You do many things, but… do you get paid?
This is the most repeated question in my family when I tell them that I did a workshop to explain light and colors to children between 7 and 11 years old, or that I participated in the last edition of the Children and Youth Science Outreach Fair.
My answer is that I do not receive a salary, but sometimes the experience is priceless. Throughout my life, I have been a volunteer in several associations from which I did not receive any money, but I have received countless experiences and friends that will always be part of my life.
As probably happened to more than one of you, love brought me to the Netherlands. My husband got a Marie Curie scholarship to the Technical University of Eindhoven (TUe), so I accompanied him to this land of great opportunities. A few months later, I found a job, and soon after that, I found CENL, our beloved association. Boredom (there hadn’t been much of it either, I won’t deceive you) took a back seat.
Initially, I joined the association to have a network to rely on in the country and to meet scientists who, like me, had left Spain searching for opportunities. But what I found was something else, much more. CENL is an association where you can do practically anything you want to do, which I like very much. Do you want to organize an event on a specific topic? Then there is CENL. Want to go to the European Commission in Brussels? CENL will take you there. Do you want social events with Spaniards? Again, CENL supports you. You can get involved as much as you want, how and when you want.
Its structure consists of a board, standing committees, and specific committees.
The board consists of a group of members elected every two years by the members themselves and who are in charge of finances, paperwork, representing the association in front of institutions, etc. (like any board, come on). Among these members, there are also people in charge of coordinating the permanent commissions, such as communication, divulgation, or professionalization, among others.
As in the board, members can be part of the permanent and specific commissions. As the name suggests, the permanent ones are more constant over time since they are part of CENL’s long-term structure. In these commissions, you can carry out initiatives such as posting things of interest on social networks, giving talks at a children’s fair, or lending a hand in the preparation of events. In addition, we help people settle in the Netherlands or return to Spain thanks to the Arrival and Return Commission. We have a mentoring program to help our members and we actively participate in science policy.
On the other hand, if you have a specific interest, you can also form a particular commission. These commissions do not necessarily have to be permanent and cover a wide variety of topics; for example, there are specific commissions on neuroscience, nutrition, and cancer, which last year organized conferences in which professionals from the sector were invited to give a talk. There are usually events every month (you can see them here).
Although all this may seem like much work, it is done together and straightforwardly: the association provides the means, and the members do the job. With this, you can meet one of your scientific references, the ambassador, a colleague to collaborate with in your work project, a patent advisor, or even a professional ham slicer!
So now you know, if you want to lend a hand or have an idea in mind, write to us at info@cenetherlands.nl or directly to the specific committee, and get started!
I promise you one thing: CENL is no place to get bored.
Can you help us to be more people? Become a member and participate. Spread the word on the networks. Contact us and tell us about you and your project.
Marta Martínez Moro
Materials and Processing Engineer at SCIL Nanoimprint solutions
I was born in Santander, where I studied physics. It was during my studies that I became interested in nanotechnology. How can something so small make such a big difference? Between my master’s, PhD, post-doc, and current job, I have been working for ten years in researching new nanomaterials for different applications.
Beyond the lab, I like dealing with people and communication, so I am gradually training in marketing and customer relations. In addition, I am currently in charge of CENL’s outreach committee.
