EURAXESS Smart Talks

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Brian Cahill — Grant Manager of the ReMO COST Action (CA19117) on Researcher Mental Health for a wide-ranging conversation about why researcher wellbeing has become one of academia's most pressing, and most overlooked, issues.

Brian traces his own path into this work back to his years chairing the Marie Curie Alumni Association, where he became a first point of cont...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Tanel Aruväli, an MSCA postdoctoral fellow originally from Estonia (TalTech), now researching at the University of Malta. Tanel shares the story behind his research on simulation-based stress testing for resilience assessment in manufacturing companies — explaining what "resilience" really means for a factory floor using a simple ruler analogy, and how VUCA-era dis...

 Today we take you beyond Earth to the icy moons, dusty plains, and hidden subsurface oceans of our Solar System. Our guest is Professor Elena Pettinelli, a physicist and planetary scientist from Roma Tre University. Prof. Pettinelli is the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project SWIM (Surfing radio Waves to detect liquid water in the solar system), which investigates planetary subsurfaces using electromagnetic waves....

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Elisa Garcia Garcia, of EURAXESS Spain (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, FECYT), about one of academia's most under-addressed issues: researchers' mental health. Drawing on her own move from bench researcher to research manager, Elisa breaks down what "institutional support" really means in practice, introduces SATIS — a new self-assessment tool helping universities audit their ...

About This Episode

What does it really take to stay mentally well in academia? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Gábor Kismihók — a researcher at the intersection of learning analytics, career development, and wellbeing — for an honest, grounded conversation about mental health in the research community. From the early warning signs supervisors should watch for, to the role of institutional culture, personal career d...

How does the European Research Area (ERA) translate from policy vision into concrete opportunities for researchers and institutions—especially those in widening countries? In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we dive deep into the ERA dimension of Horizon Europe and explore how to build competitive, high‑impact WIDERA proposals.

You’ll hear expert insights from:

• Siiri Kolka – National Contact Point, ERA spec...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Juliane Sauer, Director and founding member of OXYGENEUM, and former MSCA National Contact Point for Switzerland. With over a decade of experience supporting researchers across Europe, Juliane shares her journey from academia to consultancy, her leadership in the Net4Mobility project, and her current role in the ambitious Radiance initiative.

Together, we explore how ...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, hosts Daria Aksenova and Jovan Aranđelović sit down with Dr. Monika Golińska—a biochemist, cancer researcher, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow whose work bridges leading European institutions including the Medical University of Łódź and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.

Dr. Golińska shares her journey from early student exchanges to leading a cutting‑edge project investigatin...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Antonino (Nino) Puglisi — a Chartered Chemist, seasoned researcher, and European advisor at UK Research and Innovation. With more than 20 years of international experience across Italy, the UK, Austria, and Turkey, Nino shares a deeply personal and insightful journey of how research mobility shaped his scientific career, worldview, and professional identity.

From po...

In this episode of Euraxess Smart Talks, we speak with Anne‑Marie Jeannet, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Milan and Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant project DESPO – Deindustrializing Societies and the Political Consequences.

Anne‑Marie reflects on her journey into social science, her unconventional academic path from the humanities to quantitative sociology, and her experience applying fo...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, hosts Daria Aksjonova and Jovan Aranđelović sit down with Dr. Jennifer Kefauver, a Marie Skłodowska‑Curie Postdoctoral Fellow whose career spans world‑class research centers in the US, Switzerland, and Spain.

Jennifer shares her journey from earning her PhD at Scripps Research—studying mechanically activated ion channels in Nobel Prize–winning laboratories—through her interd...

Anthropologist and legal scholar Dr. Niklas Hultin (Associate Professor, George Mason University) joins EURAXESS Smart Talks to unpack what it really means to build a career at the intersection of anthropology, law, history, and international relations—with a focus on security practices in West Africa. We explore his transatlantic journey (Sweden ↔ United States), consulting and expert-witness work, and practical advice for e...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks we speak with a remarkable dual-career academic couple: Dr. Michael Levant, a physical chemistry and microfluidics researcher at TotalEnergies, and Prof. Jessica Cauchard, Full Professor for Embodied Intelligent Interaction at TU Wien and a pioneer in human-drone interaction.

Together, they share their deeply personal and highly practical journey across countries, disciplines, and career syste...

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Mary Kagendo Kobia, Senior Global Mobility Consultant at the University of Copenhagen. Mary shares her decade-long experience supporting international researchers and their families as they transition to life in Denmark. From practical relocation challenges to creating a sense of belonging, Mary explains why dual career services are essential for retention, well-being, and t...

In this inspiring episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, we sit down with Dr. Marina Joubert, a trailblazer in science communication from Stellenbosch University. With a rich background in food science, journalism, and agricultural sciences, Dr. Joubert shares her journey from the lab to the public sphere, advocating for evidence-based discourse and the democratization of science. We explore how scientists can better engage with society,...

Guest: Prof. Milan Zdravković — Associate Professor and leading Applied AI researcher at the University of Niš, Serbia; Coordinator of the Serbian EURAXESS Network; Leader of the Scientific Startup Entrepreneurship Hub in the EURAXESS Hub project.

📄 Episode Description

In this episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, hosts Darja Aksjonova and Jovan Arandjelović welcome Prof. Milan Zdravković to discuss the EURAXESS Startup Hub, an ini...

In this episode, we sit down with Marco Antonio Stranisci, a postdoctoral researcher in Natural Language Processing at the University of Turin and founder of aequa-tech, an AI startup focused on social impact. Marco shares his journey from humanities to computer science, his activism against hate speech, and the creation of Debunker-Assistant, a tool designed to combat misinformation.

We explore the ethical dimensions of AI, the cha...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Frank Danesy – a strategist, academic, and innovator whose career spans the armed forces, aerospace, academia, and entrepreneurship. With over two decades at the European Space Agency, Dr. Danesy shares insights on strategic intelligence, career mobility, and the evolving landscape of research leadership.

From his early days in the military to co-founding Orbit8, a venture focused on caree...

In this inspiring episode of EURAXESS Smart Talks, hosts Darja Aksjonova and Jovan Aranđelović sit down with Dr. Artemis Kontou — a polymath whose career spans mechanical engineering, entrepreneurship, academia, and music. From her PhD in tribology at Imperial College London to co-founding a privacy-focused startup with over 1 million downloads, Artemis shares how she bridges the worlds of research and innovation. She opens u...