Information Session on grants and fellowships for researchers of all nationalities and research fields

WHEN:  Friday November 9th                                                                                          In association with ACE Stanford             9:30am to 11:45am                                                                       WHERE: Stanford University                 S361 in the Clark Center Free but registration necessary To register please email to molcina@stanford.edu

Europe has a vibrant and exiting science and technology culture and offers many excellent and generous career funding opportunities for researchers and innovators, no matter where they come from in the world.  Horizon 2020, the European Union’s research and innovation funding program, is the world’s largest multinational R&I program. In addition to funding collaborative research projects, it offers opportunities to individual researchers.  Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions and European Research Council grants are open to researchers from public and private organizations, who would like to spend time in Europe, regardless of their nationalities, careers stage, or field of research.  Experts will present these opportunities and guide the audience through the options and practicalities of application.

AGENDA

09:30 – 09:50         Networking – coffee and cookies/pastries

09:50 – 10:00         Introduction to the EU research landscape and to Horizon 2020

10:00 – 10:30         Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, and how to apply for them

10:30 – 11:00         European Research Council research grants, and how to apply for them

11:00 – 11:45         Q/A session

The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) provide grants for all stages of researchers' careers and encourage transnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility.  The grants enable research-focused European organisations (universities, research centers, and companies) to host talented foreign researchers and to create strategic partnerships with leading institutions worldwide.  MSCA also offers opportunities for EU researchers to go abroad (eg to the USA).  Under the EU research programme "Horizon 2020", the MSCA has a budget of over €6 billion for the period 2014-2020.

The opportunities the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions offer to researchers will be introduced.  This session will guide the audience through the ways of participating including (i) by applying for an individual fellowship, or (ii) by applying directly to a vacancy in a project.

The European Research Council (ERC) awards long-term grants (up to 5 years) to individual researchers from anywhere in the world, who wish to carry out their research projects in a host organisation based in Europe.   Excellence is the sole evaluation criteria.  Under the EU research programme "Horizon 2020", the ERC has a budget of over €13 billion for the period 2014-2020.  The ERC supports the best and most creative scientists to identify and explore new opportunities and   directions in any field of research.  It particularly encourages proposals which cross disciplinary boundaries; address new and emerging fields; and introduce unconventional and innovative approaches.

The session will present the funding opportunities offered by the ERC, to establish research groups in a university or research center in Europe. ERC grants are attributed via annual competitions to researchers of any nationality, scientific area or age, from young post-docs to well established scientists.

Speakers:

Mary Kavanagh - Minister-Counselor for Research and Innovation at the European Union's Delegation to the United States of America in Washington DC. Her role involves raising awareness of opportunities for EU-US cooperation and exchange in research and innovation and facilitating that cooperation at both government agency and stakeholder levels. Mary has a PhD in Plant Science from University College Cork, Ireland and carried out post-doctoral research in France and Switzerland before swapping the laboratory for science policy.

Theodore Papazoglou - Head of Unit for the support of the Scientific Council at the European Research Council Executive Agency since 2010.  Theodore graduated from the Physics Department of the University of Crete, Greece and received his PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Southern California.

David Wizel - Head of Sector “Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions” (MSCA) Individual fellowships at the European Union's Research Executive Agency: David has a background in political sciences and marketing and has dedicated his career to the European Commission since 2002. The main focus of his work has been in the area of research and innovation, and most recently managing Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellowships.