Congratulations! You are now a member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association. You have access to many privileges; the most interesting - and overlooked by most - is to actively participate in the life of the MCAA. In this session, four active MCAA members coming from different backgrounds and at different stages in their careers will tell you about their experiences. They will discuss the reasons why they got involved in the first place, their path within the association, and how their CV and careers were impacted. And, importantly, they will show how the engagement of its active members makes the MCAA a successful association, in parallel to the member’s personal and professional growth. A very informal chat with the audience will give feedback on how to find a niche for every member to contribute, taking into account the scarce free time available of busy researchers and the effort one is willing to put on volunteering activities. This session will also be an opportunity for MCAA members to give their feedback on how to improve quality engagement.

We are witnessing a great merger between academia and industry in the fields surrounding AI, Machine Learning and Neuroscience, including in technologies to interface our brains with electronics. What used to be the stuff of science fiction will soon be, sometimes already is, today's reality. These new technologies will transform our world, but also pose a number of risks to individuals, organizations and societies. This session brings together 4 experts of these emerging policy and technology issues to talk and debate about their ideas for the future.

From academia to business, leadership is a skill-set and abilities which can be acquired by learning. Often, researchers are required to utilize leadership skills to lead a team or a project to advance the field. A competent researcher can complete a specific mission, but a true leader is a visionary. This workshop will introduce a range of leadership techniques, enabling each to develop additional skill-set and grow as a leader, especially in the challenging time. It will help to develop a range of leadership styles tailored to specific situations. This will show how to inspire others to share a common purpose. It will show how to navigate from an individual to a leader.

From automated bots influencing elections worldwide to digital democracy platforms, the democratic landscape of the western world is being challenged by new communication media forms. Even if the Cambridge Analytica Scandal was a wake-up call, the diffusion of false news on social media and political campaigns targeted through data mining has not halted and threats to the democratic process are more pressing than ever. On the other hand, a growing population of young citizens engages in the political debate on social platforms, craving to voice their opinion through new-born forms of participative democracy. We will discuss the bad, the good and the ugly of the influence of the digital industry. How are social media employed in political campaigns, both from external parties and internal political figures? How can we screen ourselves from being dragged in the flow of misleading information? What is the role of research in providing pointers to governments and institutions? What are the responsibilities of industry giants like Google and Facebook? Come and listen to experts that study the effects of the digital revolution computational propaganda. Hopefully, we will discover that democracy is still safe, or what we can do to prevent its fall.  

Coming soon

Western Balkan countries have experienced difficult times recently that slowed down progress in their research and innovation sectors and continue to cause a pronounced and continuous ‘brain drain’. This session explores how and why science is relevant to societies in South-East Europe, and how this message can better reach and reflect public concerns in places which remain in transition, be that politically, economically, or socially. Topics include science communication and dissemination, improving links to industry and creating innovation ecosystems, the "sedentary" culture of research institutions and best practice in linking people and science output. What can we learn from others in the region in terms of best practice and who else offers positive examples so that regional stakeholders can improve their social and scientific relevance and drive full and active engagement in European institutions?

In today’s globalized context, linguistic and cultural diversity is a major challenge for teams operating across borders. Globalization, along with the plurality of languages and mobility of persons, carries the risk of communication breakdown, misinterpretation, and ultimately, that of conflict and violence. This session aims to raise awareness of how multi-cultural skills are an essential aspect of effective communication in intercultural encounters. Participants will be asked to consider various definitions of ‘intercultural encounters’, to reflect on their own experiences of misunderstanding related either to language, hierarchical structures, gender or social codes of conduct, and refine their own thinking about what effective intercultural communication involves. In addition, analyzing their own and others' intercultural experiences while learning from these situations, will help participants to think about their role as social actors in promoting new ideas and fostering the international knowledge generated in mixed teams. Members of this session will address the question of how individual competences and teamwork experience can be used to optimize intercultural collaboration and the circulation of ideas in mixed teams. Finally, the panel members will draft the outcome of the discussion as a basis for a future MCAA project on intercultural competences in the workplace.

Today’s dynamic research environment requires diversity to build successful teams. Researchers with different backgrounds and experiences can enhance the innovation process by bringing different perspectives and ideas. However, diverse researchers whether at functional, ethnical, religious or sexual orientation level still face segregation barriers, which hinders the valorization and full exploitation of all aspects diversity can offer. Indeed, alienation, exclusion, and impartiality are some examples of these barriers. Very often these issues prevent diverse researchers from accessing leadership positions in both industrial and academic research. It is needless to say that huge efforts are still needed in order to better embrace differences among research staff members. The working environment must be safe and fair for all. Researchers, and particularly decision makers should be aware of unconscious biases and learn/practice how to overcome them efficiently. Organisations fostering research need to update their procedures, adopt an ethos of acceptance and facilitate inclusivity. Our session aims to highlight the challenges faced by researchers -from different ethnicity, gender, socio-cultural/religious groups -throughout their research careers and especially when attempting to reach leadership positions. Our panellists will provide examples of the hardships paving the research/academia career pathway, propose and discuss with the audience potential science policy solutions.

Many great leaders have one thing in common and that is the ability to tell stories. This workshop will focus on three key areas: Embodied Communication: How the body and voice work to support compelling content, connecting the body and the voice, and using vocal tone, pitch, pace and pause. Creating a Compelling Narrative: How to create compelling narratives or stories using anything around us. Attendees will learn to make stories natural and adaptable depending on the context and audience. The Art of Telling Stories: How to effectively use stories to create trust and emotional connections along with the art of when to use your story.

It is widely accepted that more and more jobs require educated people to quickly learn and adapt to a fast evolving market. To be competitive in such an environment, workers should be equipped with talents, business skills, and entrepreneurial capacity. According to the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework laid out by the JRC in 2016, entrepreneurship is a “transversal competence, which can be applied to all spheres of life, from personal development, to actively participating in society, [...] and to starting up ventures (cultural, social or commercial)”. A training path to entrepreneurship for researchers is thus needed both for their own professional development, and to add value to society. Researchers would acquire competencies to act upon opportunities and ideas, and transform them into value for others by mobilizing resources. In this panel, we will moderate a discussion around the questions: 1. Why do we need researchers to be entrepreneurial? 2. How is the impact of such training on researchers’ career and society measured? 3. How would Universities and Research Institutions include these aspects in their curricula? 4. What incentives can be provided to Universities and Research Institutions? 5. What have we learned so far from pioneering curricula?

Majority of the PhDs and post-docs wait till the last minute of their research position to plan their next career journeys. This is ultimately leaving them in a lot of stress. What if you plan your career simultaneous with your research? How can you make most out of as a scientist? What could you be doing more strategical, intentional, assertive during your life as a scientist? This session explores how to navigate your journey as a PhD/post-doc or senior researcher to think about your career goals and ambitions. How to plan from the beginning of your journey to develop mental and emotional disciplines to fit with the competitive research environment. This session is mainly for those early and experienced researchers who wants to get prepared for the future career journeys in academia and beyond.