Frequently Asked Questions
Becoming a member
How do I become a MCAA Member?
Membership of the MCAA is free of charge, and open to any past, or present, Marie Curie researcher, project supervisor or project coordinator.
If you are not yet an MCAA member, but you are eligible to become an MCAA member, please complete the on-line registration form here
Do I have to pay to be a MCAA Member?
Membership of the MCAA is free of charge, and open to any past, or present, Marie Curie researcher; i.e. any past or current beneficiary of funding under any of the past, or present, schemes proposed as part of the European Commission's Marie Curie programme (or earlier mobility programs), which encourages international mobility among researchers. Around 100 000 researchers have already benefitted from the programme, and this number is rising fast.
If you meet the criteria, please complete the on-line registration form here
Why should I become a MCAA Member?
MCAA is a global network of researchers, and membership is free. There is a range of services and facilities available to members, and preparations are underway for a wider range of useful features, benefits, and services for all MCAA members.
What are the benefits as a MCAA member?
Membership of the MCAA is free of charge, and open to any past or present Marie Curie researcher. The MCAA web-portal is the main platform for interaction among Marie Curie Alumni, and for a range of services (including micro-grants, alumni directory, local and thematic group activities, news, and employment opportunities) are available exclusively to MCAA members.
How many MCAA Members are there?
The MCAA Community is currently over 20000 registered MCAA users, and growing by the day. At the MCAA in numbers facility, you can see the nationalities, current country of residence, gender, scientific panel, and age group of members.
Who are the MCAA Board?
The eleven members of the MCAA Board (which includes an Executive Committee of five) is elected by the General Assembly of MCAA members every two years. A new MCAA Board was elected at the General Assembly in Leuven 2018; they will govern the Association for a two-year period, after which a new Board will be elected in 2020. All Board members are ‘ordinary’ MCAA members, working as unpaid volunteers.
What are MCAA Working Groups and Chapters?
MCAA Working Groups and Chapters offer members the opportunity to connect with fellow members that are interested in working together at a more local level, and/or in sharing information, ideas, and efforts to develop the MCAA. By promoting and participating in these groups, members are able to contact and interact with researchers from different countries, thus strengthening their network of contacts and increasing their knowledge. The Chair of each official MCAA Working Group and Chapter is entitled to participate in all MCAA Board meetings as a non-voting Board member.
What is the MCAA’s Governance?
The MCAA is an “a.i.s.b.l.” (international non-profit association) under Belgian law, and based in Brussels, Belgium. The Articles of Association (available in English and French) define how the MCAA is governed, in particular by MCAA members electing a Board of eleven ‘ordinary’ members to represent the interests of the MCAA as a whole. The MCAA is strongly supported by the European Commission, by means of an annual subsidy, and by the provision of the services of a commercial contractor (selected by the European Commission following a public call for competitive tenders) to assist and support the MCAA Board in managing the MCAA.
How is the MCAA funded?
Funding and support for the MCAA is provided by the European Commission (Directorate General for Education and Culture). This is in the form of an annual subsidy, and the provision of the services of a commercial contractor (selected by the European Commission following a public call for competitive tenders) to assist and support the MCAA Board in managing the MCAA.
What defines a 'MC Alumni', how do I know if I qualify to become a MCAA member?
The European Commission is keen to create an active community of all people active within the wider Marie Curie program, whatever their specific role might be. Membership is thus open to researchers (early-stage, experienced, or individual fellows), project supervisors, and project coordinators – provided they have been (or are currently) involved in one or more of the projects funded under the various European Commission Marie (Skłodowska) Curie (or earlier programs to promote international mobility of researchers) projects funded under current or previous European Commission framework programs.
To become a member of the MCAA, you will be required to provide information about yourself, plus details of the actual Marie Curie/ mobility project in which you were involved, and your role within that project; such information is verified by the MCAA before membership is granted.
Why is nothing happening when I press the "Sign up" button?
All mandatory fields in the registration form must be completed in order to register for membership – the system should prompt you if you have overlooked any of these mandatory fields. Once your registration form is sufficiently completed and submitted, the system will send you an automatic message (to the e-mail address you have provided) acknowledging receipt of your details into the system. Once these details have been verified (this might take a few hours, or more outside normal office hours), your registration will be approved, and you will receive a second automatic message confirming your membership and providing further instructions. The MCAA will contact you by e-mail if there is any problem in confirming your details. Any registration that appears to be an attempt to gain access without providing proper information (e.g. bogus names, or project details) will be simply deleted.
Working Group & Chapters
Working Group Guidelines
How do I join a Working Group or Chapter?
