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European Commission, DG RTD (Moderator)
Mary Kavanagh works in the International Cooperation Directorate of DG
Research and Innovation at the European Commission, in Brussels. She is
the Deputy Head and Senior Expert in the Unit which deals with cooperation
with North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Previously, she was
the Counsellor for Science, Technology and Education at the EU Delegation
to the United States. She 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.
Strategic Forum for International Cooperation
Chair of the European Strategic Forum for International Cooperation (SFIC),
Dan Andrée is a Special Advisor to the Swedish Agency for Innovation
Systems (VINNOVA) and to the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research
with specific tasks related to European Research and Innovation Policy. He
has more than 30 years of professional experience whereof more than 10
years of management at high level, having been director of two
governmental agencies. He received the "Medal for zeal and probity in
service to the Kingdom of Sweden”. He has worked with and within the
European Institutions for the last 20 years mainly related to research and innovation policy. Dan Andrée
represents Sweden in several Committees such as the European Research Area and Innovation
Committee (ERAC). Earlier in his career he was a researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology,
Stockholm in Optimisation and Systems Theory. He has worked for industry in India and Israel. He has
been Science Counsellor at the Swedish Embassy in London.
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President of the European Research Council
Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon is President of the European Research
Council (ERC) as of 1 January 2014. He was the Director of the Institut des
Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS) from 1994 till 2013. This international
research institute located near Paris, France, was built as the European
counterpart of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He was also the
first ERC Panel Chair in Mathematics, for Starting Grants. A mathematician by
training, he spent his whole career as a fellow of the Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). He held a Professor position at École polytechnique from 1986 to 2012.
From 1990 to 1992, he was President of the Société Mathématique de France and President of the
European Mathematical Society from 1995 to 1998. He is a former member of the Board of the
EuroScience organisation (2002-2006) and served on EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) committees from
2004 until December 2013. Professor Bourguignon received the Prix Paul Langevin in 1987 and the Prix du
Rayonnement Français in Mathematical Sciences and Physics from the Académie des Sciences de Paris in
1997. He is a foreign member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences. In 2005, he was elected
honorary member of the London Mathematical Society and has been the secretary of the mathematics
section of the Academia Europaea. In 2008, he was made Doctor Honoris Causa of Keio University, Japan,
and, in 2011, Doctor Honoris Causa of Nankai University, China. In addition to his mother tongue, French,
Professor Bourguignon is fluent in English and German.
EU Delegation to the USA, Washington DC
James Gavigan has been Head of the Science, Technology and Innovation
section at the Delegation of the European Union to the USA, since September
2012. He has worked for the European Commission since 1990 including as
Head of Unit for European Research Area policy from 2007 to 2012. He is a
graduate of Trinity College Dublin (BA, PhD – Physics) and the University of
Warwick (Masters in Public Administration).
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European Research Council
Alejandro Martín Hobdey studied physics at the University of Manchester and
obtained a PhD in nuclear physics at the University of Rochester, USA.
Following postdoctoral work at MIT on laser cooling and trapping of atoms,
he was awarded a position as Research Scientist in 1988 at the Instituto de
Óptica in Madrid, and then went on to work on medical physics as a Research
Fellow at Harvard Medical School. He has worked in several research
programmes within DG Research since joining the European Commission in
1994, including the New and Emerging Science and Technology (NEST) initiative of Framework Programme
6. He has participated in the setting up the European Research Council since its inception, having been
the Head of Unit for the Starting Grants Unit until October 2012. He is currently the Head of Unit for Call
and Project Follow-up Coordination within the Scientific Department.
ERC Starting Grant, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de
Barcelona
Albert Quintana is a tenure-track Ramón y Cajal investigator in the Department
of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology. He earned a Bachelor in Science in
Biology (Biomedicine) in 2001 and a PhD in Neuroscience in 2007, both from
the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. During his PhD focused on the role of
cytokines in the development of neuropathology and neuroinflammation in
traumatic brain injury. As a postdoc (2008-2013), he joined Dr. Richard
Palmiter lab at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was the lead scientist developing and
characterizing a mouse model of mitochondrial disease (Leigh Syndrome). In 2013 he was appointed
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics (University of Washington) and group leader at the
Seattle Children’s Research Institute. In 2015 he returned to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona as a
Ramón y Cajal investigator and ERC grantee (Starting Grant). His research focuses on using a multi-level
approach and to develop new tools to identify the molecular determinants of neuronal susceptibility to
mitochondrial disease. He has authored over 30 research articles and 2 book chapters.
