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EUTOPIA SIF

EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowships

 

The EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowships programme (EUTOPIA-SIF) is a strategic initiative launched by the EUTOPIA Alliance, a network of initially six (now ten) universities awarded an Erasmus+ ‘European Universities’ pilot project. The core mission of the EUTOPIA Alliance is to promote a connected and inclusive academic community, addressing global and local challenges, advancing academic excellence, geared towards impact and fostering European economic development and innovation through a deep engagement of the Alliance with its local and regional ecosystems.


 


 

The EUTOPIA-SIF programme is a major step toward this goal. Building on the EUTOPIA Alliance ecosystem, EUTOPIA-SIF aims to train a cohort of 76 post-doctoral researchers over a period of five years with a high degree of entrepreneurial and innovation awareness to be part of the future generation of Science and Innovation leaders in Europe.

The programme is designed to contribute to the European Research and Innovation Area by:

  • Strengthening Europe’s human capital base by enhancing the research potential and career perspective of young researchers,
  • Supporting disruptive research to achieve knowledge breakthroughs in major research areas and innovation-intensive domains,
  • Reinforcing the link between academic research and company R&D to promote knowledge and technology transfers and innovation,
  • Supporting the emergence of a European University network by deepening the integration of the knowledge and innovation ecosystem of the EUTOPIA Alliance

EUTOPIA-SIF Within the MSCA-COFUND Action


EUTOPIA-SIF is a joint postdoctoral training programme gathering six universities of the EUTOPIA Alliance. It is supported by the European Commission, as part of the MSCA COFUND actions, under grant agreement Number 945380. EUTOPIA-SIF is thus an institutional programme, jointly funded by the European Commission and by the partner institutions. It should be distinguished from MSCA Individual Fellowships: under COFUND schemes, fellows are not direct beneficiaries of the Grant but apply to an already established funding scheme.

Budget

The EUTOPIA Science and Innovation Fellowship Programme has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement n. 945380, for a total number of 76 post-doctoral fellowships over 4 years and a budget of 10,2M€, of which 5,6M€ financed by the European Union and 4,6M€ by the EUTOPIA partner universities. 

EUTOPIA SIF Team and Overview

 Board of Directors

The EUTOPIA-SIF programme is steered by the Board of Directors. It supervises the overall implementation strategy of the program and is the final decision-making board.

The Board of Directors is chaired by the Programme Director, Arnaud Lefranc, and includes the following Local Programme Directors appointed by each university:

  • Yann Giraud, Programme Director EUTOPIA-SIF and Professor of Economics at CY Cergy Paris Université (CYU)
  • Sylvie Niessen, Local Programme Director for CYU, Director of the International Scientific Development Direction 
  • Henrik Linskog, Local Programme Director for the University of Gothenburg (GU) and Research Advisor
  • Gregor Dolinar, Local Programme Director for the University of Ljubljana (UL), Vice-Rector for Research and development of UL
  • Eva Martin, Local Programme Director for the University Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Head of the Research Service
  • Mieke Gijsemans, Local Programme Director for the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Director of the Research Department
  • Alison Cooley, Local Programme Director for the University of Warwick (UW), Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Warwick Institute of Advanced Studies
 

The Coordination Team

The EUTOPIA-SIF programme is coordinated by CY Cergy Paris Université, which is responsible for the overall coordination and implementation including the financial, HR, research and career development management.

  • Sylvie Niessen, Director of International Scientific Development, CY Cergy Paris University
  • Thibaud Chambon, International Scientific Cooperation Officer, CY Cergy Paris University



The Local Program Managers

Local Program Managers (LPM) are responsible for the implementation of the EUTOPIA-SIF program within each university.  The Local Programme Managers are the primary contact persons of the fellows in their respective universities. 

CYU: Solange Poux Baquero, International Scientific Cooperation Officer, CY Cergy Paris University 
GU: Andreea Maris, Project Coordinator, University of Gothenburg
UL: Luka Vavtar,  Head of Research & Development Office, University of Ljubljana
UPF: Laia Ramia Pallas, Strategic Programme Manager - Research Service, University of Pompeu Fabra
VUB: Kate Meier, Research Funding Europe, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
UW:  Katie Reynolds,  Strategic Programmes Manager, Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Warwick



For more details about SIF Post-Doctoral Fellowships, read here. 

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