.: About the Network of European Neuroscience Schools (NENS)

The Network of European Neuroscience Schools

In Europe, Neuroscience education at the graduate level is characterised by its broad spectrum of specialised areas as well as by a rich diversity of research fields. In addition to schools and programmes that focus on the entire neuroscience field and therefore have a broader spectrum, some institutions focus on concrete fields within neuroscience such as molecular, cellular, developmental, cognitive, clinical or computational neuroscience and on various systems within neuroscience. NENS possesses the most comprehensive online source of information on neuroscience graduate education, schools and programmes in Europe, displayed by the programme directory.

The Network of European Neuroscience Schools (NENS) was founded in 2003 and represents over 150 of those graduate schools and programmes across ca. 30 European countries that offer Masters, MD, PhD and doctoral degrees in neuroscience. NENS is a formal structure within the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS). FENS offers many services for its members among which the NENS initiative is particularly concerned with providing transparency for educational programmes in the field of neuroscience.

Furthermore, NENS offers a basis for communication between European neuroscience graduate programmes and presents an overview for interested scholars.

In particular, we have the following overarching goals:

• Promoting higher education in the field of neuroscience in Europe
• Assisting in generating quality standards in neuroscience programmes
• Encouraging and supporting mobility among graduate students and teachers
• Increasing choices and opportunities for graduate students by providing a comprehensive overview
• Improving the cooperation and network among current and future European scientists
• generating new and significant knowledge in the field
• Laying the basis for obtaining consortium funding at national and EU levels

Concrete support for your programme and your graduate students

Why your neuroscience school should join

With over 150 members schools and programmes, representing over 5,000 neuroscience graduate students and ca. 2,500 teachers and senior researchers, NENS offers a powerful voice and lobby at the European level.

Our shared experiences and the establishment of a mutual support in terms of neuroscience education and of research means that every programme can optimise its quality, recruitment potential and output.

As a whole this renders Europe and extremely attractive basis for completing neuroscience degrees at the graduate level, and pursuing a postgrdaute career on the European continent due to the transparent presentation of the various educational opportunities.

By joining NENS, you can:

• Become part of NENS neuroscience graduate programme directory and make use of the opportunity to advertise your programme to a huge international audience
• Advertise vacancies and announce educational events at your institution to an international user base via the NENS website
• Expand your professional and personal networks across the European neuroscience community
• Identify cooperation partners within other neuroscience graduate programmes
• Benefit from exchange of methodological know-how between NENS members
• Take part in the NENS Annual Meetings and meet Neuroscience coordinators from all over Europe.
• Gain access to training stipends for your graduate students
• Receive our monthly NENS Newsletter with up-to-date information on the community and in-depths reporting on member programmes

How to register with NENS

If you are a student

For further information contact the NENS Office on sonia.bolea@unil.ch

NENS Committee

Chair	Jean-Pierre Hornung, Switzerland
Committee Members	Pavle Andjus, Serbia Tomi Taira, Finland Ferdinando Rossi, Italy Jolanta B. Zawilska, Poland

NENS Office

Sonia Bolea
Biophore 2204
University of Lausanne
1015 Lausanne

Mail: sonia.bolea@unil.ch