Placement Report

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Placement Report

Internship at the UMCG Research BV

Stella Bourelou

(S3067920)

29.03.2020

Placement supervisor (UG): B.L Aardema

Placement supervisor (Research BV): H. Veenstra-Korf

Research BV Manager: S. Le Large

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Introduction

On the 2nd_{of September 2019, I started working as a trainee at the UMCG Research BV office. The} internship lasted six months, and I performed tasks as a junior Project Manager. Working as a trainee at the Research BV was a great chance for me to land an internship in the Netherlands as a non-Dutch student and gain professional experience, too.

In this report, I will give a detailed overview of my placement experience at the Research BV. The report will contain information about my application process, the Research BV, a description of my daily activities, personal reflections during the placement period, lessons learned, a description of the connection between the placement and my degree program and track and thoughts on my future career orientation and prospects.

Searching for a work experience placement

While the academic year 2018-2019 was approaching to an end, I found myself in the inconvenient place of not being motivated enough to complete what I have started back in September of 2016: my master’s degree in International Relations. Quitting was and still is out of the question for me, so I had to make the best out of the situation. During the spring of 2019, I began thoroughly researching institutions and internship positions I could apply for a placement, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

After sending multiple applications, I got a phone call regarding an invitation for an interview at the UMCG Research BV, for the intern position. I was excited. I was thinking that if I could get hired, I would gain the coveted working experience and I would be able to remain in Groningen to be closer to the university. Land an internship was very important for me and staying in Groningen was ideal.

The interview

The UMCG Research BV office was asking for ‘’an intern project manager to support the design of research projects and the writing of (EU) grant proposals’’.

Being in an academic environment while applying for internships, ‘’the design of research projects’’, appeared familiar to me. I had no idea how to write an EU grant proposal, but one of the main areas of my bachelor's and master’s studies was the EU institutions so I was intrigued to apply immediately. I was invited for an interview and then I started becoming as familiar as possible with what a Project Manager of EU grant is appointed to do. My educational background and skills were matching the vacancy and I went fully prepared for the interview. I was interviewed by the Research BV manager and by my - future - supervisor. They did not mind that I did not have any previous experience in Project Management and the questions were more about me and less about the internship position itself. A few days after the interview I had to take a short assessment test for my perception and writing skills.

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Landing the internship, expectations, and preparation

A few days later, I was informed that the interview and the assessment were successful and I was the new intern at the UMCG Research BV. The news reached me in the middle of the summer. I was excited to start the new academic year with an internship where I would gain valuable working experience. I spoke on the phone with the head manager of the office and I started getting ready by reading some preliminary material about my new position.

I had high expectations mainly of myself. I aspired to show up as capable as possible. The more I was reading about Project Management on EU grant proposals the more I was convinced I was heading in the right direction regarding my academic background and my future career. I was very content that I landed this position because it would enrich my working experience and I would be able to implement my theoretical knowledge on any given task. Although, I was a bit anxious about how I would connect my studies in International Relations International Organisations with working in a Project Management Office based in a hospital. For this, I will elaborate further in this report.

University Medical Centrum Groningen - Research BV

The UMCG

The UMCG is one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands and it happens to be the largest employer in the north of the country. More than 12.000 employees are working together on health care, research, training, and education. UMCG pays attention to build the future of health (Healthy Ageing). Certainly, it is impressive that the UMCG is the most prominent transplant center in the Netherlands. Moreover, the UMCG has tight links with the University of Groningen, making the hospital one of the largest (bio) medical knowledge institutions.

While I was working at the UMCG I had the chance to spend every working day in an organization with endless possibilities and something new to experience every day. From my experience, the UMCG is not just a hospital. I would describe it as a lighthouse of positivity, hope and tireless offer to the society.

To support its researchers, the UMCG founded Research BV, an internal service provider embedded within the hospital.

The Research BV

The Research BV provides services to the UMCG researchers from every biomedical field. There are sixteen employees with different professional backgrounds (biology, biochemistry, physical chemistry, nephrology, life, and medical science, genetics, pharmacology, social communication, editing, business and policy, law, international relations and organizations), so, quite interdisciplinary. They are offering full support on the pre-award, contract negotiation and post-award phases of a grant proposal. They have experience in EU grants (H2020, Marie Curie [ITN], ERC, COST, EIT, Interreg, Erasmus+), national grants (NWO, ZonMw, KNAW), regional grant applications (EFRO, MIT), and funds

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7 (Hartstichting, KWF). The Research BV team is continuously expanding to tackle the growing demand for grant proposals support.

While the Research BV belongs to the UMCG, it is still independent enough to develop new strategies towards a better quality of support to researchers. This is an ongoing process and I was present multiple times in brainstorm meetings regarding improvements. However, the Research BV is tightly linked to the UMCG, following its objectives and its organizational structure.

For an intern or a young professional, it is an exceptional chance to be able to work in a small independent Project Management team under the umbrella of a leader-Organization in healthcare and medical research.

