Spanning boundaries between science and policy
I have been involved in science policy for more than 10 years, driven initially by a desire to improve mentoring for early career researchers in my field, neuroscience, in particular for first generation academics like myself. This engagement has led me today to the European Research Area (ERA) Forum, where I represent individual researchers and innovators. I will discuss how spanning boundaries in science has been a feature of my career right from the start, why I believe it is necessary, and how this has inspired my engagement in science policy. I will argue that science advocacy and expert advice are today more necessary than ever, and conclude with an impertinent proposal on how to build bridges to the policy world.
Biography
Dr Renaud Jolivet is Full Professor at the Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology, and Chair of Neural Engineering & Computation at Maastricht University. He is the nominated representative for individual researchers and innovators at the European Commission’s ERA Forum, and an elected member of the Board of Directors at the Organization for Computational Neuroscience. He is the Chair of the Science & Technology Committee of EBRAINS, the European research infrastructure for neurosciences, and is a 2023 Neurotech Fellow of the Foresight Institute. He also holds a courtesy appointment at CERN, the particle physics laboratory. He has previously served in the boards of the Initiative for Science in Europe and Marie Curie Alumni Association. He has worked in Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands, and the UK. His work focusses on the brain’s heterocellularity and on neurotechnologies to interface with brain tissue. In 2023, he received the Marie Curie Alumni Association Career Award 2022. He is the recipient of the André Mischke Young Academy of Europe Prize for Science and Policy 2023.
Website: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/rb-jolivet and https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaud-jolivet-63b5534/