Waiting for the new Board – Interview with Axelle Viré, MCAA Vice-Chair

You have been Vice-Chair of the MCAA Board since November 2013. How would you describe this experience?

The experience has been very rich, both in terms of what I have learned and the work done by the entire Board. I really enjoyed working with everyone, including the Board, the contractors, and the EC advisors. We had fun and animated meetings. I can say that we were all very motivated and committed to establishing the MCAA and enhancing the career of our members. There are still many things to be done and improved, but that will always be the case when building such a large association. Importantly, it is very rewarding to see the Association grow and many members engage with our activities and vision.

What did you learn?

Being the Vice-Chair of such an association helped me to develop skills different to those used in my daily research & education job. This includes taking executive decisions on rules and regulations of the Association and planning its long-term strategy. As part of my role as Chair of the BeNeLux chapter, I also had the opportunity to organise a workshop and invite speakers to the event. This made me interact directly with our members in the region and also look for speakers from outside. I found it very interesting to set up such an event from scratch. During all these activities, I learned new things from the members’ feedback and the advice from the EC officers and contractors.

Which tasks did you deal with?

In addition to the tasks mentioned above, I helped the contractor and the policy working group with the drafting of a survey for our members. I further disseminated information about the MCAA in the BeNeLux region (and beyond) and hopefully attracted a few more members indirectly. Through my role in the Executive Board, I helped select candidates to receive micro-grants and awards, and voted on all kind of decisions involving the Association, including the organisation of our annual General Assembly.

What would you like to say to encourage Alumni to put themselves forward as candidates for this position?

I would encourage them to apply for the position if they like to be at the heart of governing a large association (including its rules and regulations) and have ideas to implement a vision for the members. This includes decision on the long-term strategy for the MCAA and how to get there, as well as supporting the career development of our members through events and awards. They will also probably have the opportunity to meet new people with different backgrounds to those they encounter in their daily job. Of course, the Vice-Chair should also be prepared for the eventuality of replacing the Chair if the latter is not able to remain in the position for any reason. However, this was not required during my mandate.