This policy brief on Early Career Researchers in Transnational Projects derives from insights generated at the EUROMOBI Conference, part of the EU-funded EuroMobi project (Horizon Europe, Grant No. 101232335), which explored mobility, demographic change, and socio-economic resilience in Europe. The conference took place 4th to 6th June 2025 in Warsaw, Poland, and the brief was later completed by the CHANSE KEF team with input from contributors to the event.
The plenary session Navigating opportunities and challenges: Early Career Researchers in transnational projects was held on Friday 6th June 2025. Focussing on the lived experiences of PhD and post-doctoral researchers who were part of CHANSE transnational research projects, the brief is a call to action for academia, funding bodies and other policy makers to:
- Equip ECRs with the skills and knowledge needed to progress and hold leadership roles in collaborative projects.
- Strengthen transnational collaboration between academics and invest in related research and knowledge exchange.
- Enable the building of national and transnational networks, by and for ECRs.
- Create funding schemes that provide ECRs with guidance and mentorship and offer them job security within academia.
- Aid in bridging the gap between academia and non-academic employers and partners by raising the profile of the transferable skills that ECRs have to offer.
