A year in review: key highlights from the MCAA in 2024

In 2024, the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) celebrated its birthday: 10 years of innovation, excellence, collaboration, and inclusiveness.   

As 2024 comes to a close, it is time to look back at a year filled with achievements that not only strengthened our community of members and stakeholders but also reinforced our shared commitment to advancing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and shaping the future of research and innovation. Here are our key highlights from the past 12 months!

We celebrated our 10th anniversary  

The MCAA was founded on February 7th, 2014, to connect, give a voice to, and support researchers who benefit or have benefited from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Today, we are a thriving global network of over 22,000 members spread across 155 countries. We are thrilled to see how much we have grown and look forward to building the next decade of the Association with you!

To mark the 10th anniversary of the MCAA, we ran a social media campaign (#MCAA10years) highlighting the achievements, stories, and impact of our community. You can still join us in celebrating by sharing your story and tagging our account Marie Curie Alumni Association on LinkedIn and @Mariecurie_alum on X.

We held our Annual Conference and General Assembly in Milan, Italy

The 2024 edition of our Annual Conference and General Assembly, themed “MCAA 10 years: Past, Present, & Future,” took place on March 14th–16th at the University of Milano-Bicocca. The event brought together hundreds of researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives to discuss topics ranging from career development and academic life to collaboration across sectors and disciplines.

The next edition of our Annual Conference and General Assembly, dedicated to “Research and innovation in a rapidly evolving world,” will be held on March 21st–22nd, 2025, in Krakow, Poland. Keep an eye out for updates!

We welcomed the new MCAA Board

In 2024, we welcomed a new Board composed of 11 members with diverse backgrounds and expertise in the MCAA to manage the Association over the next two years. The Board convened several times throughout the year to discuss ongoing activities and future plans to amplify our impact and foster a stronger, more engaged community.

Of note is the meeting held online in July, with Chapter and Working Group Chairs and a representative of the European Commission. Among the key topics discussed at this meeting was the announcement of two new thematic groups of the MCAA: the Sustainability Working Group and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) General Interest Group.

We launched a Peer Exchange Platform for Narrative-style CVs (PEP-CV)

Launched in March, PEP-CV is a free resource for the research and innovation community to engage in peer mentoring and collaboratively create narrative-style CVs. Open to a diverse, intersectoral and international community, PEP-CV is a collaborative initiative between two researchers organisations, the MCAA and the Young Academy of Europe (YAE), and six funding agencies namely Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Dutch Research Council (NWO), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and the Wellcome Trust. PEP-CV provides peer mentoring for narrative CVs, a crucial tool in advancing research assessment practices, shifting the focus from quantity to quality, and recognising the diverse competencies required for a thriving, inclusive academic ecosystem.

In July, PEP-CV hosted its kick-off webinar, followed by a mentor-mentee feedback session in October to gather insights and enhance the platform’s success. A continuously growing global community, PEP-CV has already garnered over 650 members.

We organised an in-person training for Chapter and Working Group Chairs

2024 has been an exciting year for our Chapters and Working Groups (C&WGs), which welcomed 22 new and re-elected Chairs as the result of the elections held in July–August. In September, MCAA Chairs from across the globe gathered in Athens, Greece, for a two-day training on C&WG management, including budget and activity planning. The meeting provided an opportunity for our Chairs to connect, share ideas and experiences, and discuss potential collaborations with each other.

We engaged in shaping research and innovation policies in Europe

The MCAA is committed to advocating for policies that empower researchers and foster a more inclusive research environment. This year, we issued statements on crucial topics, including recommendations to enhance the success of the MSCA in the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10) and a statement on the importance of recognising the MSCA's invaluable contributions to the European research and innovation landscape.

We connected and collaborated through events worldwide

The MCAA lives and thrives on the shared commitment of our community. This year, our members, Board, C&WGs, and Secretariat actively engaged in numerous activities. From webinars to international conferences and networking events, our involvement in these actions helped us strengthen our connections and enhance the Association's visibility and impact on the global stage.

We want to highlight our participation in the MSCA Conference in Mons, Belgium, and the International Science Council Global Knowledge Dialogue for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile, in April. We also joined the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and the related MSCA Satellite Event in Katowice, Poland, in June, and the European Research Area (ERA) Stakeholder Conference in Belgium, Brussels, in September. Moreover, we organised a networking event for our members prior to ESOF in Katowice in June, and two side events at the World Science Forum in Budapest, Hungary, in November.

Speakers of the World Science Forum 2024 side events organised by the MCAA in collaboration with Eurodoc, ICoRSA, and YAE. Photo credit: MTA Kommunikáció via Flickr.

Our Chapters and Working Groups played a key role in facilitating learning and networking opportunities within our community. These included the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Summer Day by the United Kingdom Chapter, a meet-and-greet at the Science Is Wonderful event by the Communication Working Group, the Gender Equity and Research Symposium (GEaRS) by the Genders, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Working Group, and members’ participation in the European Researchers’ Night. We also saw various collaborations between our C&WGs, including webinars on varied topics as part of the Around the World and AsiaConnect series.

Looking forward to a year of more collaboration and impact

As we move into 2025, we want to thank our members, collaborators, partners, funders, and other stakeholders who have supported and contributed to our growth and success. We wish you a joyous holiday season and look forward to continuing this journey together in the coming year!