Countries of originec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/washington-2013/... · 2015-08-11 · DESTINATION...
Transcript of Countries of originec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/washington-2013/... · 2015-08-11 · DESTINATION...
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
Respondents: 58
Brussels, 6 June 2013
01. Countries of origin:
USA DE ES FR UK PT PL AT BE Japan Australia China
8 8 7 6 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 1
Russia Switzerland IT HU EL SK IE Croatia Canada India
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Countries of origin
USA
DE
ES
FR
UK
PT
PL
AT
BE
Japan
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
02. In what capacity did you attend the event?
03. Gender balance:
Roles
Participant
Speaker
Other
Gender distribution
Men (38)
Women (20)
Participant 51
Speaker 4
Other/Stakeholder 2
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
04. How did you find out about this event?
From friends, directly
From the EU Delegation/European
Commission within USA
Email communication from NIH
(postdoc emailing list/group)
Email from Spanish Embassy in
Washington DC
FRANIH (by email)
ERC communication service
Ministry of Innovation and Science –
Spain
Direct invitation (as a speaker)
Newsletter
EURAXESS
GSO, GAIN network
Polish Embassy in Washington
From DG RTD, European Commission
French postdoc emailing list
Science Diplomats club
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
05. Overall assessment of the event:
Rated on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the best score
Optional comments:
"A lot of useful information and good
networking opportunities"
"Excellent, informative presentations"
"First, I thought it was targeting the
Europeans who are thinking to go
back after their temporary research
term, so I was worried that I attended
it and felt uncomfortable because I am
not an European. But indeed, it was
not. I could enjoy the event!"
"Overall, I got a positive impression of
the research opportunities in Europe. I
felt some of the talks were well
directed towards the target audience
and covered topics of immediate
interest to me (specifically funding to
start a research group)"
"In general, this event was excellent. I
feel like I learned a lot about the
research landscape in Europe, and
most importantly, dispelled some
lingering, and apparently unfounded,
ideas I had about the funding climate
for research"
"Excellent way to find out what is
going on in Europe and to find out
what is available to us back in Europe"
"More talks about funding and
facilities and more networking in a
shorter program would be ideal"
"Well organized and the timing was
good".
"Very good event. While I may not
immediately look for opportunities in
Europe the event highlighted how
much drive there now is in Europe to
expand and become a leader in
research"
"Before attending this event I did not
consider Europe seriously for my
future research because I did not think
that foreign researchers are welcome
there. The information about multiple
opportunities for outside researchers
was very useful".
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Score 1-5where
5 is the best
5
4
3
2
1
1 2 3 4 5
0 1 4 35 18
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
06. The speakers:
Rated on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the best score
Optional comments:
"Most of the speakers were excellent"
"Many speakers said they will provide
their PPT slides/presentations online
and they did!"
"I really appreciated the possibility to
learn about research possibilities in
Europe, very useful information was
provided"
"Quality of lectures varies greatly;
they should focus less on diverse
rankings. Quality of life is important
but the prime motivation for most
professional to go to Europe is work
environment and possibilities - hence
the focus should be much more on
these"
"All speakers followed the tight
schedule. Their talks were containing
the introduction of their countries"
"Not homogeneous in function of the
topic. For instance, one European
speaker did not speak about Europe,
but a university in Texas"
"Most of the speakers were very
good. The presentations I enjoyed the
most were those given by people who
specialize in enabling scientists for
international moves"
"Some should have shown more data
about the success rate. Should also
include the non-academic
opportunities"
"The moderators did a great job of
keeping things moving and on time"
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Score 1-5where
5 is the best
5
4
3
2
1
1 2 3 4 5
1 5 10 30 12
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
"It's impossible to evaluate the
speakers as a group, as each of them
would need to be dealt with
individually. In general, all speakers
were enthusiastic about their
country/programme. Criticism: the
talks could have been coordinated
better"
"Speakers were very good. I especially
enjoyed the speakers from Germany
and Austria. All presentations were
very informative!"
"Good, although some speakers
seemed under prepared for the event.