There are currently about ten official MCAA Working Groups and around 30 official MCAA Chapters, each of which has an individual e-mail (alias) address. To join, you must first be logged in as an MCAA member; then select the Working Group and/or Chapter you wish to join, then click on the ‘Join Group’ button at the top of the right-hand column. The group administrators will then admit you (or explain why not). If you are already a member of the group in question, you will see a ‘Leave group’ button instead of a ’Join group’ button (you cannot join a group twice!)
How do I post new Chapter information on the web-portal?
To post information in a Chapter (or Working Group) you must first be admitted as a group member; once a member you can (if you are logged in as an MCAA member) post messages (or replies) in the forum, but only the group manager can edit the main content of the group page. You can also contact other group members using the ‘private message’ option in the on-line profile of the member concerned.
How do I create a new group?
After a review, the Information & Data Access (IDA) Working Group felt that there were too many ‘thematic’ working groups with very few members, and very little content and activity, and this was creating unwanted clutter. Therefore, allowing any member to start up a new group 'just to see what happened' has now been discouraged.
If you want to start a new thematic group, we suggest that you initiate a new thread within one of the existing on-line groups in order to explore how many members react to it. If it transpires that the theme/topic is popular, and there is a lot of new content/traffic, it may then be feasible to set up a dedicated group.
For any questions concerning the creation of new groups, please contact the board, or the contractor, via the on-line forms available when you are logged in.
Guideline for Group/Chapter Administrators
Contact
https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/contact-us
Events
Do I have to be a member to participate in MCAA events?
In general, the MCAA organises events aimed mainly at members, but some events may also be open to non-members. Details on this are provided in each case.
How do I sign up for the MCAA General Assembly?
The MCAA General Assembly is only open to MCAA members, and to invited guests in exceptional circumstances. Only logged-in MCAA members will be able to view the registration details and forms for the General Assembly. The General Assembly is usually organised in conjunction with an annual conference, which is usually open to any interested participant.
Funding
Can the MCAA provide funding for my research, or for my education course?
The MCAA is not able to provide research funds, nor to subsidise educational programs.
If interested in the possibilities for Marie Curie funding (e.g. an Individual Fellowship - IF) for extending your research, please consult the following official European Commission sources:
General information on Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Calls for proposals are on the Participant Portal
The Research Enquiry Service
and the Research Enquiry Service FAQ facility
Your local National Contact Point
and the NCP FAQ facility
Can the MCAA provide advice or assistance in getting EU funding?
The MCAA exists to assist and support its members but is not responsible for the European Commission Marie Cure program. The MCAA has no input into, or influence upon, the selection processes applied by the European Commission when deciding on Marie Curie funding. The MCAA does not provide any form of advice or assistance to candidates for Marie Curie funding.
General information on Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Calls for proposals are on the Participant Portal
The Research Enquiry Service
and the Research Enquiry Service FAQ facility
Your local National Contact Point
and the NCP FAQ facility
Can I apply for a micro travel grant, so I can attend an overseas conference relating to my study field?
If you are not an MCAA member, you are not able to apply for any MCAA micro-grant.
If you qualify to become an MCAA member, you can join the MCAA for free by completing the on-line registration form at https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/user/register– you can then (if and once admitted) apply for a MCAA micro-grant
If you are involved in a project funded by via another European Commission scheme (such as Erasmus), it may be worth contacting the corresponding association to enquire about any funding opportunities.
Miscellaneous
Do you have any statistics/data of former fellows working in the Commission/Executive agencies?
The MCAA may be aware of such cases on an individual / ‘happenstance’ basis, but we have no comprehensive statistics about this.
The MCAA is also unable to pass on personal data concerning any individual (whether an MCAA member or not) to any third party without specific written authorisation from the person concerned.
Can you provide information on the different types of scholarships offered by the MCAA?
Please note that the Marie Curie Alumni Association does not provide scholarships, we are an association of members who have received research funding for international mobility from the European Commission as part of the Marie Curie Actions schemes. Advice on any European Commission programmes should be best sought directly from European Commission services.
For information on Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, please consult the following official sources:
General information on Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Calls for proposals are on the Participant Portal
The Research Enquiry Service
and the Research Enquiry Service FAQ facility
Your local National Contact Point
and the NCP FAQ facility
Do you have any statistics/data of former fellows working in Can the MCAA sponsor any external events vaguely to do with Marie Curie?
The MCAA has limited resources and needs to concentrate these on actions that will have the greatest benefits for members and for the association. Any request for support needs to be clearly justified in terms of visibility and of advantages to the MCAA and its members. The MCAA might support events clearly targeted at high-level research, or at communicating research to the wider public.
The MCAA is not able to support events seeking to raise money for charities etc.