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Embassy of France to the United States
Dr. Minh-Hà Pham was appointed Counsellor for Science and Technology at
the Embassy of France in the United States in Washington on 1 September,
2013. After coordinating scientific cooperation for the Asia-Pacific Region for
the French National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, CNRS), she served as Director of the European
Research and International Cooperation Office (DERCI) in charge of
implementing the European and international policy of CNRS. As a member of
the board of ParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology, a consortium of 12 “Grandes Ecoles” or Engineering
and Management Schools), Dr Pham was in charge of promoting ParisTech at the international level and
the recruitment of international students. She also contributed to the creation of a Europe-China Master’s
program focused on renewable energy. During her time at the French National Institute of Research in
Agronomy (INRA), Dr Pham was the head of a research laboratory and she has published 100 articles,
chapters in 5 books and 2 books on honeybee biology, targeting the general public. She supervised 16
PhD students and coordinated a European Union project investigating the impact of GMOs on beneficial
insects. Dr Minh-Hà Pham was member of various national expert committees for the French Ministries
of Agriculture, Research and Environment. Dr. Pham also participates in the European Union EXPERTS
Program for cooperation with Asia. Her scientific background is in neurobiology and the risk assessment
of GMOs and pesticides on beneficial insects. She graduated from the Institut National Agronomique de
Paris-Grignon (now AgroParisTech). She obtained her PhD in neuroscience at Pierre et Marie Curie
University (Paris 6) in 1983, her Habilitation in 1992 and is a Senior Scientist at CNRS.
Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) Office in the US
Mireille Guyader is the representative of the National Institute for Health and
Medical Research (Inserm) in the United States, since September 2011 and
serves as director of the Inserm-USA office at the Embassy of France in
Washington, DC. This is the liaison office between Inserm’s Headquarters in
Paris and main biomedical research institutions in the United States, within
the context of the new French Alliance for Life Sciences, Aviesan. From 2006
to 2011, she was the Scientific Attaché in charge of the Life Sciences domain
at the Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France and was based in Los Angeles,
California. She was instrumental in the establishment and strengthening of cooperation and exchange
programmes between French and US research institutions in the biomedical field. She has been working
at Inserm for more than 20 years, first as a junior and later as senior research scientist, in the fields of
molecular biology, molecular imaging and vaccine approaches to HIV. She has developed research
projects at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Columbia University in New York City, the Centre Medical
Universitaire in Geneva, the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, and more recently at the Center for
Immunology of Marseille-Luminy. She has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Paris VII.
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Swissnex Boston, Consulate of Switzerland
Jonas Brunschwig holds a BA in International Affairs from Suffolk University in
Boston. He obtained his degree in 2011, after transferring from Buenos Aires,
Argentina where he studied at from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he spent a year at
the University of Zurich studying economics. After graduation, he joined
Uncharted Play, a Harvard social enterprise, and two years later he joined the
Boston Global Forum, a think tank chaired by Governor Michael Dukakis.
In 2013 Mr. Brunschwig joined MIT in the Office of Foundation Relations, where
he spent the last two years working on a portfolio of projects in four of MIT's five
schools, while also growing the Institute's engagement with international and corporate foundations.
Since September 2015 he is the Project Leader for Academic Relations at swissnex Boston, a Consulate of
Switzerland dedicated to Science, Innovation, Art and Education.
Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT
Currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Nada Bjelobrk is investigating the interaction of droplets and nanotextured
surfaces for improved heat transfer in heat exchangers in power plants. Nada
joined the Varanasi Research Group in March 2013 as a SNSF "Early Postdoc
Mobility" Fellow. She obtained her PhD, M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees at ETH Zurich
where she developed an acoustic levitator for contactless transport and
manipulation of droplets suspended in air (Poulikakos Group) and how to in-situ
functionalise nanoparticles using flame spray pyrolysis (Pratsinis Group).
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva
Jesse Sargent is a PhD candidate in the Department of International History at the
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva,
Switzerland. His research project focuses on the historical circulation of
missionaries in the Society of Jesus and the construction of church administration
in Asia during the 16th and 17th centuries. These Jesuits stressed attention to
local circumstances, that is, culture, society, and cosmology, in attempting to
adapt their Christian world-view in ways comprehensible and persuasive within
such local contexts. Furthermore, the Jesuit example assists us in rethinking the features of the modern
world, imagining a globalizing society shaped decisively (rather than threatened) by human mobility. Cast
against the disorder of modern Foreign Affairs, studying the past through both longue duree and global
perspectives demonstrates resoundingly that movement and circulation of ideas, objects, and people
plays a central and natural role in the unfolding story of humanity.
