18 May 2015 | On 11 May, the EuroTech Universities Alliance, in collaboration with ERRIN and the European Commission, organized an event on ‘Fostering attractive research careers – the role of the EU HR Strategy for Researchers’. Around 50 participants, including representatives of the European Commission and from universities, discussed the importance and associated challenges in implementing the EU HR Strategy for Researchers.
Anna Karaoglou and Irmela Brach from the European Commission were set the scene by explaining the principles and the process of receiving the HR in Excellence Award. Two universities from different countries were invited to share their experiences with the HR strategy and implementing the European Commission’s Charter & Code. Nathalie Modjeska from the Université de Montpellier and Karen Vandevelde from Ghent University explained the added value for universities in implementing the Charter and Code. Points raised include how the EU HR Strategy for Researchers can help universities to implement their own institutional HR strategies and how it brings together all the implicated staff members who are working in the field, including the HR office, the research office, professors and postdocs etc. Moreover, implementing the EU HR Strategy for Researchers does not have any financial implications, whilst potentially raising universities’ exposure and attractiveness. Last but not least, implementing the EU HR Strategy for Researchers underlines the willingness of the universities to fulfil the obligations of Art. 32 in H2020 grant agreement.
Each of the EuroTech Universities partners are actively exploring and exchanging on their innovative approaches for recruiting and retaining top research talent. The EuroTech Universities Alliance organized this event in line with its commitments outlined in its “ERA in Action” statement. On 17 July 2013, the Alliance was one of the five associations of European Technical Universities received by the former European Commissioner for Research & Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, in order to formally endorse its statement. This statement includes the Alliance’s specific commitments to delivering the European Research Area in relation to doctoral education, recruitment, knowledge transfer, gender & diversity, open access and communicating science & technology. You can find the whole statement here: http://eurotech-universities.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EuroTech-Universities-Alliance-Statement-ERA-in-action.pdf
In June 2013, the EuroTech Universities organized before a High Level Event on the topic of ‘TENURE TRACK – A REAL PARADIGM SHIFT FOR ATTRACTING TOP RESEARCH TALENT?’, including the Presidents of EPFL and TUM presenting the implementation of Tenure Track systems within their universities. For more information about this event: http://eurotech-universities.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/EuroTech-Universities-High-Level-Event-on-Tenure-Track-10-June-Brussels.pdf
