The Scientific Community

The Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) is an international non-profit organisation (a.i.s.b.l.), based in Brussels (24 avenue des Arts, 1000 Brussels), with representations, via a growing number of local chapters, all over the world.  Several Working Groups allow interested members to contribute to important aspects of the development of the association, and the furthering of members’ interests.
The Association holds a General Assembly, twinned with a public conference, once a year, and members meet regularly, at more local events/ levels, to develop further connections, and to discuss developments in their fields of research. Joining the MCAA is potentially beneficial for a researcher’s career. The MCAA offers micro-grants, and provides a growing range of information and supportive services through our dedicated web-site.
The MCAA already has over 11 000 registered members, and we plan to reach 13 000 by the end of 2018. MCAA members all participated in past, or current, EU-funded Marie Curie programs, which encourage the international mobility of PhD and post-doctoral researchers; the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions are now part of Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation.
MCAA membership is open, free of charge, to anyone who has been (or is currently) involved in a Marie Curie EU-funded research project. To join the association, any member must be past or present Marie Curie (PhD or post-doctoral) researcher, research coordinator, or research supervisor: potential members must register on the MCAA web-site, and each membership is subjected to careful verification before being accepted. 
The MCAA is funded mainly through the European Commission, via a service contract set up (following a public call for competitive tenders) with a commercial contractor, that assists with the running of the MCAA, and administers the distribution of an EC subsidy (c. €300 000 per year) to support the activity of MCAA members. The MCAA also generates a modest level of ‘own funds’ (e.g. by charging for participation in certain MCAA activities, seeking sponsorship from other organisations, etc.) and is currently planning to increase this level of ‘self-funding’ to a more significant level.