IMPACTE

Integrate Mobile People through Innovative actions in the Euraxess Service Centres

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'There are several obstacles to international mobility. Cultural differences are not the easiest to overcome as they are based on immaterial factors, not like getting a visa or a place to stay. A successful professional and social integration of the researcher into a new environment will turn him/her into ambassador of international mobility, and of EURAXESS. The project will identify actions to allow better integration of mobile researchers and will test these actions, before spreading them as good practice to the EURAXESS network, and to the countries of origin of the researchers by turning them into «EURAXESS Impacte alumni». Based on a survey, the partners will identify 6 actions which will be implemented in the partner countries to a sample of researchers and to EURAXESS staff. Other High Education institutions will be associated to the actions. The partners will set up a feedback assessment form and get feedback from both researchers and EURAXESS staff. They will produce a guide for the use of the whole EURAXESS network, which will be presented during EURAXESS events. The partners will set up a network (Impacte-alumni) of mobile researchers who have attended project events who will then be in a position to promote EURAXESS throughout their careers. The consortium is composed of 6 partners, all committed to reflect, exchange and develop a skills program to integrate mobile researchers. All have experience in supporting international researchers within the EURAXESS network. They cover different regions within the EU and different challenges (cultures, research environments, clienteles). This will allow project members to test demands, needs and successful practices which can then be transferred to the EURAXESS network. The associate partner, Epigeum, is the leading publisher of high quality e-learning modules for researcher development. Vitae, the UK organisation which supports and promotes researcher development at national level, will act as a contractor.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Steps have been taken to improve support services for researchers who are mobile.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

People who are internationally mobile have many obstacles to overcome, from even the most basic necessities like finding a place to live and getting a visa. Researchers wishing to pursue or advance their careers are in need of access to information and support services. A pan-European initiative known as EURAXESS offers all that through a network for researchers to stay connected.

In order to make this process smoother, an EU-funded project, 'Integrate mobile people through innovative actions in the Euraxessservice centres' (http://www.impacte.eu/ (IMPACTE)), aimed for the successful professional and social integration of researchers who are mobile. By entering a new environment, these individuals become ambassadors. The project's objectives covered empowering researchers with new capacities, improving EURAXESS services staff and establishing an alumni network.

Six partners, each experienced in supporting mobile researchers, made up the consortium. Different regions within the EU were covered as were varying challenges, including cultures, research environments and customers. Thus, both needs and successful practices could be tested.

Positive results have already been seen. Project goals and objectives are explained in a leaflet that is also available on the website. A user-friendly platform for the project has been created, as has a Facebook page.

Six innovative actions were identified for better integration, based on a survey of 118 researchers representing24 nationalities. The actions were tested in training sessions and were based on selected themes. These included research integrity, intellectual property rights, academic networking, intercultural dialogue, communicating research to an international audience and leadership.

Potential impact of the project's work is expected to be quite massive, not only for EURAXESS and the European Commission, but also wider societal implications. Ultimately, optimising research in a knowledge-based society and increasing researcher mobility will help boost innovation in Europe.