September 18-19, 2025

Attracting and Retaining Research Talent in Europe

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Presidency Conference 2025 is organized by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) with the support of the European Commission.

Registration

Join the discussion! - Register here

September 18-19, 2025

Lyngby, Denmark

Are European universities ready to meet the needs of early-career researchers? The 2025 MSCA Presidency Conference explores how academia can attract and retain the brightest minds — and shape the future of research in Europe.

Bringing together early career researchers, policy makers, university leaders and industry representatives the conference will foster discussions on the purpose-driven university, working culture and intersectoral mobility.

Conference programme

By fostering discussions on topics such as the purpose-driven university, working culture, diversity, well-being, academic talent programmes, international initiatives like CoARA, the supervisor role, and intersectional mobility, we aim to generate actionable recommendations for the future MSCA programmes on motivation and working-life of MSCA fellows. 

Conference moderator is Lykke Friis, Director, Moderator.dk.

The programme is subject to change.

 

Day 1 - 18 September

DTU President Anders Bjarklev

Opening speech by Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, European Commission, To be confirmed.

Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Macquarie Business School (AUS) 

Rapporteur

To be announced.

Panel members

  • Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Macquarie Business School (AUS)
  • Dr. Victoria Hurth, Cambridge University (UK)
  • Emmanuelle Gardan, Coimbra Group
  • Early career researcher, To be announced

Rapporteur

Kristin Kraav, MSCA NCP Estonia

3-minute short pitches by 5 MSCA fellows and alumni. Showcasing their scientific breakthroughs.

Contestants

To be announced.

Parallel session 1

New trends in research evaluation and the impact on ECRs

This session will investigate  how a broader view on research quality and impact may affect ECRs and may contribute to increased diversity in research. The discussion will cover how the CoARA agenda of diverse outputs, practices, and activities will impact the career paths and working-life of ECRs and how research funders and universities may contribute to the CoARA framework. 

Panel members

  • Professor David Budtz Pedersen, Aalborg University (DK)
  • Representative from private foundation, To be announced
  • Two early career researchers, To be announced  

Moderator

To be announced.

Rapporteur

Stine Work Brodersen, CoARA Officer, DTU (DK)

 

Parallel session 2

Academic talent programmes

This session will showcase universities’ talent programmes and discuss their impact on attracting and retaining talent. How are talent programmes important for ECRs? The session will be used to share the best practices among institutions and to include ECRs recommendations for future programmes. 

Panel members

  • Dr. Johanna Stadlbauer, University of Graz (AT)
  • Assistant professor Alexander Bagger, DTU (DK)
  • Associate professor Julie Laursen, University of Copenhagen (DK)
  • Representative from COST, To be announced 

Moderator

Dario Pellizzon, University Ca’ Foscari di Venezia (IT)

Rapporteur

Eugenia Shadlova, MSCA NCP France 

 

Parallel session 3

Working together for intersectoral mobility

This session will discuss how better career integration and intersectoral mobility between industry, academia, and public bodies can enhance ECR careers and contribute to attracting and retaining talent in research, a prerequisite for the sustainability of the research and innovation ecosystem.

Panel members

 

  • Professor Tanya Bondarouk, University of Twente / CESAER (NL) 
  • Manager Christian Kjær Monsson, Danish Industry (DK)
  • Representative from non-academia, To be announced
  • Early career researcher, To be announced 
     

Moderator

Anna Broeders, Linköping Science Park (SE), To be confirmed

Rapporteur

Felix Beckendorf, MSCA NCP Germany

 
Dr. Senem Şanal Erginel, MSCA Unit, European Commission
To be announced.

3-minute short pitches by 5 MSCA fellows and alumni. Showcasing their scientific breakthroughs.

Contestants

To be announced.

Day 2 - 19 September

Camilla Rygaard-Hjalsted, Dean of Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Development

Speaker

To be announced.

Rapporteur

To be announced.

MSCA policies on DEI

Speaker

To be announced.

 

MCAA work on ECR well-being and DEI

Speaker

Chair Gian Maria Greco, MCAA

 

Rapporteur

Marta Muter, MSCA NCP Poland 

3-minute short pitches by 5 MSCA fellows and alumni. Showcasing their scientific breakthroughs.

Contestants

To be announced.

Panel members

  • Keynote speaker from the morning
  • Camilla Rygaard-Hjalsted, Dean of Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Development
  • Representative from non-academia, To be announced
  • Two early career researchers, To be announced

Rapporteur

Jane Carrigan, MSCA NCP Ireland 

Looking forward - recommendations for the MSCA Programme in light of conference key themes.