The Placement Period

The first two weeks

I would describe the first day at the office as the introductory day. My supervisor, Hilda Veenstra-Korf, organized a warm introduction. I was introduced to the other Project Managers and Hilda briefly informed me about the activities of the Research BV and its linked organization, the Grant Support Hub. All in all, she briefly explained to me how the work regarding the full or partial support of a researcher is distributed among different entities within the UMCG. Also, she fully informed me about the project that we were going to work together. Hilda supervised me on my work as a supportive Project Manager for a Horizon 2020 grant proposal. But before I had the chance to dig into actual work, I had to make myself familiar with the different types of Horizon 2020 grants. In the beginning, supporting an EU grant proposal, in its pre-award stage might seem relatively simple. At a later stage, I found that it is a very complex procedure. I was explained that I would support projects in their pre-award phase. I would like to have the post-pre-award experience, too, but the time frame of the internship period was tight and I was already grateful that I would gain the pre-award experience.

In the first two weeks, I had to study material about EU grants and most of all, make myself familiar with Marie Skłodowska-Curie's actions, Research networks (ITN): support for Innovative Training Networks. I was given informative material, but I searched for online material, too. Everything was useful at that stage, online presentations, EU reports, the EU Official websites, online advice for researchers and grant evaluators.

Hilda was always by my side during those first days explaining everything in detail. At a later stage, she confessed I was asking ‘’Why?’’ about everything. She was remembering correctly. I was lost. The information I had to process came all at once. Right then I learned the first lesson: In the workplace, you have to be focused and learn quickly. Everyone was patient with me and, they did not expect me to know everything, but I was constantly felt that I could not keep up.

During the first days and the whole period of the internship, I was mainly listening and taking notes without talking when was not necessary. Of course, this had its positive and negative side.

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8 We scheduled two weekly meetings with my supervisor. The one meeting was about my progress during the internship, and the other meeting was about the project that Hilda and I were working on. Apart from the scheduled meetings, I had the chance to talk with my supervisor as often as needed and she regularly was checking on me, asking me about the way I was experiencing things during work. I had many chances to be completely open with her, discussing the challenges I was facing. We drafted an internship development form. My tasks for the whole internship period were mentioned explicitly and I was asked to write down my goals on how I would like to perform the internship and a personal development/long term deployability plan. We used this Internship Development Form as a checkpoint during the internship.

However, apart from my supervision, Hilda and I had to work closely on an EU (Innovative training network) grant proposal until the deadline on the 14th_{of January 2020.}

During the first week, I was introduced to the researcher and the project I was going to support. The researcher was an Assistant Professor on Human Movement Science and his proposal was about rehabilitation.

Until the deadline

The first two weeks went through quickly. I finally managed to get a bit familiar with my given tasks. At this point, I missed more clear guidance from my supervisor. Very quickly I realized that I had to appear proactive. I failed to realize soon enough that if I wanted more clear instructions I should ask for them. A piece of very helpful advice I was given was to ask more questions when I do not fully comprehend a given task.

Until mid-January, I was fully occupied with the ITN proposal. I was drafting the timeline, the agenda, the action points and the follow up after every meeting. I was keeping track of the project, in general, to proactively inform the researcher and my supervisor where we are standing and what needs to be done. I had to collect, analyze, summarize and present information on ITN grant applications to the researcher and his consortium. I had to identify the project’s stakeholders. I made an effort to link the proposal with the existed EU policies on healthcare and rehabilitation. One of my main activities was to keep the researcher informed about the current EU objectives and initiatives. Very often I was trying to find answers or solutions regarding the EU-orientation of the proposal. I had undertaken the communication with all the partners of the project under Hilda’s supervision. That was a huge challenge for me and soon I had to acquire new skills in managing electronic correspondence. Very often I had to discuss it with my supervisor and the researcher himself.

While working for the specific project, I was regularly following meetings with the rest of the team to evaluate or the running projects and discuss challenges. I have to admit that I found the Project Managers' meetings very interesting and instructive for me while I had the chance to meet with the rest of the team, be present during their discussions and learn from their experiences. Very often, it was comforting to realize that we were going through the same struggles while working on an Innovative Training Network proposal.

At the same time, I was asked to develop an ‘’ITN new kind of support’’. I had to organize knowledge exchange sessions on ITN for the project managers of the Research BV and the EU grants Project Managers of the rest of the UMCG, based on the pre-award project management guidelines. I performed this task properly and many Project Managers were quite content with this kind of support.

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9 Furthermore, during the ITN proposals’ preparation, I was appointed to help all the Project Managers collectively with a specific task that required organizational and communication skills. For this task, I was supported by the head manager of the Research BV and when something went wrong she was kind enough to help me learn from this rather than acting disappointed towards me. That moment was a pivotal leadership-act, in my opinion.

One particular task that was challenging but very instructive for me, was writing part the grant application, with a specific focus on the impact, management, implementation, communication and dissemination sections. I was a bit hesitant to take the responsibility to write parts of the final submitted version of the proposal. After the researcher and my supervisor encouraged me to complete writing small parts of the proposal, I felt quite proud when my proposed version regarding gender equality ended up in the final submitted version. During this process, I learned a lot about the objectives of the project itself and in which way my knowledge could be useful in a very different discipline than mine.

