EURAXESS Smart Talks

In this episode, Prof. Alida Timar-Gabor, physicist and two-time ERC grantee from Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania, shares her ERC journey and her research on reading time and origin from ordinary grains of quartz sand using luminescence, electron spin resonance and cathodoluminescence. She explains how disappointing results became the starting point for both her Starting and Consolidator Grants, why preliminary results matter, and how she prepared for the ERC interview - from mock intervie...

In this episode, Prof. Inta Mieriņa, sociologist and ERC grantee from Latvia, shares her ERC journey and research on migration, social integration and migrant reception in Central and Eastern Europe. She discusses the inspiration behind her project, the value of international mobility and networks, and offers practical advice on preparing for an ERC application and interview - from seeking critical feedback to being ambitious and persistent. Send us a message!

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Brian Cahill — Grant Manager of the ReMO COST Action (CA19117) on Researcher Mental Health for a wide-ranging conversation about why researcher wellbeing has become one of academia's most pressing, and most overlooked, issues. Brian traces his own path into this work back to his years chairing the Marie Curie Alumni Association, where he became a first point of contact for early-career researchers hit by funding cliffs, precarious ...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Tanel Aruväli, an MSCA postdoctoral fellow originally from Estonia (TalTech), now researching at the University of Malta. Tanel shares the story behind his research on simulation-based stress testing for resilience assessment in manufacturing companies — explaining what "resilience" really means for a factory floor using a simple ruler analogy, and how VUCA-era disruptions (geopolitical tension, supply chain shocks, energy crises) ...

Today we take you beyond Earth to the icy moons, dusty plains, and hidden subsurface oceans of our Solar System. Our guest is Professor Elena Pettinelli, a physicist and planetary scientist from Roma Tre University. Prof. Pettinelli is the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project SWIM (Surfing radio Waves to detect liquid water in the solar system), which investigates planetary subsurfaces using electromagnetic waves. With publications in Nature and Science, she is a world-renow...