Morse Reseach group

ABCDE: Alain Bensoussan Career Development Enhancer

The “ERCIM Alain Bensoussan Fellowship Programme” was supported by the FP7 Marie Curie Actions – People, Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes (COFUND) of the European Commission. More than 150 fellowships were granted under the Programme.

The last co-funded Call for applications took place in April 2013 and no more applicant can be selected under the ABCDE Fellowship. At present, the new Alain Bensoussan Fellowships are totally supported by ERCIM member organizations.

The Marie Curie co-funding action aimed to increase the transnational mobility for training and career development of experienced researchers. The co-funding resulted in a considerable increase in the number of ERCIM fellows. The duration of the fellowships was extended and the fellows could benefit from one or two periods of twelve months spent in one or two ERCIM member institutes. Additionally, employment conditions became more flexible, with the option of signing a working contract instead of a stipend agreement in some of our institutions.

All fellows had the opportunity to participate in a yearly “ABCDE seminar” offering specific training on a range of non-scientific skills. Seminars were held in Berlin in November 2011, in Sophia Antipolis, France, in October 2012 and in Athens in October 2013. A fourth and last seminar will be organised in 2014. The seminar agendas included lectures, presentations and training sessions on topics such as career management, entrepreneurship for researchers, science outreach, ERC starting grants, ethical and intellectual property issues, scientific writing, etc.