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Wallonia-Brussels International
Scientific Liaison Officer USA, Wallonia-Brussels International, Maxime holds a
Master Degree in Political Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He
currently serves as Scientific Liaison Officer for WBI – Wallonia-Brussels
International, the Belgian public administration, in charge of the foreign relations
of Wallonia and Brussels’ regions. Maxime helps to foster all kind of scientific
exchanges between Wallonia-Brussels and the US. Before this, Maxime has
worked for 3 years in the Education Department of the European Society of
Anaesthesiology (ESA). He is based in Boston.
Research Foundation, Flanders (FWO)
Since 2015, Gregory Absillis is working as a science policy officer at the Research
Foundation – Flanders (FWO) in the unit of international affairs. His main
responsibilities are, amongst others, the management of international mobility
programmes and bilateral research cooperations with various partner agencies
across the world. He is also actively involved in the implementation of the EU
COFUND postdoctoral programme [PEGASUS]2. He previously worked as an FWO
postdoctoral fellow at the Chemistry department of KULeuven where he also
obtained a PhD in 2011. His research activities mainly focused on the (bio)
chemical applications of polyoxometalates and covered the fields of (bio) inorganic chemistry, material
science and catalysis. During his time as a postdoc he spent short periods abroad at the European
Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble (France) and at the Bulgarian Academy of Science (BAS)
in Sofia (Bulgaria). Besides a master in Chemistry, he also holds a Postgraduate in Business Administration
from KULeuven.
Consul General in Boston
Fionnuala Quinlan was appointed Consul General of Ireland to Boston in
September 2015. Prior to this, she was Director of Press Relations at the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin, where she managed the
Department’s engagement with traditional and new media. She joined the
Department in 2009 as Press Adviser for Irish Aid, the Government’s overseas
aid programme, and travelled extensively through Africa and Asia in that role.
Before joining the Department, Fionnuala worked as a journalist and editor in
Ireland and abroad for almost 15 years. She was Features Editor at the Irish
Examiner, with responsibility for daily features, Weekend magazine and columnists; Deputy Features
Editor, Health Correspondent and Senior News Journalist. She has also worked as a journalist at Sydney’s
Daily Telegraph and was News Editor and reporter for the The Evening Echo in Ireland. She was a frequent
contributor to Radio France Internationale, having lived and worked in France for more than two years.
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FECYT Representative, Embassy of Spain, Washington DC
Biomedical scientist and expert on science and innovation policies with
extensive international experience in academia, public administration and multi-
lateral organizations. Lived and worked abroad for over 20 years. Focused on
international scientific cooperation, social innovation, scientific communities
and capacity building for a sustainable future through science and innovation.
ECUSA-Boston chapter
Immunologist with extensive expertise in the study of autoimmune diseases
(lupus, type 1 diabetes) and solid background in clinical trial execution and pre-
clinical research. President and co-founder of the non-profit organization of
Spanish scientists in the USA (ECUSA)-Boston chapter, the objective of which is to
promote science outreach, career development, education and networking
opportunities among the Spanish scientific community in the USA as well as
building bridges between Spain and the USA.
Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM),
Professional development Program at ECUSA.
Dr. Dominguez is an Assistant Professor of Hematology-Oncology in the
Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). She
holds a BS and MS in biochemistry from the Universidad del Pais Vasco, and a PhD
in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de
Madrid. Dr. Dominguez conducted post-doctoral research at Beth Israel Hospital
and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, with the support of research fellowships
from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the Basque government. Her research interest is
to understand the molecular mechanisms and the biological role of the Wnt signaling pathway in embryo
development and in cancer. In addition, Dr. Dominguez has a long-standing commitment to professional
development. She is the leader of the Professional development Program at ECUSA , the executive
director of professional development of BU’s BEST and the co-chair of the Faculty Development and
Diversity Committee in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Dominguez was a panelist in the Nature jobs
career Expo in Boston, and regularly gives professional development seminars to students and faculty.
