Newsletter
Discover the main goals for the upcoming year of the Chapter, which wants to increase its dynamics and community spirit.
Why did you decide to run as Chair of the United Kingdom Chapter?
During the past year, I oversaw the Scotland region, organising bi-weekly social meetings. In addition to an experience as the founder of a debating association and a great discussion with another board member, it helped me conceive a vision for the Chapter’s future and motivated me to apply.
What will be the objectives of the United Kingdom Chapter under your tenure?
Our Chapter faces two issues: (1) eligible people don’t know the MCAA exists; (2) low engagement within the Chapter. We are keen to propose the best events and workshops. However, there is no point if most are unaware of them and the others do not participate. We have the members, the resources, and the will. Now, we need to bring these pieces together to build a community. This is fundamental if we expect to leverage the real potential impact of the MCAA actions.
Bionote:
Quentin Loisel has been recently elected the new Chair of the United Kingdom Chapter after a year as Scotland’s regional leader. He is a current MSCA PhD fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University and part of the Health CASCADE project, aiming to make co-creation trustworthy. His work bridges technology and the fundamental human dimension within the values of the co-creation process. With the growing influence of technology in our lives, he aims to enable collaboration of the diverse actors of society, bridge the gap between humans and technology, and make the best of future technology.
are positioned only within the boundaries of the UK. These figures symbolize population centers, and luminous
lines connect them, illustrating an interconnected network
What are your plans for developing the United Kingdom Chapter?
Firstly, we must develop communication between members. They are willing to connect socially or for networking. Moreover, considering the mobility requirement, we all faced arriving in a new country without knowing anyone. We want to create local contact points where people can easily reach each other.
Secondly, we must improve information about the MCAA missions, resources, events, and activities. Our need assessment shows that our members prefer emails as a communication channel, and we plan to create a short bi-monthly newsletter to communicate events, tools and stories from the Chapter and other groups. Anyone can sign up.
Our team can only dedicate our spare time to the association. So, we need to be bright and bold! Our strategy is to only focus on what requests the least cost (e.g., financial, time, people, etc.) for the most significant impact. Moreover, our innovation should be easily transferred to the next board in two years.
Do you already have plans for events and activities? Can you tell us some?
The expected benefits of our strategy will be to create a community spirit, support networking, improve communication within the Chapter, better inform of MCAA’s benefits, and Chapters and Working Groups’ events. Finally, we expect an increase in our members and their participation.
Conscious that it will already take most of our time, we are thinking of only reproducing the events that have been successful in the last years. However, we actively support any ideas from members and encourage them to take the lead on organising any relevant events.
What is the role of the United Kingdom Chapter within the MCAA community?
The United Kingdom is an attractive destination for researchers, and the Chapter has many members. The Chapter is the ground level of the MCAA in the four nations of the country. Our role is to create a community dynamic, supporting meaningful participation and ensuring the link with higher levels of the association. MSCA researchers face particular challenges that the Chapter needs to consider and support, acknowledging the essential human dimension.
How will you cooperate with other Chapters and Working Groups?
Our current goals do not require close collaboration with other Chapters and Working Groups. However, we are glad to consider any cooperation as long as they are relevant regarding the impact and necessary resources. Some Chapters and Working Groups have already contacted us with proposals to which we are happy to contribute. I am still personally discovering all the possibilities, and it will surely increase in the future.
What would you say to members considering joining the United Kingdom Chapter?
MCAA is an excellent opportunity to participate in a supportive association for MSCA researchers. You are more than welcome to join this adventure as a regular member. However, an association’s impact is proportional to the engagement of its members. If you have an idea for an activity or an event you would like to organise, be sure to reach out for support from us!
Quentin Loisel
Chair of the United Kingdom Chapter
quentin.loisel@gcu.ac.uk
Twitter: @q5loisel