On the whole though, they were
excellent"
"Some presentations were really
helpful/interesting, some not at all"
"The Danish and Austrian speakers
were very nice!"
"It is hard to rank, as some speakers
fully deserved 5 (Denmark, ERC,
Euraxess) while some others were not
at the same level"
" The speakers have just talked about
Academic Positions for the Elite"
"Quality of lectures varied greatly"
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
07. The networking opportunities
Rated on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the best score
1 2 3 4 5
0 3 4 21 28
Optional comments:
"The cocktail reception was great! I
could meet organizers and the other
participants"
"Too few and too short breaks during
the event. The lunch tables were good
and the reception at the Irish Embassy
was excellent for networking"
"These were great opportunities to
get more specific, personally relevant,
information from the speakers"
"Great opportunities to network both
during the day and at the Irish
Embassy reception"
"Excellent. I had a lot of follow up
conversations"
0 5 10 15 20 25
Score 1-5where
5 is the best
5
4
3
2
1
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
08. The venue:
Rated on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the best score
1 2 3 4 5
0 6 2 14 36
Optional comments:
"The venue was awesome! I would
like to attend it full day next year, too,
if you use the same venue"
"The place was really nice but I think
an academic environment is more
convenient"
"Nice venue even if I was a bit afraid
we would lose participants because of
the dress-code"
"Nice place but dress requirements
not appropriate for scientists"
"Excellent venue!"
"Having to wear business dress wasn't
great when the air conditioning didn't
seem to be present / functional. The
afternoon sessions were especially
sticky and unpleasant"
"I thought it was too formal"
"The venue was excellent"
"The location was great and the lunch
was very good"
"The place was not appropriate"
0 10 20 30 40
Score 1-5where
5 is the best
5
4
3
2
1
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
09. Duration of the event:
Rated on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the best score
1 2 3 4 5
0 0 3 23 32
Optional comments:
"Was about the right amount of time.
Any longer would have been too
much"
"A little bit on the long side"
"It was dense and should probably not
be longer than that in the future"
"It started very early"
"Very well organised!"
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Score 1-5where
5 is the best
5
4
3
2
1
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
10. The online registration:
Rated on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the best score
1 2 3 4 5
0 0 7 12 39
Optional comments:
"Very easy to use"
"Seemed painless enough"
"Found out after registration was
closed"
"The registration deadline was too
short and had to be extended, which
was a bit confusing. The registration
website was not easy to find, even
with a Google search"
"Quick and easy"
"The registration was fine, but the
confirmation took several days"
0 10 20 30 40
Score 1-5where
5 is the best
5
4
3
2
1
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
11. Suggestions as to how we can reach more potentially interested people (Europeans, Americans
and other nationalities working in research and innovation in the USA) to inform them about
future Destination Europe events:
"Perhaps promote the
event via some of the
International science
societies, such as FENS or
Society of Neuroscience? It
was quite fortuitous that I
found out about it"
"Use the national networks:
http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/links/usa/nationalnetwork_e
n.htm"
"Ask for
distribution on
general staff email
lists for NIH etc."
"NIH
Intramural
Science
Group
(LinkedIn)"
"Advertising the information on Scientific Journal Job
classified or newsletters of each research institutes might
work better."
"Emails from students and postdoctoral
associations and professional development
organizations at Universities and Hospitals in
USA. Also Emails from associations like RedIRIS
in Spain."
"There are post-doc, young investigators
associations that can inform their
members. In my personal case, I am
working at the National Institutes of
Health, and I received the information
through the French association of NIH,
whereas there is a mailing list for all
post-docs working at NIH. The OITE
service may help for the diffusion of this
information (www.training.nih.gov/)."
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
"I heard some of the organizers wondering why there weren't very many Americans in attendance. I
went because I specifically seek out information on opportunities in Europe because my partner is
European, but any American who doesn't necessarily have personal motivations to move to Europe
probably wouldn't actively seek out information, so it needs to be better advertised. Also, the fact that
a lot of funding opportunities have no restrictions on which nationalities can apply could be better
advertised."
