EURAXESS
EURAXESS is a joint initiative of the European Commission and 33 European member and associated countries to create a more favourable environment for researchers to move freely in the European Research Area. It provides a range of information and support services to researchers who wish to study or work in Europe or stay connected to it. The EURAXESS network has more than 200 centres across 40 European countries that offer direct help to researchers to move between countries. It also provides links to international, European, national and regional web resources covering:
- research fellowships and grants
- research job vacancies published by universities, industry, research organisations, foundations, etc
- administrative and legal issues related to moving from one country to another and up to-date information about cultural and family-related issues (housing, schooling, day-care, language courses, etc.)
- policies relevant to the career development of researchers in Europe
EURAXESS UK is led by the British Council and provides up-to-date information and assistance to researchers who wish to work either within the United Kingdom or abroad. Vitae is the EURAXESS UK Career Development Centre.
Mobility Patterns and Career Paths of EU Researchers
In 2008 the European Commission funded a large scale study of the mobility patterns and career paths of EU researchers (MORE), which was extended to MORE2. The MORE reports, which provide extensive information on the mobility of European researchers, can be found on the EURAXESS website.
Voice of Researchers
The Voice of Researchers (VoR) formed in 2012 is funded through EURAXESS. It aims to act as a bridge between researchers and policy-makers within Europe, bringing together researchers into a network and enabling them to take an active role in shaping the European Research Area. 25 researchers selected by the European Commission act as ‘multiplies to the VoR network.
The VoR 2013 conference report contained recommendations to the European Commission and other European policymakers covering:
- sustainable research careers & attractiveness of the EU for researchers
- open recruitment
- funding excellence
- career development of early to mid-career researchers
- supporting the personal life of researchers
- social security & pensions
- research and society.
Particularly, the VoR conference recommended that ‘effective career development and training opportunities for transferable skills must be promoted throughout Europe at both the doctoral and postdoctoral researcher level’.
EURODOC
Another European researcher network is EURODOC (European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers). Their mission is to represent and consolidate the community of doctoral candidates and early career researchers in Europe in their pursuit of a decent professional life.
EURODOC (European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers), established in 2002, is made up of 34 member organisations representing postgraduate researchers and early career research staff from 34 countries of the European Union.
EURAXIND
Increasing industry engagement with the EURAXESS Network
The EURAXIND project aims to strengthen relationships between industry and academia by increasing employer engagement with the existing EURAXESS networks through expertise, practical toolkits, benchmarking surveys and workshops. EURAXIND will provide opportunities for collaborations and strategic partnerships, and promote the recruitment of highly skilled researchers into all employment sectors.
