Waiting for the new Board – Interview with Mauricio Manfrini, MCAA Ordinary Board Member

You have been Ordinary Member of the MCAA Board since November 2013. How would you describe this experience?

It gave me great pleasure to be elected – on account of my industrial research background – as Ordinary Board Member to promote closer links between science and business together. Since the first day in this position, it has been a crazy ride. The first year of MCAA was devoted to the legal establishment of the association, with a lot of interactions and discussions with Board Members, contractors and the European Commission officers so that we could draft the best possible legal basis for the fellows’ association. In that respect, I was further honoured to be one of the four legal founders of the MCAA. I want to look back with pride in 30 years time and see how much the MCAA has grown, so let's keep this train moving!

What did you learn?

All Board Members had to focus on different aspects of the MCAA (communication, policy, event, infrastructure, awards, etc.), but we all learnt how a non-profit organisation works and what the challenges are in making it attractive for users. For example, what are the best ways to offer travel grants to a Fellow, or who should we invite to the GA. We also had access to European Commission officers, who gave us indispensable support throughout the journey and taught us the views of the EC on the programme.

Which tasks did you deal with?

Initially, I was appointed chair of the Information and Data Access Working Group (IDA-WG) with the goal of making the MCAA a better platform for the users. This work was very exciting, yet challenging, since there are many users with different interests in the MCAA. Of course we try to please as many as we can and luckily we have the non-stop support of our contractors to keep the MCAA running as smoothly as possible. Last year, I moved on to my real passion (and original promise) and co-founded the new Bridging Science and Business Working Group (BSB-WG). Here we will bring companies and research closer together. A fantastic team has been put together to ignite this exciting field of innovation, and the first interactive session will take place during the next GA 2016 in Venice. But hold on, more improvements to the MCAA are coming! I am the technical coordinator of a new project that will restructure the MCAA profile for all Members. This will allow Members to connect better and easier with each other. Stay tuned for the launch during the MCAA GA 2016!

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

Working at the MCAA has been a very rewarding experience. I have met fantastic, very hard-working people who are trying to make this association one of the best out there.

It is true the beginning was a bumpy road, but we prevailed and I can only see a bright future ahead. Therefore, if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and get down to intense work with great people, don't hesitate to apply for a Board position! Good luck to all!