"Advertise in foreign (or
domestic) newspapers read
online in the States. This might
be expensive though"
"Establish contacts
with postdoc
associations at various
institutes and expat
groups connected to
the embassy science
and technology
representatives"
"Ask past participants
to post messages at
their workplace"
"There is always a post-doc
association in major
Universities and Research
Centers. You could contact
them soon enough to allow
them to speak about
Destination Europe in their
newsletter."
"Encourage those who sign up, or have participated in previous events, to disseminate information of
upcoming events amongst their colleagues. Seek to gain access to large group mailing lists from all
large local academic institutions (this may be easier said than done, but fostering relationships with
one or two highly placed individuals within an organisation may be even more effective - e.g. if Eric
Kandel sends me an e-mail, I'm more likely to read it than if it comes from the same central
administrator who sends me 20 unwanted messages every day!)."
"Establish contacts
with postdoc
associations at various
institutes and expat
groups connected to
the embassy science
and technology
representatives"
"Target the
institutions, not the
individual offices
within the institution.
There could be many
interested people not
receiving the
information if one or
few offices are
notified"
"Try any and all international student offices in universities and
institutions in the area. Most of them have mailing lists and will be
able to forward your advertising to their entire groups"
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
12. Proposals for similar events: the location, what speakers, what subjects of discussion to
approach etc.
"More scientists that have actually done the transition from US to Europe and can share their
insights"
"Other subjects: Positions outside Academia (ex. funding opportunities to create small and
medium size companies, public-private partnerships, innovation and patents, regulatory
science)"
"I would suggest some speakers from companies in Europe that employ researchers. Also
they were mentioning several Cancer Research Institutes but no other big Institutes in other
subjects like Neuroscience. As I mentioned before, the location was nice but maybe too
formal, I personally would prefer an academic environment"
"During this event we were only informed about opportunities for young investigators. None
mentioned the possibility for other positions in academia. However, the percentage of post-
docs who will be PI is low. What are the other academic carriers at the bench and how to
apply to them could be an interesting topic. Of course, career in private company or outside
of the bench are two potential subjects"
"It would be interesting to learn about job opportunities peripheral to the research itself, like
in technology transfer, the patent process, teaching gigs, science writing and reporting, etc.
This was a great event, thank you for organizing it and executing it so professionally. I
learned a lot"
"Many postdocs are considering transitioning to industry, so an event like Destination Europe
should take those interests into account as well"
"As this event of 11 April was timely following another scientific on cancer, I suggest to
consider the possibility of another in connection to brain, neuroscience. Maybe some body
that attended previous events of Destination Europe and found a job after in an European
country should be invited"
"Washington DC, speakers from industry R&D"
"In addition to science funding opportunities (which is great!), it will be very helpful to
include more information on where/how international researchers may seek resources to
efficiently settle down in a new country e.g. international communities, health care systems
etc."
" Involve industry leaders"
"You might consider hosting your event in conjunction with the annual meetings of scientific
societies, such as the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy"
"Preference would be local. Unlikely to travel far to attend a similar event"
"I would like to have more speakers talking about their experience, instead of having
someone from the embassies or universities"
"I would find it useful to have speakers who have been directly involved in the grant
application and evaluation process and could give some testimony about how to be
successful, i.e. to avoid formal pitfalls and what are referees looking for"
"Washington DC is an excellent location. I propose more speakers talking about
opportunities related to European Union - USA collaboration. Also, more information about
concrete opportunities rather than general ones"
"I think the organization was great. My only suggestion for the future - ask speakers to
submit their presentations ahead of time and check their content for subject of the meeting.
DESTINATION EUROPE - Washington DC, USA 11 April 2013
This will assure that everyone stays on topic and everyone provides relevant information. It's
great to include some additional trivia about your country and your culture, but if that is all
you can talk about - perhaps a different meeting would be more appropriate? Thank you,
Organizers, I had a great time!"
"Link the topic to National Academies, funding agencies, and professional societies by
hosting the event at those locations. Bring in speakers to discuss more than just research
opportunities - highlight other STEM opportunities such as policy, communication, education,
etc."
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