Newsletter
Previous MCAA Secretary and new Board Member, Marina Rantanen Modeer, looks forward to working with the new team. Building on solid experience within the Association, she plans to strengthen its strategy and to improve transparency in grants’ selection processes.
Marina Rantanen Modeer, in her own words
Currently I am a scientist in systems engineering, researching and developing modelling methods of various autonomous systems in industry. I recently moved back to Sweden, where I am from, after living in Germany for just over five years. I did my MSCA project on cyber-physical systems modelling at the Technische Universität Dortmund and feel so very fortunate to have had the chance to stay within the same area of research as my PhD, also now after leaving TU Dortmund. Before I moved to Germany, I lived a couple of years in Leiden in the Netherlands as I worked at the European Space Agency as a robotics engineer.
Marina’s journey within the MCAA has been quite intense so far. She started as the Chair of the Germany chapter, volunteered as the Secretary of the MCAA for the past two years and is now ready for a new mandate as a Board Member.
A promising new team
Confident as regards the next steps, Marina is eager to start collaborating with the new MCAA Team. “I have an understanding of what the MCAA is, what it does and what it potentially could become and do in the future. As I’ve gotten to know the Association and some of the Board Members, I can safely say that the MCAA is in very good hands with our new chair Fernanda Bajanca,” she says.
She considers herself fortunate to be able to support the new chair and the rest of the Board to achieve new goals for the MCAA with the experience she has gained over the past few years.
Transparency and communication
Marina is keen to help develop MCAA’s transparency, internal governance and strategy. “I have always been interested in clear and good communication and will help out in some capacity there too. Mainly I will work towards transparent and clear criteria for selection processes for our various resource grants, an inspiring strategic vision for the Association and supportive internal structures,” she explains.
As the previous MCAA Secretary, Marina focused her efforts on communication, both within the Board and outside. She is confident that the new Secretary will continue the work towards this direction. “Giulia Malaguarnera and I have already had discussions on how to carry on some of the work on internal communication that we started on the previous Board and I will no doubt keep supporting that work in the future,” she says.
Ethics Committee
Marina was also happy to share with us that she will carry on the work with the Ethics Committee. “The Ethics Committee is currently our main support mechanism for situations that are challenging to deal with both in urgent matters and more long-term issues. The goal is to have an outside assessment that is trustworthy in sensitive situations that might blur our ability to make the right decision,” she explains.
Marina highlights all the numerous benefits that her involvement within the Association brought her. She therefore invites the MCAA members to contribute as well. “Get involved and active in the MCAA! You will not regret it, but if you do you can quit! It gave me completely new horizons to work towards and I got in touch with a world full of things I had never seen up close before, such as science policy. It can potentially change your entire career.” Are you ready to shake up your professional path?
Aurélia Chaise
MCAA Editorial Team