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German Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Robin Mishra is the Head of the Science and Technology Section of the
German Embassy in Washington, D.C. He studied law at the Universities of
Münster and Paris. After completing his Ph.D. and legal training, he was an
assistant to the CEO of the RTL Group, Europe’s largest broadcasting company.
After working as a TV journalist for Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), he switched
roles in 2001 to become a Berlin correspondent for the weekly newspaper
Rheinischer Merkur. His commitment to transatlantic cooperation and
understanding dates back to 2004 when he received an Arthur F. Burns Journalism Fellowship and wrote
for the Chicago Tribune. Following this experience, he became Berlin Bureau Chief for the Rheinischer
Merkur. Dr. Robin Mishra was awarded the Arthur F. Burns Prize in 2005 and the Roman-Herzog-
Medienpreis in 2009 for his articles. He is also author of various political books. In 2010, he joined the
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in Berlin and served the Federal Ministers
Annette Schavan and Johanna Wanka as Spokesman and Head of Press and Strategic Communications.
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Anne Knab is a project officer in the department of “International Research
Marketing” at the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD). She
organizes events within the national campaign “Research in Germany”
including consultation on PhD and Post-Doc opportunities in Germany. Anne
graduated in Political Sciences, Sociology and Recent and Modern History at
the University of Bonn. After graduation she worked as an editor for the
educational publishing house Bildungsverlag EINS. Since 2011, Anne is in charge of organizing research
marketing events for the DAAD, such as science tours, PhD matchmaking events, and the German
presence at international career fairs.
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German Academic International Network (GAIN)
Gerrit K. Roessler is the director of the German Academic International Network
(GAIN) in New York City, a joint initiative of the German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation. He designs and organizes events, workshops and
trainings to aid German researchers in North America with their professional
development. He has published essays on building and maintaining
international networks and support structures for mobile researchers in various
journals in Germany and abroad. His goal is to help early-career scientists and
serve as a resource and connector. He received his Ph.D. in German literature and culture from the
University of Virginia in 2013 and an Erstes Staatsexamen in music and English from the University of
Dortmund, Germany in 2007. From 2011 to 2012 he worked as Assistant Adjunct Professor at Queens
College, CUNY.
KoWi - European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations
Sarah Raphael has been EU Funding Expert at the European Liaison Office of the
German Research Organisations (Kowi) at the Bonn office since 2012. At the
moment, she is coordinator of the KoWi part of the National Contact Point (NCP)
for the European Research Council (ERC) and head of the KoWi team for the Marie
Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Her priorities lie on the funding opportunities of
the ERC, the MSCA and EU collaborative research funding in the Social Sciences
and Humanities. In this context, she specifically focuses on international
cooperation. Since 2016, Sarah Raphael is chair of the ERC Working Group within the IGLO network
(Informal Group of R&D Liaison Offices) in Brussels. Being a linguist by training, Sarah Raphael has studied
at the University of Freiburg and the University of Aberdeen and has been awarded a Master’s degree in
2010. She has participated as a speaker in several national, European and international conferences.
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European Commission, DG Education and Culture
Daniel Göhring joined the European Commission's Directorate-General for
Education and Culture in 2013, where he is mainly responsible for the legal
aspects of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, policy development, and
copyright in education. In addition, he also worked in the field of EU higher
education policy, where he dealt with the recognition of foreign qualifications.
Before joining the European Commission in Brussels, he worked for European
Union missions in the field of development policy & democracy support in various countries, including
Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia. He studied law and sociology at the University of Graz (Austria),
the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (France) and the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada).
Research Executive Agency, Marie Skłodowska Curie Research and Innovation
Staff Exchange
Fredrik Olsson Hector graduated from the Engineering Physics School of Uppsala
University, Sweden, in 1990. He started to work in the nuclear industry where he
was encouraged to do research. In 1995 he got a PhD in applied mathematics
from Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Both as a PhD
candidate and Post Doc, Fredrik was very mobile and more than half of the PhD
thesis was done as visiting scientist in the US mostly at UCLA and Los Alamos
National Labs. Following the PhD he took up a post at Colorado State University and worked at NOAA in
Boulder with ocean modelling. He joined the European Commission in 1998 and since 2003 he has
worked with the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions, an EU research program that encourages mobility
among researchers and promotes improved career structures for researchers. Today, he heads the unit
Marie Skłodowska Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange – providing international mobility
opportunities for well over 5000 researchers per year from around the world. As he now lives in Belgium
he has to work harder to get his two kids to learn essential things like downhill skiing.
