Fanny Lachat, Scientific Project Officer in the Digital and Mathematics Department (NUMA) of the Scientific Operations Division (DOS)
How did you start working at the ANR?
I have been working at the ANR since November 2019. I completed a PhD in Neuroscience and held several post-doctoral positions in Finland, Sweden, Brazil and Paris. Afterwards, I worked for an open access scientific journal in London. Then, because of my desire to come back to France and do something else related to science and researchers, I applied for the position of Scientific Project Officer at the ANR, focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which suited me perfectly because I know this field very well.
What is your role at the ANR?
Since my arrival, I was lucking enough to take part in about ten proposals - nationally excluding the Generic call for proposals (AAPG), AAPG, and internationally. My responsibilities are truly diverse: creating and writing calls according to the needs of the community; organising selection committees; in addition to the scientific monitoring, namely reading and approving reports and communicating with researchers. Between SPOs, we help one another a lot, but I also interact with other departments, such as the Directorate of Legal Affairs, to make sure that we are following the rules when we create a new call, and with the Contracting and Funding Directorate to create the contract that activates the funding for each project.
What do you like the most about your position?
On international calls, I really enjoyed working with German and Japanese agencies, learning about their culture, how they work, and making sure we are compatible. Of course, I really enjoy working with science, attending Evaluation Panels or kick-off meetings, listening to researchers talk about the applications received or present their projects. Some of them are particularly memorable. I am thinking of HUMAAINE, a chair in AI, coordinated by Laurence Devillers. In this project, focusing on the detection of socio-affective states, I found everything I like: a bit of Neuroscience, some behavioural psychology, and lots of AI!
