The EU backs 10 new projects to support research careers

To ensure Europe remains at the forefront of global research, the EU is investing €19 million in new projects under the Horizon Europe: Reforming and enhancing the European R&I system funding opportunity. The goal of the selected projects is to provide early-career researchers with better working conditions and career prospects in line with the European Charter for Researchers.

These initiatives will create talent ecosystems where universities, businesses and public bodies work together to boost training opportunities and mobility across sectors. By moving more easily between academia and industry, researchers will gain diverse experience, while employers will benefit from a stronger flow of skilled talent.

The projects will also support institutional change, helping research organisations and HR departments adapt their practices to make research careers more attractive and sustainable.

In addition, the projects aim to equip researchers with the skills most needed in today's labour market - particularly in green energy, digital transformation and deep tech, where Europe requires highly skilled talent to stay competitive.

Projects are expected to start their research between June and October 2025.

What will the selected projects do?

ARCOE aims to establish a virtual talent innovation hub to enhance career development, research collaboration, and human resources practices across the EU. The hub will support researchers by offering training, networking, and career opportunities.

DeepTechSeeds is expected to build a talent ecosystem that links academia, industry, and public sectors. The project will train hundreds of early career researchers and encourage cross-sector collaborations via a digital platform.

CROSS should develop a comprehensive set of career management services, including a self-assessment competence tool, a roadmap for transversal skills training, mentoring and intersectoral collaboration handbooks, a roadmap for career counseling, and a Human Resources strategy for researcher's repository.

AttractAdria plans to increase the research quality, international visibility, and competitiveness of the Bosnia and Herzegovina's universities through targeted activities aimed at career development, transfer of knowledge, institutional development, exchange of best practices and networking. This should improve integration of researchers from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Research Area and increase their participation in international projects.

SECURE2 is expected to pilot and implement recommendations from the European Framework for Research Careers to improve research career progression and mobility within research-performing and funding organisations.

SMART Researchers aims to improve working conditions and create a capacity-building framework that provides micro-credentials and certifications based on the European Competence Framework for Researchers.

ECROS plans to deliver structured career guidance, enhanced collaboration frameworks, and comprehensive support for early career researchers, equipping them with the necessary skills to thrive in both academia and industry.

INSIGHT aims to bridge the gap between the skills acquired in academic settings and those required in the labour market, particularly in areas related to the Green Deal, digital transformation, and deep tech.

NextTechTalents intends to ensure that researchers gain the skills to transition between academic and non-academic environments, including entrepreneurship.

BREATH aims to build a well-structured and sustainable Talent Ecosystem in Health Innovation in Catalonia, Flanders, and Lithuania. Talent managers from academic and non-academic institutions in these three regions will collaborate to drive institutional changes and implement initiatives that enhance researchers' careers, talent retention, and mobility.

See all projects funded under this Reforming and Enhancing the Research and Innovation System call.

How were the projects selected?

All projects were selected in a competitive call for proposals, which opened in May 2024 and closed on 25 September 2024. In total, 49 proposals were submitted under the topic 'Talent ecosystems for attractive early research careers'.

Under the same call, other four projects have been selected for funding: three projects (ERIS, GreenEsteem and MEDViEW) under the topic 'Experimentation and exchange of good practices for value creation', receiving €3 million in EU funding to accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into practice; and, one project under the topic 'Science comes to town', receiving €6 million to organise activities bringing science closer to citizens.

The selected projects received the highest marks in a peer evaluation run by the European Research Executive Agency with the help of independent experts.

Further information

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