The project started in May 2021 and will finish in 2026. Three main tasks have been carried out since the beginning of the project:
Dissemination Activities -- As soon as the programme started, we started communicating and disseminating about the programme and its upcoming calls. Materials created includea website, a visual and logo, various guides, brochures and leafltets. Information was disseminated through LinkedIn, press releases, EURAXESS, external mailing lists, universities' networks, career platforms, websites and social media of EUTOPIA Alliance universities. Q&A and info sessions for potential applicants and their supervisors were also organized.
Calls for applications – EUTOPIA SIF has opened three calls for applications in the Fall of 2020, 2021 and 2022. A fourth and last call will open in the Fall of 2023. The first three calls received a total of 602 applications. After eligibility check, 462 applications were send for International Peer Review involving more than 1,000 international experts. In every call 50 to 60 applications were invited for an interview. 36 fellows enrolled in the programme following the first two calls and a new cohort of 26 fellows will join the programme in September 2023.
Training activities -- EUTOPIA-SIF has developed a complete training programme combining disciplinary and transversal skills training and articulating program-wide activities and local training options offered by each of the partners of the programme. The EUTOPIA-SIF core training sessions focus on the acquisition of non-disciplinary competences. They aim at giving the fellows the opportunity to develop skills and enhance their career opportunity to become a future leader in academia and beyond. Each year, fellows participate in 10 monthly training sessions, addressing all key transversal skills module identified in the EUTOPIA SIF project and covering the following core domains: Research project management and compliance; Collaboration in research; Research funding; Scientific output; Communication and engagement; Personal and professional development.