TURKISH CHAPTER ANNUAL MEETING
The Turkish Chapter conducted its annual meeting at İTÜ’s Ayazağa campus. Murat Güneş, secretary of the MCAA, told us how it went.
Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) hosted a crucial meeting for the scientific community in June 2019. Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Alumni (MCAA) Turkish Chapter conducted its annual meeting at İTÜ’s Ayazağa campus.
Among the participants were Professor Gözde Ünal from the Computer Engineering Department at İTÜ, MCAA General Secretary Murat Güneş, as well as numerous scientists based both inside and outside Turkey.
The main aim of the MCAA Annual meeting was to bring together scientists who are currently running a Marie Sklodowska-Curie project or those who are planning to run one and encourage collaborations among them. The meeting informed participants about events that are organised by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Alumni Turkish Chapter executive committee and the European Research Council (ERC) grant which many Marie Curie fellows plan to apply for in the future.
Professor Gözde Ünal introduced the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Alumni Turkish Chapter executive committee to conference attendees and provided a summary of events that was organised by the committee. Murat Güneş provided information on microgrants and working groups that can provide support for researchers in Turkey. Emel Topuz shared important topics that were discussed at the the annual international conference of MCAA, such as researchers’ mental health, refugee scientists in Europe, and sexism in science.
Professor Yusuf Yağcı discussed qualities that one needs to become a successful scientist and listed both opportunities and challenges for scientists based in Turkey who conduct research on an international scale.
Aslı Vural gave an informative presentation on European Research Commission (ERC) grants and noted that there is an increase in the number of ERC grant projects that Turkey has received. Professor Zehra Sayers gave examples from her research and demonstrated how to intertwine diverse disciplines to create interdisciplinary projects.
After informing participants about his research, Associate Professor Kerem Pekkan shared parts of his ERC grant application and provided recommendations to participants who want to apply for ERC projects.
Finally, Emrah Göker noted that those who applied for ERC should receive administrative support from their institutions. He also discussed the criteria that ERC grant application evaluators look for.
At the end of the event, MCAA discussed what scientists in Turkey should do for better career prospects and how they can have better research opportunities in Turkey.
MURAT GÜNES