Fostering Research Culture: SECURE Panel at MCAA 2024 Conference

The annual conference and general assembly of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) took place at the University of Milano, Italy, from the 14th to 16th of March 2024. This year’s annual conference theme celebrated a decade of MCAA’s efforts in the research sector in Europe and worldwide, and raised the questions on the interplay …

Getting precarity back on the agenda – Update from the United Kingdom

Vitae as a consortium member of the SECURE project are delighted to welcome the report released by the University and College Union (UCU) last month and echo the call to improve the level of support for researchers facing precarity.  Insecure employment for research staff appears to be endemic. While the sector is concerned with shifting the dial …

SECURE Project Annual General Assembly held at University of Rijeka

The European project SECURE (Sustainable Careers for Researcher Empowerment) continues its commitment to enhancing the attractiveness and mitigating precarity in academic research careers. The University of Rijeka (Croatia) hosted the annual meeting of the SECURE project on February 8th and 9th, where the project partners deliberated on the SECURE Research Career Framework & Tenure Track-like …

Research in Spain: current situation and emerging trends

Currently, we find ourselves in a period of change due to the global economic crisis of the last decades, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War. Despite these economic challenges and budgetary constraints, Spain has managed to grow in the research sector compared to previous years. According to the Regional Competitiveness Report in …

Reforming Academic Career Assessment: A survey from the CoARA Working Group

The CoARA Working Group on Reforming Academic Career Assessment aims to broaden the reflection on academic career assessment, taking into account the full range of work conducted by academics in research, teaching and learning, innovation, management/leadership and service to society. As part of its activities, the Working Group is launching a survey, open to higher …

SECURE at reasearch career events

In December 2023, SECURE participated in the conference “Researcher Careers: Policy, Progression and precarity: EU, National and local perspectives”, organised by the University College Cork Research Staff Association (UCCRSA) at the University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. During the conference Dr Gordon Dalton, coordinator of the Project, presented the recent summary of Project activities, covering the …

Are researchers optimistically welcoming the New Year?

If we consider the perspective for researchers’ careers within the EU, the year 2023 was probably one of the most significant in the last decade, especially since EU institutions began addressing the biggest challenges that “beautiful minds” face across the ERA more engagingly than beofre.  In the outgoing year, the Council of the European Union paid significant …

EUA Unveils Visionary R&I Agenda for European Universities

Just a day before the Council of the European Union approved the important conclusions on the impact of Research and Innovation (R&I) in policymaking, the European University Association (EUA) presented an ambitious R&I Agenda for 2027. This strategic roadmap aims to address the evolving role of universities in shaping policies amid changing social circumstances. Social …

Bold Step Toward a Progressive European Research Area

In December 2023, Council of the EU secured a pivotal political agreement that should provide enhanced support to researchers and research careers within the European Union. The Council’s recommendation not only propels efforts to cultivate a more appealing, open, and sustainable European labor market, but extends a welcoming hand to researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs appealing …