#MCAA2017 –Marie Curie Alumni Association General Assembly and Conference 2017

The Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) is an active community of current and past researchers of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Named after famous scientist and nobel laureate Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the programme promotes interdisciplinary research, international collaborations, and mobility supporting researchers at all stages of their careers, irrespective of nationality.

**Event venue – Salamanca University’s Hospedería Fonseca** (photo credit *Foto-Modelos.es*)

The alumni gathered in Salamanca for the General Assembly and Conference, 24^th and 25^th of March 2017, which was organised by the University of Salamanca in cooperation with the MCAA Spain/Portugal Chapter. Founded in 1218, the University of Salamanca is one of the oldest and most prestigious in Europe alongside the universities of Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge. In the past, doctoral students had to pass a rigorous exam after which the student had to host a costly celebration including a bullfight. After mixing the bull’s blood with oil and iron oxide, the students’ name, date and victory symbol were painted on the city’s walls. Nowadays, the customs and requirements for a PhD have changed.

**Graffiti of the victory symbol at the University of Salamanca**

The General Assembly was held on the first day, it centered on the activities of the association, working groups, chapters and members and aimed at promoting engagement and collaboration. Everyone was encouraged to actively participate. I particularly enjoyed and benefited from the lively discussions at the poster session and working group “Bridging Science to Business” session. In the evening, we continued the discourse at the social dinner. The conference on the next day focused on careers, networking and societal challenges. I will remember the event as a highly rewarding experience, it was great to meet fellows from various fields living and coming from so many different countries! I am excited to hopefully meet them again at the assembly at KU Leuven next year.

**Lively discussions at the MCAA poster session** (photo credit *Foto-Modelos.es*)

The programme, list of posters and recorded sessions are available here: https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/news/mcaa-general-assembly-and-conference-salamanca-%E2%80%93-recorded-sessions-available

The recorded session of the conference is open to everyone, whereas, the general assembly session is open to members only.

If you are a present or past Marie Curie researcher, you can join the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) free of charge:

https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/user/register