From January to April 2025, Dr. Elena Sultana, Research Project Manager from the University of Malta, undertook a secondment at the Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium (CERIC-ERIC) as part of the ERA Shuttle project. In this interview, Dr. Sultana discusses her work with the CERIC User Office and how this experience contributed to ERA-Shuttle’s broader objectives.
Dr. Sultana, during your time at CERIC, what did you work on?
I was immersed in the activities of the User Office, focusing primarily on understanding and analyzing access modalities for both academic and industrial users. My work included learning the structure and workflow of CERIC’s Open Calls for Proposals and observing the processes for proposal evaluation, user access scheduling, and open access policy enforcement. I also engaged with strategic communication initiatives related to stakeholder outreach, i.e., I published an advertisement for the CERIC-ERIC call for open access on the University of Malta (UM) webpage and on the electronic displays around the University campus.
How are these activities connected with the ERA Shuttle’s goals?
One of the goals of my secondment was to explore possible synergies between the University of Malta and CERIC for future collaboration, particularly in promoting access to CERIC’s advanced scientific infrastructure.
“Exploring synergies” informs future mobility planning under Work Package 3 on talent mobility. By the end of the secondment, I had a clearer picture of potential joint training and access initiatives involving Maltese researchers.
Promoting access to CERIC’s infrastructure is also strongly aligned with Work Package 2, titled “ERA cross-sectoral framework for advancing cross-sectoral collaboration.” Specifically, the activity contributes to identifying and leveraging institutional synergies to enhance R&I capacity and resource sharing across sectors and borders (Task 2.3).
Lastly, in line with the ERA-Shuttle objective to enhance the R&I ecosystem’s attractiveness and inclusiveness, I examined how CERIC’s open-access model and infrastructure could be applicable for the Maltese research community.
Was your previous work experience important for the secondment period you completed at CERIC?
As part of the reciprocal activities during my secondment, I drew on my experience as a National Contact Point (NCP) to contribute to ongoing internal discussions regarding CERIC’s potential participation in upcoming EU and nationally funded calls.
With a focus on engaging diverse funding streams and industrial sectors, the discussion explored several calls and opportunities in detail. One key example was the European Defence Fund (EDF), where potential CERIC’s involvement was examined in terms of how cross-sectoral engagement by Research Infrastructures could contribute to addressing Europe’s defence challenges.
Another important topic were the Horizon Europe – Pillar 1 calls (e.g., HORIZON-HLTH-2025-01-DISEASE-04/05) – These calls align with CERIC’s emphasis on life sciences and health-related applications, which were highlighted during meetings with the Project Office.
Finally, I also examined the M-ERA.NET focused on materials and battery tech, which is a perfect fit for CERIC’s technical infrastructure. It is interesting to note that M-ERA.NET is aligned to ERA-Shuttle’s goals on enhancing R&I support for green and digital transitions. Supporting CERIC’s engagement with M-ERA.NET feeds also into Task 5.4, on building funding readiness and strategic foresight among research-supporting institutions.
What did you enjoy most among the activities you did?
What I enjoyed most was the cross-functional exposure—interacting with experts across IT, HR, communication, user support, and scientific coordination. The multifaceted view into CERIC’s operational and strategic processes gave me invaluable insight into the collaborative ecosystem behind major research infrastructures. I particularly appreciated the hands-on understanding of the access policy design and its practical implementation, as well as the opportunity to observe how user support is extended from the moment of proposal submission all the way to post-experiment publication.
If you were to recommend someone to come for a secondment at CERIC, what would you advise them?
I would advise them to:
- Come prepared to engage actively—there are numerous opportunities to ask questions, propose ideas, and contribute.
- Familiarize themselves with the Virtual Unified Office (VUO) system beforehand to accelerate onboarding (anyone can create a user profile on VUO and start exploring its supportive structures).
- Take initiative in building relationships across departments, as the collaborative spirit at CERIC is one of its strongest assets.
- Be open to learning from both structured meetings and informal interactions, as much of the insight comes through observation and conversation.