Thirteen new students have been selected by ELIXIR to participate in the next Executive Masters in Management of Research Infrastructures (EMMRI), starting in November 2022 and run by the University of Milano-Bicocca.
This is the fifth time the course has been held, with each cohort featuring strong representation from ELIXIR. To date, ELIXIR has funded 26 participants from 11 different ELIXIR Nodes to complete modules on the course, and experts from ELIXIR have contributed as guest speakers. Training in high level management and operations is important to equip ELIXIR Nodes for effective functioning in a future federated European data landscape.
The part-time masters course contains 12 modules, ranging from financial management to service provision which are spread over 18 months. Students are able to choose the modules most suited to their goals, and research infrastructures can field a team of students to cover the course. On completion, each ELIXIR student returns to their institution to share their learnings and new expertise within their Node.
Kim De Ruyck, Node Coordinator for ELIXIR Belgium, studied three EMMRI modules between 2019 and 2020. She found the Raising awareness module the most valuable and benefited from in-person interactions. “Being on site allowed the discussions to be taken further and to learn more from the other participants about how to incorporate the learnings in practice, for example in newsletters and social media. It also allowed me to connect with inspiring leaders I would not normally cross paths with”.
Wei Gu, Deputy Head of Node of ELIXIR Luxembourg, studied the Sustainable funding module in 2021. He found the programme to be very focused and relevant to infrastructure managers and as a result he has been able to share budget planning knowledge with ELIXIR Luxembourg team members.
The ELIXIR Director Niklas Blomberg is on the EMMRI faculty, contributing to the Leadership module, and ELIXIR is a use case in the Strategic Management and Financial Sustainability modules. Niklas is clear about the benefit of ELIXIR’s support of EMMRI “as a distributed research infrastructure, ELIXIR depends on highly trained managerial and operational staff. EMMRI brings together leaders from different infrastructures to learn from the EMMRI faculty and each other, and then each student acts as a focal point to disseminate best practices throughout their institutes and infrastructures”.
Case study - past participation
Allegra Via, ELIXIR Italy’s training coordinator and assistant professor at Sapienza University of Rome
I was lucky enough to complete four EMMRI modules between 2019 and 2021 and I learnt a great deal from each module. The Governance and organisation module helped with the design and implementation of the governance and organisational structure for the ELIXIR Italy training programme, including incorporation of ethical and legal considerations and stakeholder analysis. The Leadership module was profoundly illuminating, making me much more aware of my leadership style and my personal strengths and weaknesses. The Strategic management of research infrastructures module was a great opportunity to reflect on the mission, vision and values of the ELIXIR Italy training platform and challenges and opportunities for its development. From the Raising awareness module, I learn how to improve communication in ELIXIR Italy training activities and throughout the Node in general.
Each module has inspired the long-term vision for various aspects of the ELIXIR Italy training platform. We changed how we look at ourselves and have become aware of what we are and where we want to go. We have now a clear and well-structured long-term plan for our platform.
Case study - future participation
Korbinian Bösl, Senior Engineer, Data Management Coordinator at ELIXIR Norway and Centre for Digital Life, Norway
I have been selected to be part of the ELIXIR team for the fifth edition of the EMMRI masters, taking the Service provision and Business innovations modules. I hope that the Service provision module will help with strategies for sustaining the ELIXIR Norway research data management services in an environment of short-term academic funding. I would like to learn about open innovation in the Business innovation module, and to support the many projects I am working with that have innovation potential to take early steps in commercialisation.
Participation in the masters is an excellent opportunity to build expertise in my role as Data Management Coordinator and to contribute to the new operational funding phase of ELIXIR Norway. I would like to develop my leadership skills further and the EMMRI program is an excellent way to achieve this.
The 2022 EMMRI graduates, with ELIXIR Director Niklas Blomberg
Find out more
The Executive Masters in Management of Research Infrastructures (EMMRI)