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The Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation
Lisa Mayer has been at Harvard Medical School since 2000 and at the Armenise
Harvard Foundation since 2008. She worked closely with the late HMS Dean
Emeritus Daniel Tosteson, and the founder, Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise,
and has a strong belief in the mission they shared to form programs that foster
collaboration between the U.S. and Italian basic science research. Prior to the
Medical School, Ms. Mayer was the Dean of Enrollment Services at Simmons
College, where she worked for 22 years. She has a Master’s Degree in Higher
Education Administration from Harvard.
The Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation
Elisabetta Vitali joined the Foundation in 2014. She supervises the Italian
Programs including the Career Development Award, and the communication
strategy of the Foundation. Previously, Ms. Vitali worked in corporate finance
for almost 20 years, both in the USA and in Italy, where she was partner of the
Italian infrastructure fund F2i-sgr. She is thoroughly committed to the goal of
improving basic science opportunities in Italy, and holds a Master of Science in
economics from Universita’ Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
CzechInvest, New York Office
Since 2011, Jan is Director of East Coast Operations at CzechInvest. The primary
aim of CzechInvest foreign representation is to attract FDI (with particular focus
on high added value projects in hi-tech, ICT, biotechnology, clean tech and new
materials) to the Czech Republic. Jan provides all information a potential
investor may need to consider the Czech Republic as a suitable investment
location and serves as a link between the USA and the Czech Republic. Jan
currently also explores ways of how to foster connections between Czech R&D
and Czech innovation/technology companies and their counterparts in the USA. Previously served over
two years at CzechInvest Prague HQ as an Aerospace sector specialist setting up investment promotion
strategy of the field, analyzing trends and advising to large multinational companies entering the Czech
Republic. Jan holds Master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies from the
Metropolitan University in Prague and spent a semester at the Salford University in Machester, UK.
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Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Washington D.C.
Since 2003, Dr. Grażyna Żebrowska has been working at the Embassy of the
Republic of Poland in Washington DC. As science & technology adviser she
initiates and facilitates cooperation between Polish and American partners in
science and higher education. Her main responsibilities include promotion of
Polish universities and research centers among American students and
scientists. Dr. Zebrowska holds an M.Sc. in physics and a dual Ph.D. in
medical physics from the University of Rennes 1, France and the University of
Gdansk, Poland.
Foundation for Polish Science
Adam Zieliński - deputy director at the Foundation for Polish Science, Warsaw;
political scientist and graduate of the Warsaw University; he has been working
for the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) since 2004 as a program officer and
as of 2008 as a deputy director. Since 2011 he is heading the FNP Researchers
Development Section. He is also member of the Audit Committee of the
European Foundation Centre.
Program Director High Tech NL
Jos van Erp holds a master degree in Economic Geography and French
language. He worked 20 years for the Dutch technology concern ‘Stork’ in
various positions, from educational specialist to general management. In 2008
Jos van Erp joined FME, the largest employers association in the Netherlands
for the technological industry. He now is responsible for the development of
the Human Capital agenda of high-tech cluster HTSM (High Tech Systems &
Materials). International employers branding is part of this agenda. Besides
that, Jos van Erp is a free-lance teacher of Group dynamics, Business
Development and Learning & Developing in Companies at several Universities in France, Belgium and the
Netherlands. He is author of several articles and case studies in the field of Learning & Development
related to human behaviour in high-tech companies.
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Euraxess-Links North America
Born in Slovakia, Viktoria Bodnarova graduated from the Metropolitan University
in Prague, Czech Republic in 2008 having completed a Master’s degree in
International Relations and European studies. Apart from Slovakia and the Czech
Republic, she has spent part of her student life in the UK, France, the USA and
Canada. Right after her studies she started to work at the Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic as a project manager and a national coordinator of the
Czech EURAXESS Network. During 5 years (2008-2013) of working there, her main responsibilities were
setting up a national network, administering national as well as European projects, communicating with
national authorities regarding international mobility and providing practical support to researchers and
their family members moving to the Czech Republic. She was a national expert in the Working Group for
Human Resources and Mobility, EURAXESS Network Management Working Group and for the questions
of Long Term Permit for the Purpose of Scientific Research. Since 2013 she is working as the EURAXESS
Links Regional Representative for North America (USA and Canada), informing the community of
European and non-European scientists based in North America (approx. 4700 members) about the
funding and career opportunities the European Research Area has to offer and being their first contact
point before their move to Europe.