An interdisciplinary “pan-European” association
In 2013, the intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology [COST]1 launched the targeted network TN1301: Next Generation of Young Scientists: Towards a Contemporary Spirit of R&I – Sci-GENERATION. Sci-GENERATION aims to elaborate contemporary scientific thought thereby disseminating a new spirit of research and innovation in Europe.
As a member of the EPS Young Minds project, a partner in the network, I had a Short Term Scientific Mission [STSM]. In October 2014, I was hosted by the University of Seville (a fantastic Spanish city!) for two weeks. The main goal of the STSM was to carry out the task of mapping the main organizations and initiatives in Europe dealing with science policies. This task, started but not yet finished, aims at setting up a database, that can serve as a quick search tool for ongoing science policy activities in the 35 COST countries, and as such help avoid the duplication of efforts.
The mapping tool includes information on: organizations, initiatives/projects, documents (policies & strategies). Some functions allow building joint agendas between organizations included and participating in this effort, as well as possible synchronizations of content with those organizations web pages. It is built in a flexible and open way to allow further development, as well as to give access to all the interested actors to maintain and update their information.
For a master degree physics student like me, it was a very important experience to be involved in an interdisciplinary “pan –European” world of young researchers who work to improve the quality of research and scientific careers.
If you are interested in science policy activities, join us and help us to improve our mapping tool on http://www.scigeneration.eu.
- The 35 COST Member Countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. [↩]
