Experience

EARMA

• Belgium
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Managing Director

  • Mar 2017 - Present

  EARMA is the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators. It is a non-profit organisation which is geared towards contributing to science by enabling, educating and representing research managers and administrators. EARMA is purely an association of members and isn’t dependent on any government or interest group. I am the main person responsible for the delivery of the EARMA strategy, attaining the goals and ensuring that EARMA is running smoothly. I get my instructions from the EARMA board which is the highest governing body of the organisation made up out of elected members. My team of 15 people work passionately to improve EARMA every day. EARMA has been growing for many years and there are exiting times to come. If you are interested in EARMA please visit http://www.earma.org/ and contact me at nik.claesen@earma.org. Don’t forget to have a look at our amazing conference! Show less



Vrije Universiteit Brussel

• Belgium
• Research Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Coordinator of European Liaison Office

  • Sep 2012 - Feb 2017

  I was the coordinator of the European Liaison office at the R&D department. I was responsible for organising a well structured office which offers quality support to our researchers. We tried to focus on being as customer friendly as possible. EU funded research is always on the move and one of our key goals was to be up-to-date at all times. I was responsible for advising on EU projects but also on policy, representing my university externally, promoting EU funded research and upgrading our internal processes.The European Liaison Office was a 4 person team which is supported by multiple additional people with a less focused job description.I am particularly proud of the following initiatives:- The information campaign we did at the start of H2020 consisting of some 50 sessions- Upgrading of a very technical process to the benefit of all internal stakeholders- Creating an international network out of nothing to offer our researchers top quality feedback- Continuously expanding the available support for our researchersI became the coordinator of the European Liaison Office after only 1 year and 9 months into my career. This was an immense challenge because of the high stakes involved and my limited experience. Through hard work and persistence, it became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I learned a lot in a very short time-span and it made me a much stronger professional and person. Always trying to improve myself was a key asset in this context and it is my motto in life. Show less

• European Liaison Officer

  • Jan 2011 - Sep 2012

  I advised on EU funded research with FP7 as my core business. My advice ranged from budget and small practical issues to improving the content of project proposals. I also handled EU tenders, related research programmes DG Action grants and the internal budget setup.This was my first job and I was lucky to learn from a lot of experienced people both in my organization and partner organizations. In this first period I was able to build up a lot of technical expertise (rules, budgeting, documents flows,...). I was able to follow projects from conception to the final report. I think this is an added benefit when working mostly in the pre-award phase. Show less



Imperial College London

• Research Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Bid Consultant

  • Apr 2015 - Aug 2015

  I worked for the Programme Management Office (PMO) of Imperial College for 5 months. My role was to help manage and improve a number of bids which were submitted to various Horizon 2020 calls. This gave me the opportunity to spend more time on less proposals and thus go more in depth. It also gave me the opportunity to work with a wonderful team of experts at the PMO. I am very grateful for their professional attitude, kind manner and team spirit. I am delighted to have been part of the team, even if only for a short while. I look back at this period with great joy. During my time at the PMO I was juggling two jobs and commuting back and forth between Brussels and London each week and sometimes more than once a week. My contract in Brussels was temporarily reduced to allow for this. It was a great experience and I must say that I love London. Show less