During the last stage of supporting the writing of the proposal, I had to search and be in contact with different European organizations that supported the project.

While I was working full-time for one ITN proposal, I performed minor tasks for another proposal to help two other Project Managers. That offered me a sense of accomplishment, while I had the chance to be involved in a different proposal and at the same time help the team.

Time passed very quickly and finally, we were working intensively towards the submission of the proposal. After the submission of the proposal, I still had six weeks to complete the internship.

The last six weeks

I will admit that after the proposal’s submission, I could take a step back and reflect on what happened the previous 4 and a half months. After this, I could enjoy the period of my internship a bit more. I performed a different kind of tasks during this period. I gathered necessary archives for future proposals and I put together files for future use for the whole Research BV. I completed this under the supervision of the head manager.

I was not working very close with Hilda anymore but our weekly meetings for my progress were still taking place and she was always available for me. Under her supervision, I updated the ITN pre-award project management guideline, including relevant tools such as useful links, checklists, success criteria, and gantt charts. I drafted a summary document of lessons learned based on my ITN support experience. Also, together with Hilda, we developed new ITN proposal templates for future use.

Finally, I was partially involved in another type of grant proposal together with two other Project Managers. I did not have an active role because my internship period ended long before the final deadline for the proposal. The new project was about research on vaccines and I was appointed to help the Project Managers and the research team to match the proposal’s narrative with current EU vaccination policies.

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Reflections

Reflection on expectations and challenges

One of the most important lessons I learned during my internship at the Research BV was the expectations management. This management technique is about the way to tackle the cultivated expectations between a Project Manager and a researcher while working on a grant proposal. I like to implement the expectations management into my life in general. Regarding the internship, at the Research BV, I had high hopes and expectations that were all fulfilled. I left the office more than happy and positive about what I have learned and accomplished. I started the internship with zero relevant working experience and during the next six months, I felt overwhelmed by how full of experiences my working days were.

Firstly, as a foreign student in the Netherlands, I had the chance to work at the UMCG and this was a tremendous opportunity for me. I have met many different professionals and they were interested in me, my background, my opinion upon work matters. The head manager and my supervisor trusted me completely and they were always patient and positive with me. I was grateful I had the chance to collaborate with a very experienced grant support Project Manager, my supervisor and companion during the whole period of my internship. I was given the chance to fully support a grant application since day one and work for a bright researcher and Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen. Although, I faced some challenges. In the beginning, it took me a lot of time to get familiar with all the information and the procedures at the office. I was constantly feeling insecure about my abilities and this made me turned into myself rather than seek answers or more support and guidance. A couple of mistakes I made upon work kept me behind and it took me some time to ‘’stand up’’ and continue. I have learned that time equals money when it comes to working but money is never a priority when it comes to people's needs.

I learned how to collaborate effectively, how to be more productive and how to be more creative when a situation does not favor me. All these because of the inspiring team of the Research BV. Indeed, I was constantly seeking approval and guidance but I was taught how to work independently and properly divide my working time. I had to take some initiatives and I had to accept that people will not always be pleased by the way I am performing tasks. Asking for feedback and accepting instructive criticism will be a strong asset of mine from now on.

Reflection on the connection between the placement and the degree program and

track.

The competition for funds is tough: prestigious European grants usually involve substantial funding, international multi-partner collaborations, and numerous administrative procedures.

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11 Specifically for the Innovative Training Networks funds, interdisciplinarity is crucial. In that sense, I could say that I had a good grasp of what interdisciplinarity requires thanks to the IRIO Master’s program.

The given tasks were easier to perform based on the abilities I developed as an IRIO master student. The analytical thinking and the research methods I possess appeared particularly useful. Also, IR helped me recognize the complex processes behind a big European project as most research projects are executed by European or International consortia, including researchers, large companies, different policymakers and often multiple stakeholders. A solid understanding of International Organisations is a good way to start working as a Project Manager upon EU funds.

I firmly believe that my experience in supporting a European project with all the above qualities is connected to my Global Governance track while my theoretical knowledge and the performed tasks complemented each other.

Reflection on future career orientation and prospects

As I mentioned earlier, in the beginning of the internship period I filled an internship development form. This helped me reflect on my future career choices and the required skills. After completing the internship I gained a more definite idea on future career fields.

While organizing the ITN knowledge exchange sessions I came in contact with fund officers both from the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences. This was inspiring enough for me to be directed to an EU funding officer’s career. It is stimulating to contribute to funding research and innovation.

Conclusion

As shown above, my experience at the UMCG Research BV office was a remarkable opportunity to grow and learn professionally. I was lucky I found myself in an inspiring, hard-working and multicultural team. Almost daily, I was receiving appreciation for my presence there and I would recommend to an IR master student to pursue an Internship at the Research BV. The Head manager and all the Project Managers are considerably experienced in different fields.

In the end, I had one final meeting with the Head manager and one with my supervisor, where they offered me valuable feedback and bits of advice. I will keep that above all, they were both led by example the whole team.

Even the downsides of my time at the Research BV office taught me that if I want different results I should change my approach.

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Placement Report