SIPOD: Tomorrow’s molecules
The Scuola Europea di Medicina Molecolare (European School of Molecular Medicine) (SEMM) based in Milan, Italy, invests in the next generation of European scientists. The school’s Structured International Post Doc Program (SIPOD) is a renewable two-year scheme which aims to boost the career of postdocs and encourage them to become successful and independent research scientists. SIPOD is co-funded by the Marie Curie Actions (MCAs), part of FP7’s People Programme.
Writing for Horizon 2020 Projects, Dr Maria Rescigno, co-ordinator of the programme, and Francesca Fiore, SEMM office co-ordinator, outlined the importance of SIPOD, investing in tomorrow’s researchers and tackling the European brain drain to the United States.
SEMM operates within research centres of excellence, bridging together higher education and frontline research training. The school acknowledges that training is crucial for the advancement of the postdoctoral career and to become independent investigators. That is why SEMM decided to launch SIPOD. The programme aims to cover the gap between postdoctoral fellows and independent investigators by giving the opportunity to the fellows to be trained in cutting-edge laboratories and to follow training courses on relevant issues usually not included in the PhD training, for example team leading and group organisation; grants writing; technology transfer; ethical issues; and clinical trials.
The aim of the SIPOD is to select fellows that have the potential to become independent scientists and to help them in pursuing their career. Candidates, having been awarded a SIPOD certificate, will have a ‘passport’ to enter prestigious research centres throughout Europe. Through a very selective procedure based on candidate excellence and the obtainment of the SIPOD certificate, the chances of the fellow to finding a better position should be increased. Consequently, SIPOD will identify within applicants those fellows that have the potential to continue their career and will give them the tools to apply to excellent research centres for tenure-track positions.
Marie Curie Actions
Since its launch in 2007, the programme has attracted excellent young scientists from abroad (incoming fellows) as well as Europeans that have gained a PhD or three years’ experience elsewhere (reintegration fellows). The co-founding scheme offered in the context of the FP7 MCAs has allowed SEMM to adequate increase the living allowance to other European standards (for example France, Germany and the UK), to favour the recruitment and/or retain the best scientists within European laboratories, and to offer better working conditions. On the other side, this funding scheme and type of programme has allowed young group leaders of the host institutions to become more visible and to be more attractive for excellent research fellows.
Applicants have been attracted by the programme and by the proposed training courses, therefore favouring the recruitment of excellent fellows as well as young group leaders that usually have more difficulty attracting good scientists.
Brain drain
The changes introduced to the MCAs under Horizon 2020 are particularly relevant for SIPOD because it further promotes the development of an international environment within the host institutions; it also brings new research and lab experience and generates a networking with other nationals that could be of importance once these fellows will become independent scientists. It is also important to offer to European scientists an alternative to a postdoctoral experience in the United States.
It has been estimated that roughly 400,000 Europeans have ended up doing a postdoc in the US and many them stay over for their independent career. Thanks to their well-established postdoctoral programmes, the USA offers much better conditions and therefore attracts many European researchers. There is a lot of talk about the brain drain of European scientists to work abroad, yet in Italy there is a real campaign to encourage researchers to come back to a ‘proper’ position in Europe that really takes into account the experience that they have acquired abroad. In FP7, the European Commission has developed in the People Programme the MCAs which allows the reintegration of European scientists with SIPOD and we want to reinforce this process in Italy.
Dr Maria Rescigno and Francesca Fiore
