Encouragement to Advance - Training Seminars for Women Scientists (ENCOUWOMSCI)

The main objectives of the EU-project “Encouragement to Advance – Training Seminars for Women Scientists” (ENCOUWOMSCI) included promoting the representation of women scientists in leading positions in science and research, increasing the number of female professorships and enhancing mobility in the European Research Area, facilitating successful networking and deepening of knowledge about European research policy and funding. The project was coordinated by CEWS and funded through the 6th European Research Framework Program. ENCOUWOMSCI offered professional application and appointment training for women scientists holding their PhD for at least four years and striving for a professorship in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria or Switzerland. 112 women participated in one of twelve, four-day-long training seminars held in Brussels between April 2007 and April 2008. Experts and professional trainers informed attendees about appointment procedures in the target countries, different scientific cultural communities, the optimal design for application documents and how to conduct interviews with appointment committees. The third and fourth days of the seminars were dedicated to the European dimension with introductions into funding in the European Union, European research policy and the European Platform of Women Scientists EPWS. Among the objectives was to encourage mobility by disseminating and generating knowledge on the European Research Area to increase networking, thereby reducing boundaries in applying for professorships in different countries.