Training
Network-wide training course in transferable skills will be specially developed and delivered by the Think Ahead (Sheffield), an award winning programme supporting Early Career Researchers (award by the Times Higher Education, 2014).
All beneficiaries commit themselves to stimulate equal opportunities for male & female ESRs. This message will be included in all posted vacancies.
Research training
The highly reputable academic and industrial groups in this network possess vast expertise in delivering the highest level of training in research and technology, underpinning the excellent training programme offered by the network. The multidisciplinarity of this training programme is underpinned by the special system of secondments.
The involvement of the industrial partners is crucially important for implementation of the research programme of the consortium and will also be fully used for the ESR training. Three different industrial sectors are represented further emphasizing the inter-sectorial character of the network and training.
The research training provisions are fully aligned with the research programme of the consortium, and great care will be taken in arrangements for the secondments that the new skills acquired by an individual ESR maximize the research output from his/her project.
Training in complementary skills
Special attention will be paid to structured network-wide training in complementary skills including leadership, entrepreneurship, management, IPR issues, public engagement etc, which will be provided by a programme specially designed by the award-winning Think Ahead at USFD (prestigious national award by the Times Higher Education for Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers).
The programme to be developed by Think Ahead will be complementary to the locally delivered training. Think Ahead will use the first 6-12 months to network with local career and researcher development services at beneficiaries, in order to develop appropriate network-wide training programme for ESRs, and take steps to certify this training according to European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System(ECTS).
This development will be mainly steered by the Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to be undertaken by each ESR at the point of entry into the network. Each ESR’s CDP will describe complementary skills training (both local and network-wide) to be advised by Think Ahead.
The project will deliver 3 network-wide training events in months 13-40 when all 15 ESRs have been employed.