Fostering trans-national and interdisciplinary researcher carreers and mobility - Steinbeis Europa Zentrum joined Kick-off of IANUS project

EU-project IANUS develops recommendations to advance the EU’s flagship funding programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Six partners from five European countries met in Brussels, Belgium to kick-off their Horizon Europe-funded three-year project.

IANUS aims to maximise the strategic impact of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – the EU’s flagship funding programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. MSCA is part of the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation Horizon Europe, the world’s largest of its kind with a funding volume of 95.5 billion euros for 2021-2027. Under this framework, MSCA accounts for 6.6 billion euros, funds excellent research and innovation, and equips researchers at all stages of their careers with new knowledge and skills through mobility across borders and exposure to different sectors and disciplines. The IANUS project has been created with the intention of making the most of the resources invested in the MSCA programme.

The project will search for untapped potential in three main areas:

• Capacity building offers for researchers (training, skills and career development)
• Cooperation across sectors (academia, industry, public sector) and exploitation of research results
• Maximise the impact on EU Missions – the European programme dedicated to address our societies’ major challenges

The recommendations developed in the project will be based on a thorough analysis that follows consecutive steps. The project partners will start with a large-scale portfolio analysis of all funded MSCA projects from 2014 to today. The results will show thematic clusters and provide insights into the evolution of research themes, emerging trends and connection to the EU missions. Based on these results, IANUS partners will conduct a survey analysis and in-depth case studies of selected projects related to the EU missions “Cancer” and “Smart Cities” to identify good practices, obstacles, and solutions in MSCA projects in the areas of capacity building, intersectoral cooperation and exploitation, and synergies with other programs related the EU Missions. To simulate how changes in the programme could lead to improvements in these areas, the project will develop an agent-based model. The results of the analyses and modelling will be discussed with MSCA beneficiaries and alumni, industry and academia representatives, and policymakers. By involving all stakeholders during policy development workshops, the partners ensure that the policy recommendations developed represent the perspectives of the entire ecosystem.

“Marie Curie-funded programmes offer exceptional opportunities to researchers. Our project aims to identify key success factors, empowering MSCA beneficiaries to achieve their goals and maximise their impact on EU Missions and ERA Actions.”

- Prof. Marco Seeber, University of Agder, Project Coordinator

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is responsible for dissemination and communication, policy recommendations, stakeholder involvement workshops. IANUS receives a total funding of 1,8 MEUR for 6 partners, coordinated by University of Agder, Norway.

About the European Research Area (ERA)

The European Research Area (ERA) acts as policy framework to support the exchange of scientific findings, technologies and innovations by strengthening the free movement of researchers across borders. In the IANUS project, the contributions of MSCA to these goals will be mapped, evaluated and suggestions for advancements will be developed.

The IANUS consortium consists of the following members:

• University of Agder, Norway
• University of Milan, Italy
• School of Medicine, University of Split, Croatia
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Croatia
• Sustainable Transition Societa' Cooperativa, Italy
• EURODOC (European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers), Belgium
• Steinbeis Europa Zentrum/ Steinbeis 2i GmbH, Germany

Project Coordinator
Prof. Marco Seeber, University of Agder
marco.seeber@uia.no

Main Press Contact
Regine Wehner, Steinbeis 2i GmbH
Regine.Wehner@steinbeis-europa.de