Newsletter
Dear MCAA colleagues and members,
It is our privilege to share this June 2025 Special Issue of the MCAA Newsletter, dedicated to a theme at the very heart of what our community stands for: enabling researchers to navigate sustainable, fulfilling, and sometimes unexpected career pathways that bridge academia, industry, and the public sector.
Across all the stories you will read in this issue, whether about mentoring, Industrial Doctorates, research management, open science, or personal tales of moving from bench to boardroom, one message is clear: careers in research are no longer defined by a single institution or linear ladder. Instead, they are living journeys that adapt, respond, and evolve in dialogue with global challenges, emerging opportunities, and the changing needs of our societies.
Why this theme now?
As MSCA alumni, we know first-hand that the research world today demands mobility, resilience, and openness. We also know these qualities are not built alone. While moving between sectors can be deeply enriching, it is also a leap into the unknown for many, a moment when practical guidance, solidarity, and a community that understands the value of non-linear growth make all the difference.
Sureyya Akyuz
Stories that challenge the single story
Alongside this feature, you will find reflections from alumni who crossed borders, not only geographically but also professionally. Some moved from research labs into consultancy and back again, discovering that skills like clear communication, critical thinking, and resilience travel remarkably well. Others stepped into policy advising, data science leadership, science communication, or the start-up world, sometimes by design, sometimes by surprise, but always with lessons worth sharing.
You will read about the Industrial Doctorates model, reminding us that bridging academia and non-academic sectors can and should begin as early as doctoral training, co-creating value for researchers, industry, and society alike. You will meet colleagues who found purpose in research management, turning what once seemed an accidental career step into a fulfilling vocation that sustains the research ecosystem behind the scenes.
These stories are not just inspirational anecdotes. Together, they point to a bigger truth: that the richness of research impact is magnified when people bring ideas across boundaries, translating scientific insight into policy, industry, community initiatives, and public dialogue.
Shared challenges, shared responsibility
This issue also acknowledges that moving between sectors is not without its obstacles. Cultural barriers, funding gaps, institutional inertia, and precarious contracts still hinder many who would otherwise bring their knowledge where it is needed most. The data and policy reflections here show that tackling these barriers requires collective will, from institutions, funders, networks like the MCAA, and each of us as individuals.
Polat Goktas
Mentoring as a bridge
One highlight of this issue is our in-depth interview with MCAA Career Development Manager Pooja Khurana, who has designed and coordinated the MCAA Academy’s new pilot mentoring track: Careers in the Public Sector. This initiative is more than a pilot; it is a signal that our community is listening to the evolving needs of our members and investing in targeted, structured support where it is needed most. In the interview, you will read how the mentoring pilot combines personal commitment, thoughtful design, and collective effort to help current and former MSCA fellows step confidently into roles that serve the public good.
This mentoring is not a checkbox but a living practice grounded in equity, reciprocity, and the simple but powerful idea that shared experiences can guide, strengthen, and empower.
An invitation to shape what comes next
We share these articles because they show what is possible. But they are also an invitation: to ask how we as a community can expand the spaces where mentoring, peer support, and cross-sector mobility flourish. How can we normalise non-linear careers, celebrate diverse success stories, and design systems that make it easier, not harder, for researchers to adapt their skills to the world’s urgent needs?
If you have ever wondered whether a change in direction means losing your identity as a researcher, this issue offers many gentle reminders: your training, curiosity, and commitment do not disappear when you step into a new environment; they grow. And when we connect, support, and mentor each other, we all grow stronger.
We hope you find insights here that inspire you, reassure you, and remind you that you are not alone on the path, whatever shape that path may take. May this issue encourage you to mentor, ask for support, share your next step, and keep building bridges between sectors, ideas, and each other.
On behalf of the Guest Editors,
Polat Goktas
Orcid
X
LinkedIn
Managing Editor, MCAA Newsletter Editorial Board
Vice-Chair, MCAA Sustainability Working Group
polatgoktas@gmail.com
Sureyya Akyuz
Orcid
LinkedIn
Guest Editor
Chair, MCAA Career Development Working Group
career-development@mariecuriealumni.eu