Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

Development scheme as a chance to make a concerted, longtermeffort to promote these special materials. ‘I felt that I wasahead of the chemical competition, but wouldn’t stay aheadif I couldn’t put a sizeable team on this task,’ she remembers.‘Also, when I have graduates, they rely on my expertise. Thesecompounds have applications in so many areas that they needcharacterising and evaluating by many techniques. I am notan expert in all these techniques and areas. So, I needed tobring in people with new expertise which they could apply toour expanding range of systems.’The human factorAnd that is exactly what Professor Draper did: she recruiteda total of seven experienced, postdoctoral research Fellowsfrom various European countries and with various academicspecialties to share their knowledge with her and her team.The collaboration worked out well, resulting in numerouspublications, presentations and awards, although the humanfactor must always be taken into account. ‘Some Fellows, bytheir personality, are more willing to share their knowledge thanothers,’ Professor Draper acknowledges.‘It’s quite hard on a human resource level to make it workproperly, but when it does, it’s fantastic. Several of my EUpostdocs have integrated extremely well with the team and theirexpertise has become really embedded in it. It’s tremendouslyrewarding. And I have learned a lot.’Knowledge means confidenceThe Fellows agree. For example, Dr Ania Selmi fromFrance says: ‘The fellowship has helped me to developnew knowledge and broaden my experience of chemistry,particularly in syntheses, coordination and organometallicchemistry and photophysics. It has also enhanced my abilityto communicate technical information with experts in variousscientifi c fi elds. I now have a better idea of which scientifi cspecialities and skills industry requires and, ultimately, thefellowship has improved my career prospects.’But the benefi ts go beyond what the individual researchersinvolved have taken home with them, Professor Draper adds:‘The profile of the group is now so much more enhancedand so much more immediate to the outside world. It’s the46