Newsletter
Sergio Manrique
Consultant, researcher, and Chair of the MCAA Andean-Caribbean Chapter, Sergio Manrique is an active promoter of cooperation between industry and academia, and Latin America and Europe. Manrique was given the MCAA Outstanding Contributor Award at the Association’s Annual Conference in Milan.
The award is given to an individual who has significantly contributed to the Marie Curie community, particularly the MCAA. Manrique, an expert in university-business collaboration and innovation, has had a crucial role in bringing together the MSCA fellow community in Latin America and promoting connections between continents.
How does it feel to win the award?
“I feel honoured, receiving this recognition was an experience of pure happiness. I moved to work in the industry a few years ago, and my endeavours at the MCAA represent an important way to keep connected to academia and the scientific world. Knowing my contributions to the MCAA and its alumni communities in Colombia and Latin America are appreciated and recognised, is inspiring.
Moreover, I am grateful for the collective effort and support I've received from various partners and colleagues in the MCAA AndeanCaribbean Chapter, other MCAA Latam chapters, EURAXESS Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and the MSCA Colombia National Contact Point (NCP). They have all enabled my contributions to the MCAA and therefore are also represented with this award.”
What journey led you to this award?
“It has to do with gathering and shaping the MSCA alumni community in Colombia and the Andean-Caribbean region. After finalising my MSCA ITN fellowship in 2020, I started to work in industry and eventually moved back to Colombia from Spain during the pandemic. However, I always had the intention to maintain my link to Europe and the scientific world, and the MCAA became my main channel to do so.
In 2022 we formed the MCAA AndeanCaribbean Chapter, of which I became the first Chair. I was an active player and led this process with great support from Viktoria Bodnarova from EURAXESS LAC, Catherine Fonseca from the MSCA Colombia NCP, and other MSCA fellows in the region.
Apart from developing our community, we embarked on the challenge of organising the MCAA Latam Conference, which finally took place in Cartagena, Colombia, in October 2023. It was an inspiring and thought-provoking event centred on scientific cooperation in Latin America, gathering researchers and university managers from the region. I coordinated and facilitated the organisation of the conference, with fundamental support from the previously mentioned colleagues and stakeholders in the region, as well as the Challenge Your Knowledge Colombia network.”
How will this award propel you in your future endeavours?
“It fuels me to keep developing the MCAA community in Colombia, the Andean-Caribbean region, and Latin America, by gathering and accompanying former and current MSCA fellows linked to the region and promoting the MSCA research funding and other scientific cooperation opportunities with Europe among Latam academics.
It will be challenging to overcome what was achieved at the MCAA Latam Conference last year, but this award propels our Chapter to keep the community active, organise more activities, and work towards strengthening the MCAA in Latin America. It’s also a source of motivation for creating further links and collaborating more actively with other MCAA Latam Chapters.”
What are your future goals?
“Despite the fact that I’m now working in IT consulting, I’m a researcher and want to keep working in and for science and the scientific community. My research interests are related to topics like university-business collaboration and innovation management. I can exploit the academia-industry intersection by being an active player in between these two worlds, by promoting, facilitating, and delivering initiatives that are research-based and advance cooperation among academia, industry, government, and the general public.
I expect to keep being an active player in the development and consolidation of the MCAA community in Latin America and beyond. This includes, for instance, seeing the MCAA AndeanCaribbean Chapter become a crucial actor in the scientific cooperation landscape between Latam and Europe, with a focus on MSCA.”
What advice do you have for the MCAA?
“We have witnessed the MCAA’s growth and strengthening over its first 10 years of existence. Things have been done quite well, and I believe this will continue – such a comprehensive, inclusive, and altruistic spirit must prevail in the Association. With all the team members and collaborators on board, the MCAA should continue gathering and accompanying former and current MSCA fellows around the world, boosting the community and ensuring the MSCA and similar schemes prevail for good.
Being a Latin American fellow, I want to advocate for the continuation and improvement of the global vision of the MCAA. The Chapters and Working Groups must be active players in promoting community building and further scientific cooperation efforts both within and between the MCAA and other local, regional, and global stakeholders.
Finally, it’s important to bear in mind that what happens during the MSCA fellowship is just as important as what happens before and after it. Before the fellowship, we need to keep working on promoting the MSCA opportunities among academics everywhere, and once the fellowship is over, we need to keep building and strengthening the MSCA alumni community across the world.”
Kira Keini
MCAA Communication Officer
kira.keini@mariecuriealumni.eu
@kirakeini