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


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


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


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


06. The speakers:


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

http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/index.cfm?pg=washington


"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"


07. The networking opportunities


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


08. The venue:


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


09. Duration of the event:


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


10. The online registration:


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


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/)."

http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/links/usa/nationalnetwork_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/links/usa/nationalnetwork_en.htm


"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"


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.


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."

Visit the 'Destination Europe' page regularly!

http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/index.cfm?lg=en&pg=destinationEurope

Countries of originec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/washington-2013/... · 2015-08-11 · DESTINATION...

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