European Advanced Studies Course on Microbial Resource Centres (EuroMiRC)
EuroMiRC first edition (March – July 2023)
EuroMiRC aims to develop a new generation of highly qualified professionals that recognize the necessity of undergoing advanced training to acquire state-of-the-art technical and managerial skills tailored to provide and perform better services to the microbial Culture Collections or Microbial Resource Centres user communities.
The European Advanced Studies Course on Microbial Resource Centres (EuroMiRC) aims to create a new generation of highly qualified professionals that will work in microbial Culture Collections (CC) or the more advanced concept of Microbial Resource Centres (mBRCs). The prepared 30 ECTS curricular program is designed to give science professionals the skills and knowledge they need to take on greater responsibilities in the management of microbial resources. Students who successfully complete the 30 ECTS program are awarded a Diploma in Advanced Studies on Microbial Resources Centres issued by University of Minho (Braga, Portugal). Please note that EuroMiRC may be recognized for the taught part of study cycles leading to a doctoral degree but by itself it is not eligible for obtaining an academic degree.
The teaching body of this Advanced Studies Course assembles a critical mass of microbiologists with long and internationally recognized research, innovation, and education experience, belonging to different CC/mBRCs that are partners of the Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure-European Research Infrastructure Consortium (MIRRI-ERIC). The course is hosted by University of Minho (Braga, Portugal) and has the support of the following partner institutions:
- Universitat de València-Estudi General (UVEG-CECT)
- Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC-BEA)
- University of Latvia (UL-MSCL)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA-CCUoA)
- Universita Degli Studi Di Torino (UNITO-MUT)
- Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL-BELSPO/MUCL)
- Université de Liége (ULiége-BELSPO/ULC)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
- Institut Pasteur
- Westerdijk Institute – KNAW
- Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology – IAFB
General objectives of EuroMiRC:
EuroMiRC intends to impact beyond the borders of CC/mBRCs by covering competencies required at different phases of the CC/mBRCs lifecycle. The EuroMiRC curricular program is designed to:- integrate scientific competencies and management skills to access, preserve and supply microbial genetic resources and other related services;
- disseminate skills on management of Microbial Resources Centres under quality control standards and in compliance with the legal frameworks;
- appraise the valorization chain of the microbial diversity long-term preservation.
Who should apply?
The EuroMiRC vision is to develop a new generation of CC/mBRCs professionals who recognize the necessity of undergoing advanced training to acquire state-of-the-art technical and managerial skills tailored to provide and perform better CC/mBRCs services to the user communities. EuroMiRC is primarily aimed at:
- Doctoral students (3rd cycle);
- Post-doctoral researchers;
- and any professionals that want to acquire high-level international and management-oriented competencies in Microbial Resources Centres.
The Transnational Access Pilot Programme aims to test the feasibility of access to resources and services provided by IS_MIRRI21 and standardise the procedures among the project partners. This action will be used to evaluate the reliability of the access platform for the communication and management of access requests. Two calls will be launched in January of 2021 and 2022 for the first and second TNA programmes!
More information about the TNA Pilot Programme will be available soon.
The TNA programme aims to financially and logistically support the access (on-site and remotely) of external users to the 14 IS_MIRRI21 research infrastructures across Europe to carry out their research projects. This initiative offers access to a wide variety of microbial resources, laboratories and state-of-the-art facilities and technological platforms.
The Transnational access includes:
- Technical and scientific support
- Administrative and logistic support
- Access to the products, services and facilities offered in the IS_MIRRI21 TNA catalogue
- Hands-on training needed to access the facilities
TNA funding does not include:
- Non-standard consumables
- Expenses required before or after the TNA visit
The TNA programme sponsors researchers’
- Access to the IS_MIRRI21 research infrastructures including: facilities, platforms, laboratories, standard consumables, chemicals and disposables
- Travel expenses (one round trip/person)
- Subsistence (meals and accommodation for up to 30 days, weekends included).
- Shipping costs of project materials from the IS_MIRRI21 facility to the home the institutions
The first TNA programme workshop targeted at Liaison Officers and MIRRI’s members was hosted in September 2020.
Modes of access
The TNA programme provides two means of access: on-site and remote access.
On-site access: in this type of access, the users visit the infrastructure and carry out their research projects on-site. The facility provides scientific, technical and logistic support.
Remote access: this does not involve an in-person visit of users to the infrastructures. There are two types of remote accesses:
- Shipping of strains/biological materials: the user requests a specific “Product” from the access provider (e.g. samples, strains and their derivatives such as DNA).
- Remote Services: a set of experiments are carried out at the Access Provider’s location but the user is not physically present at the installations (e.g. sample analysis and processing).
The Access Officer is the main contact person to discuss the details about the TNA application.
Access Officer
Adriana Chiarelli
TNA@mirri.org