Panel members

  • Professor Tanya Bondarouk, University of Twente / CESAER (NL)
  • Representative from the MSCA unit, European Commission, To be announced
  • Early career researcher, To be announced

Rapporteur

Danish MSCA NCP, To be announced

  • European Commission, To be announced
  • Deputy Director Annemarie Falktoft, Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education (DK)

Conference programme committee

  • Annelies Van de Ven, MSCA Unit, European Commission
  • Christine Ipsen, Professor, Technical University of Denmark
  • Gian Maria Greco, Chair, MCAA
  • Lea Louise Motzfeldt, MSCA NCP, Danish Ministry for Higher Education and Science
  • Marie Louise Bech Nosch, Professor, University of Copenhagen
  • Pil Maria Saugmann, President, eurodoc
  • Senem Sanal Erginel, MSCA Unit, European Commission
  • Susan Wright, Professor, Aarhus University 
  • Human Resource Department, Technical University of Denmark

MSCA-Falling Walls Lab Pitch competition

Through 3-minute pitches by 15 MSCA fellows and alumni, three MSCA ECR will be selected for the official Falling Walls Lab Science Summit in November 2025.  

Which wall will your research break? Pitch your innovative idea in just 3 minutes, showcasing a breakthrough that creates a positive impact on science and society.
 
The deadline for applications is 1 June 2025, 12.00 CEST.

Enter the competition - find the full call and eligibility conditions here

Contestants

Photos and descriptions of all 15 competitors will follow as soon as possible.

Jury

To be announced.

Videos and vox pop

MSCA Impact stories 

Discover how MSCA has helped shape careers and research. 10 researchers from Danish universities have been selected to share their experiences from current and former MSCA projects. In short videos they will share their motivations, research results, and impact and what MSCA has meant for their careers.

The videos will be displayed as a video exhibition during the conference.

See description of the 10 researchers and their MSCA projects below.

 

Share your opinion

During the conference lunch breaks, you’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts on various conference topics through a video recorded vox pop. This is your chance to have your voice heard and contribute to the conversation.

After the conference the video clips will be showcased as part of the conference legacy on the website. A selection of these statements may also be featured in the post-conference report and policy recommendations.

You’ll be guided by 4 video journalists, supported by DTU MediaLab.

 

Aldona Ilona Mzyk

Assistant Professor, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

MSCA-COFUND

EuroTechPostdoc2 - International Postdoc Academy in Science and Technology

Postdoc project

ScarSense - Sensing free radicals in the scarred hearts

Read about ScarSense

Ali Riza Taskale

Postdoc, Roskilde University (RUC)

MSCA-PF

SF-SF - Speculative Fiction/Speculative Finance: Fighting for the Future 

Read about SF-SF

Andrzej Wasowski

Professor, IT University of Copenhagen (ITU)

MSCA-ITN

REMARO - Reliable AI for Marine Robotics

Read about REMARO

Emma-Liina Marjakangas

Postdoc, Aarhus University (AU)

MSCA-PF

ECONET - Rewiring of ecological networks under global change 

Read about ECONET

Farshid Naseri

Postdoc, Aalborg University (AAU)

MSCA-PF

DeepBMS - Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Battery Management System for Electric Vehicles 

Read about DeepBMS
Jose Angel Leiva Vilaplana

Postdoc, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

MSCA-ITN

InnoCyPES – Innovative Tools for Cyber-Physical Energy Systems

PhD Project

Dynamic Cost-Benefit Analysis of Digitalization in the Energy Sector: Concept, Modeling, and Applications

Read about InnoCyPES

Luca Soattin

Postdoc, University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

MSCA-PF

MaPViAH - Electroanatomical exploration of pulmonary veins sleeve myocardium in the development of atrial fibrillation in ageing and hypertension 

Read about MaPViAH

Natalie Shefer

Postdoc, Copenhagen Business School (CBS)

MSCA-PF

GENSDOM - Gender and Social Dominance in the Modern World 

Read about GENSDOM

Shengda Zhang

Assistant Professor, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

MSCA-COFUND

COFUNDfellowsDTU - H.C. Ørsted Fellows Programme – co-funded by Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions

Postdoc project

Biosynthetic Pathways and Expression Platforms for Marine Bioactive Compounds

Read about COFUNDfellowsDTU

Ulrik Pagh Schultz Lundquist

Professor, University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

MSCA-DN

WildDrone - Autonomous Drones for Nature Conservation Missions 

Read about WildDrone

Location

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) will host the conference in connection with the Danish Presidency of the European Union. The conference is co-funded by the European Union.  

Onsite participants will receive an info email in August with links to public transportation, Copenhagen tourist info, and conference bus transportation details, etc. 

Partners and funding