EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
BECOMING A RESEARCHER FOR AN EU INSTITUTION
Are your students interested in subjects such as biology and chemistry? Do they feel an urge to make the world a better place? Are they passionate about animals and their welfare? Help them combine the academic field and their personal goals by letting them know they can become Researchers for a European Union Institution. They will be able to work in the field of organ-on-chip (OoC) technology, which are devices designed to reproduce specific features of organs in the lab, providing human-relevant information to avoid animal testing alternatives. Scroll down to meet Monica Piergiovanni, a researcher for an EU institution!
SKILLS
Find out about the key skills to become a Researcher for an EU Institution.
Critical Thinking
Being a Researcher requires strong critical thinking skills to carry out laboratory tasks and write scientific articles. “It is the main key skill of my everyday work, past and present.”
Problem-solving
For a Researcher is essential to get used to facing daily complex problems. “It is necessary to identify creative and feasible solutions to be then refined and developed.”
Initiative
As a Researcher that works with Organ-on-Chip technologies, a skill such as initiative is required to promote this scientific technology. “It is crucial in all kinds of jobs, and I try to put them in my daily work tasks.”
Curiosity
Researchers working with OoC technologies need curiosity to build a network with OoC developers, end-users and regulators across the globe. “It is the energy that gives me the spark in the morning, leading me to explore new possibilities.”
Resilience
Sometimes, research might not give expected results. “Resilience keeps me going through the afternoon and Fridays, ensuring that projects and activities reach the objectives in the expected timeline.”
Presentation and Storytelling
“They are fundamental pillars to disseminate scientific knowledge and make complex technology easily understandable to a non-technical audience. These are very key skills that need time and a lot of practice to develop, also with the help of professional’s trainers.”
Curious to
know more?
Meet Monica Piergiovanni, Researcher for an EU Institution
Monica Piergiovanni is a Researcher for an EU Institution at the unit of Chemical Safety and Alternative Methods. She is working in the field of complex in vitro methods, specifically with organ-on-chip technology, which are devices designed to reproduce specific features of organs in the lab, providing human-relevant information. She has a background in Biomedical Engineering. She got her BSc, MSc and PhD from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, where she also worked as a post-doc researcher in the field of design, prototype and testing of microfluidic devices for biological applications.
In this 21st episode of our STE(A)M IT STEM Careers Podcast, Rocío Benito, from EUN spoke with Monica Piergiovanni, a Researcher for an EU Institution!
Monica told us about her study path and the challenges she faces in the research field. “The main challenge is to go ahead and continue researching despite the failures and the time invested in the laboratory, so you need a lot of dedication and resilience.” She also talks about what inspired her: “It was a love journey that started when I was a child, and I thank my family and friends for supporting my passion for a scientific career and serving me as inspiration.” Listen to the podcast to know more!
CC BY 4.0: all the materials and content presented on this STEM Job profile have been co-created by STE(A)M IT, a project funded by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme project STE(A)M IT (Grant agreement 612845-EPP-1-2019-1- BE-EPPKA3-PI-FORWARD), in collaboration with theThree Rs project, a project initiated and funded by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and supported by the European Parliament under a Preparatory Action entitled “Promoting alternatives to animal testing”. The project is coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN) on behalf of the JRC. The Three Rs project is also supported by Scientix, funded from the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme – project Scientix 4 (Grant Agreement N. 101000063).
