Intersectoral mobility and career development - a Researcher's perspective

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Flávia Almeida

Workshop on MSCA Society & Enterprise-Individual Fellowships / 4-5 July 2019

MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE ACTIONS

Research Fellowship Programme

Flávia, who is she? Where she comes from?

Education I

• Chemical Engineer (1996 - 2000)UNIMEP – Santa Bárbara D’Oeste, SP, Brazil

Undergraduate research student during 15 months in the project “Preparation of

activated carbon from biomass”

• Master's degree (MSc) (2001 - 2003)Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica– São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

Materials ScienceThesis title: “Processing of porous alumina by starchconsolidation technique”

Education II – The way to Europe: Portugal

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (2003 - 2007)Universidade de Aveiro - Aveiro, PortugalMaterials Science and Engineering

Thesis title: "Nano to micrometric grain sized CVD diamondfor turning hard and abrasive materials”

Experience I

• Post doctoral researcher (11/2007 – 02/2014)

Centre for Research in Ceramics and Composite Materials, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

"Development of tribosystems, namely mechanical seals and cutting tools based on nano/microcrystallinechemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond coatings”

Collaboration with Laboratoire des Sciences de Procédés et Matériaux, CNRS, Université Paris 13, France and with Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Materials Researcher (03/2014 – 05/2017)

IPN - LED&MAT - Laboratory of Wear, Testing and Materials, Coimbra, Portugal

Researcher of the FP7 European Project VIP4ALL – “Highly Sustainable and Effective Production of Innovative Low Cost Vacuum Insulation Panels for Zero Carbon Building Construction” (http://www.vip4all.com).

Then 3 months with fixed term contract before starting with the MSCA fellowship.

Experience II

• Materials Researcher (06/2017 – 05/2019)

va-Q-tec, AG, Würzburg, Germany.

Researcher fellow of the MSCA S&E Panel with the project THEcore – “Thermally efficient, cost-reduced nanostructured foams for vacuum insulation panels”

• Head of R&D (06/2019 – Present)

va-Q-tec, AG, Würzburg, Germany.

Reasons and motivation to move from the academic to the non-academic sector

• Enlargement of career perspectives

• More chances for employability with fixed term contracts

• More opportunities for career development

• Developing research in a more competitive, fast-pace environment

• Development of transfer technology skills: laboratory research to pilot production

• Acquiring project management and IPR skills

Strengths and Weakness

Academic Non-academicStrengths

• State-of-the art and into deep research

• Well-provided facilities

• Plural (culture, diversity, entertaining, social relationships, community)

• Interdisciplinary

• Networking

Weakness

• Limited capacities, employability, investments

• High workload if in combination with academic lectures and student’s supervision

• Limited career development, positions and salaries

Strengths

• Fast-pace research

• Applied research: look to the actual and future market

• Employability

• Career development

Weakness

• More stressful and competitive work environment

• Less social relationships

• Unidirectional

• Limited facilities capacity and time for deeper research

• Barriers for publishing results

Future plans and career perspectives

Short- to middle term:

• getting experience as team leader (Personal, Financial, Management of projects, …)

Impact of MSCA IF grant

• Prestige

• Recognition into a different sector (industry)

• Increasing knowledge about

• More perception about market/stakeholders needs and expectations

• Broadening communication and team working skills: from the CEO to workers of production lines

• Clear career upgrade: head of R&D

How the Intersectoral mobility programmeshould look like in the future

Belonging to the 1st group of the S&E Panel, and being MSCA fellow for the first time, my “tip” for the continuity of the programme is making an annual S&E IF Fellows and Supervisors meeting:

- possibility of meeting the Project Officer -> better/easier communication

- Integration of the fellow and the supervisor to the EU environment, rights and obligations clarified in a friendly environment (GA is a scary document!)

- making clear to the Beneficiary about their obligations to the researcher (training, work conditions, position recognition, integration to the other work team, etc.)

- Project Management and Finance Management of MSCA projects: basic concepts (workshops or webinars)

Thank you foryour attention!