At the EU Policy Table – A Career in Science Governance
Are you curious about how European research policies affect your career? And how you as a postdoc can turn your research experience into a role shaping science policy at the EU level?
Join our Beyond the Postdoc PAW Edition as we explore the evolving landscape of postdoc careers through the inspiring journey of Annelies Van de Ven, a policy officer at the European Commission and former postdoc.
She’ll discuss how she transitioned from local postdoc representation to influencing EU research policy, as well as balancing international mobility and motherhood during her postdoc.
She’ll also highlight key developments shaping postdocs’ futures, including:
- MSCA Fellowships – evolving support for early-career researchers
- Supervision standards – improving mentorship and support
- Open Science – equity, transparency, and researcher agency
- Choose Europe – tackling precarity and building attractive research careers
This session is perfect for postdocs interested in how policy shapes research careers — and explore new career directions in research governance and science policy.
Date: 21 September 2026
Time: 1-2:30 pm
Speaker: Dr. Annelies Van de Ven
Dr. Annelies Van de Ven is a policy officer at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission, working in the unit responsible for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Besides contributing to the policies of the Actions themselves, Annelies works alongside colleagues in promoting Open Science practices across the research community and in valorising the AI portfolio of the MSCA. Prior to joining the Commission, Annelies was a postdoctoral researcher in archaeology at the Université catholique de Louvain where she also led the postdoctoral working group on internationalisation.
