MEPs and researchers to trade places

09 Jul 2015 | News
Scientists will swap their lab coats for suits in September, as part of a twinning scheme with members of the European Parliament

Up to 60 scientists will be invited to shadow members of the European Parliament (MEPs) this September, as part of the MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme.

MEPs will complete the role-reversal, by visiting scientists in their research labs. Pairs of scientists and MEPs will then co-host an event in Brussels, on any topic of their choosing.

The scheme, which resides in the Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) panel, aims to, “enhance mutual understanding and establish lasting links between members and experts,” the Parliament says. 

The mandate of STOA is to gather scientific evidence for politicians, usually through organising workshops and commissioning studies.

The scheme started running in 2007, and was originally based on similar experiments in France, the UK and Australia.

Interested scientists must submit applications by the end of the month.

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