C2W: a European UMONS-UNamur Initiative to Recruit 30 Experienced Researchers within 5 Years

“Connect With Wallonia – Come 2 Wallonia” will receive €4.5 million in funding to make the two universities more attractive to internationally mobile researchers.

UMONS, as coordinator, and UNamur have together submitted an ambitious proposal to the European Commission (Cofund- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions).

This will allow 30 experienced researchers (post-docs) to be hired for 2 years over the next 5 years.

This scheme, entitled “C2W” for “Connect With Wallonia – Come 2 Wallonia” will receive a total of €4.5 million in funding to:

• Boost the attractiveness of the two universities to internationally mobile researchers
• Increase their visibility and stimulate a knock-on effect with other funds.

Post-doctoral students will be able to engage in productive collaborations and train young researchers. Furthermore, the Universities of Mons and Namur are committed to supervising these postdocs in full compliance with the rules published by Euraxess. Firstly, by offering them a solid career plan and, secondly, by providing them with advanced training in various fields, such as leadership, open science, intellectual property and the exploitation of their results in order to train the leaders of tomorrow.

Researchers and their families will be given a warm welcome. Support will be provided to ensure that the researchers involved in the project are able reach their full potential, while ensuring that they are treated equally throughout the various stages of the project (call, selection, project monitoring, and implementation of career plans).

In concrete terms, throughout their two years of funding, each researcher will have to undertake a research placement in Belgium in another sector (company, research centre, etc.) or internationally, which will broaden their career prospects, enrich the results of their research and promote the excellence of their work throughout the world.

Particular emphasis is placed on interdisciplinarity so that each of the projects is strengthened by multiple research fields. This approach will allow projects to tackle complex societal, economic and technological issues in line with Europe’s global challenges and Wallonia’s future Intelligent Specialisation Strategy, while relying on the most innovative solutions available.

For more information, contact Caroline Vliegen, Project Manager – Department for Research Support and Technology Transfer (DAVRE) at caroline.vliegen@umons.ac.be