaborations. Fellows may freely choose a research topic and the appropriate organizations to host them, fitting their individual needs and ambitions. By means of the EuroTech Postdoc Academy, we offer excellent and complementary training options organized at the six EuroTech universities and ensures a personal supervision and mentoring scheme. The Postdoc Academy bootcamps focus on strengthening the fellows’ skills and network, their career development inside and outside academia and foster further collaboration and exchange. Together with outstanding working conditions that support both family and career, the programme thus provides the fellows with unprecedented possibilities for their career development and research, including a dedicated collaboration and travel budget, to diversify their options for a leadership position in either academia or industry within the ERA.
The EuroTechPostdoc2 programme aims at attracting excellent experienced researchers from all over the world through an open, transparent and structured recruitment process. The postdoctoral fellows develop their skills in interdisciplinary, cross-border collaboration projects between at least two EuroTech universities from two different countries, and are provided with the opportunity to transfer knowledge in entrepreneurship activities or by collaboration with public and industrial organizations from the ecosystems of the EuroTech universities. The research thematic is open to all areas within the Alliance enabling the exploration of emerging and promising fields and promoting new interdisciplinary research collaborations. Fellows may freely choose a research topic and the appropriate organizations to host them, fitting their individual needs and ambitions. By means of the EuroTech Postdoc Academy, we offer excellent and complementary training options organized at the six EuroTech universities and ensures a personal supervision and mentoring scheme. The Postdoc Academy bootcamps focus on strengthening the fellows’ skills and network, their career development inside and outside academia and foster further collaboration and exchange. Together with outstanding working conditions that support both family and career, the programme thus provides the fellows with unprecedented possibilities for their career development and research, including a dedicated collaboration and travel budget, to diversify their options for a leadership position in either academia or industry within the ERA.
The work carried out from the beginning of the project can be divided in 4 main tasks:
1. Dissemination Activities. As soon as the programme started, we started communicating and dissemination about the upcoming calls. Materials created included: the website, a visual and logo, a brochure, "how-to" videos, advertisements and LinkedIn ads. These materials were disseminated through LinkedIn, press releases, EURAXESS, external mailing lists, universities' networks, digital career fairs, career platforms, websites and social media of EuroTech Universities Alliance and the EuroTech universities, Q&A sessions for potential applicants and their supervisors, a mailing list for interested researchers, and internal communication within the participating universities. For the 2022 call, also the NCPs of the EU-13 countries were approached to give the programme more visibility in Eastern Europe.
2. EuroTechPostdoc2 2021 call. After a preparation period, the 2021 call opened on 30 November 2020. By the deadline on 25 February 2021, we had received 279 applications from 49 different countries. After the eligibility check, 265 proposal were sent for review. In July 2021, 35 candidates received an offer for a EuroTechPostdoc2 fellowship, resulting in an overall success rate of 14%.
3. EuroTechPostdoc2 2022 call. After another preparation period, in which some adjustments were made to the call, the 2022 call opened on 30 November 2021. By the deadline on 24 February 2022, we had received 179 applications from 48 different countries. After the eligibility check, 161 proposal were sent for review. The review process was not concluded yet by the end of this reporting period.
4. EuroTechPostdoc2 Postdoc Academy. The Postdoc Academy consists of the following elements: Multi-supervision arrangement, Development of a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP), Access to a wide variety of courses for scientific and soft skills, Participation in two international bootcamps, and a EuroTech Postdoc Academy Certificate. All participants have a local training officer appointed to support the fellows in the development of the PCDP and to discuss potential trainings. Furthermore, the preparations for the first bootcamp (June 2022) have been ongoing.
1. Dissemination Activities. As soon as the programme started, we started communicating and dissemination about the upcoming calls. Materials created included: the website, a visual and logo, a brochure, "how-to" videos, advertisements and LinkedIn ads. These materials were disseminated through LinkedIn, press releases, EURAXESS, external mailing lists, universities' networks, digital career fairs, career platforms, websites and social media of EuroTech Universities Alliance and the EuroTech universities, Q&A sessions for potential applicants and their supervisors, a mailing list for interested researchers, and internal communication within the participating universities. For the 2022 call, also the NCPs of the EU-13 countries were approached to give the programme more visibility in Eastern Europe.
