Newsletter
After 2 years of pandemic and online events, MCAA members have the opportunity to meet, face-to-face and online, at the next MCAA General Assembly and General Conference from 26 to 27 March 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. Mostafa Moonir Shawrav (Chair), Fernanda Bajanca (Vice-Chair) and Gledson Emidio (Board member) are looking forward to seeing you there.
Welcome to the first hybrid MCAA General Assembly and General Conference! With a special focus on ‘Sustainability and the Post-Pandemic Workplace’, this event will be an opportunity to leave the past 2 years behind and to look forward.
Worth noting that the chosen theme mirrors the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development 2022 which aims to shed a light on the links between the basic sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals.
MCAA members’ resilience
Looking back at the past challenging years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mostafa is proud of what the MCAA has achieved, despite the difficulties caused by the numerous lockdowns.
“I need to focus on one point - that would be the resilience of the volunteers of MCAA. Even during the pandemic, the members showed their true capabilities -be it organising events on topics affecting researchers or taking part in various policy initiatives. So, working towards shaping the future of research with the contributions from all our active volunteers is the greatest achievement,” says Mostafa.
Finally gathering
Mostafa, Fernanda and Gledson strongly encourage MCAA members to come and celebrate, together, at the General Assembly and General Conference. “This is a unique opportunity to meet MSCA alumni that experienced the same challenges and share a similar profile as yours,” they note.
High level speakers have been invited to this very special event. The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Research and Innovation, Mariya Gabriel, will be one of the plenary speakers, and several European research and higher education institutions are expected to join as speakers.
Key sessions are in the pipeline, such as:
• Communication & Engagement within Hybrid Working Environment;
• After the MSCA fellowship - What Next?;
• The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in doctoral education;
• Creating Research Environments that foster Mental Wellbeing;
• Transitioning from Research to Careers in Policy Advice;
• How to be an entrepreneurial researcher;
• Science Diplomacy for Sustainable Development;
• New European Research Area (ERA) - a dream or reality?;
• Writing an ERC Synergy Grant Proposal;
• Researchers with disabilities: Towards a sustainable workplace;
• Next generation and VR-assisted research, training and networking tools and their application potential.
Onsite and online networking
During the sessions, participants will have the opportunity to interact with the speakers. What’s more, chat rooms will be made available outside the sessions, both collective and private. Sponsors and stakeholders will have the possibility to exhibit their projects via booths.
Exciting career development activities will take place, like free professional LinkedIn photo shoots!
The three organisers Mostafa, Fernanda and Gledson, highlight however the pitfalls related to the organisation of such an event. “Organising an event during a pandemic, without being able to foresee how the situation will look months ahead is a big obstacle. Measures for guaranteeing the security on site in this situation require a larger budget and organisation. Also, guaranteeing high level speakers is not as easy when the people are reluctant to travel. The whole hybrid event organisation is a big challenge, but a worthwhile one, as it also opens a lot of opportunities for future events,” they explain.
The MCAA GA taskforce is happy to announce that participants will spend plenty of time together. “We have increased the interval in between sessions and the slots for networking,” they say.
Ensuring safety
All efforts have been made to guarantee a safe space. A complete vaccination scheme has been required to all onsite attendees, with testing every 24 hours, as well as mandatory use of FFP2 masks. Tests and masks will be provided at the event.
The organisers note that online attendees will also have opportunities to digitally network.
According to Mostafa, Fernanda and Gledson, MCAA members shouldn’t miss this opportunity to catch up at the event and online. “We are working to provide a safe space for networking and a welcoming environment for people to learn and exchange ideas. We hope our attendees will leave the conference feeling energised with great ideas, and the good feeling that they helped us to make our most sustainable conference ever,” they conclude.
Read more about the 2022 MCAA Annual Conference and General Assembly.
Register for the Annual Conference
Aurélia Chaise
MCAA Editorial Team