2. EuroTechPostdoc2 2021 call. After a preparation period, the 2021 call opened on 30 November 2020. By the deadline on 25 February 2021, we had received 279 applications from 49 different countries. After the eligibility check, 265 proposal were sent for review. In July 2021, 35 candidates received an offer for a EuroTechPostdoc2 fellowship, resulting in an overall success rate of 14%.
3. EuroTechPostdoc2 2022 call. After another preparation period, in which some adjustments were made to the call, the 2022 call opened on 30 November 2021. By the deadline on 24 February 2022, we had received 179 applications from 48 different countries. After the eligibility check, 161 proposal were sent for review. The review process was not concluded yet by the end of this reporting period.
4. EuroTechPostdoc2 Postdoc Academy. The Postdoc Academy consists of the following elements: Multi-supervision arrangement, Development of a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP), Access to a wide variety of courses for scientific and soft skills, Participation in two international bootcamps, and a EuroTech Postdoc Academy Certificate. All participants have a local training officer appointed to support the fellows in the development of the PCDP and to discuss potential trainings. Furthermore, the preparations for the first bootcamp (June 2022) have been ongoing.
The EuroTechPostdoc2 programme has so far been able to attract 35 top researchers from all over the world; the evaluation process to hire another 35 fellows is ongoing.
What we offer as a programme towards the fellows is threefold. Firstly, the fellows get the opportunity to work on their own research ideas within their independent research projects, which could be on any research topic that fits within the Alliance. In this way, we give the fellows the freedom to develop their own research line. Secondly, we offer the fellows a unique training programme in the form of the EuroTech Postdoc Academy. The fellows not only have the opportunity to develop their research and technical skills even more, they are also encouraged to participate in skill trainings to prepare them for a future outside of academia. These trainings can be done via the local offering, but also during the mandatory 'bootcamps'. The bootcamps are two workshops focusing on soft-skill training, strengthening the fellows’ network and preparation ahead of their careers, and organized at one of the universities for fellows from one cohort. Thirdly, we offer the fellows unique networking possibilities: because of the multi-supervision arrangements they have two supervisors at two different universities, and thus will build their network at both places. Also, due to the dedicated budgets, fellows have ample opportunities to visit conferences and workshops. Finally, during the bootcamps, there will be plenty of room for networking within the organizing university but also with the other fellows. This multi-disciplinary networking can be very useful for the further career of the fellows, for instance in joint project proposals for collaborative grants.
In conclusion, the EuroTechPostdoc2 programme expects to have a high impact on the initial career development of the fellows hired, and as such also on the impact these researchers will have on ERA during the rest of their careers.
What we offer as a programme towards the fellows is threefold. Firstly, the fellows get the opportunity to work on their own research ideas within their independent research projects, which could be on any research topic that fits within the Alliance. In this way, we give the fellows the freedom to develop their own research line. Secondly, we offer the fellows a unique training programme in the form of the EuroTech Postdoc Academy. The fellows not only have the opportunity to develop their research and technical skills even more, they are also encouraged to participate in skill trainings to prepare them for a future outside of academia. These trainings can be done via the local offering, but also during the mandatory 'bootcamps'. The bootcamps are two workshops focusing on soft-skill training, strengthening the fellows’ network and preparation ahead of their careers, and organized at one of the universities for fellows from one cohort. Thirdly, we offer the fellows unique networking possibilities: because of the multi-supervision arrangements they have two supervisors at two different universities, and thus will build their network at both places. Also, due to the dedicated budgets, fellows have ample opportunities to visit conferences and workshops. Finally, during the bootcamps, there will be plenty of room for networking within the organizing university but also with the other fellows. This multi-disciplinary networking can be very useful for the further career of the fellows, for instance in joint project proposals for collaborative grants.
In conclusion, the EuroTechPostdoc2 programme expects to have a high impact on the initial career development of the fellows hired, and as such also on the impact these researchers will have on ERA during the rest of their careers.