The first foRMAtion expert workshop was held between 8-10 January, 2020 in Porto, Portugal. Workshop participants included high-level experts and stakeholders active in the field of research management and administration (RMA) at national or EU level. The main aim of the event was to initiate knowledge and experience sharing between participants, and to collect good and bad practices, methods and tools connected to RMA training. These will provide quality inputs for the foRMAtion methodological guide and good practice collection, and indirectly contribute to the preparation of the RMA curriculum and related training material.
On the first day, the welcoming speeches were followed by a project overview and discussion. Then the concept of the methodological guide and good practice collection was presented. This will be based mainly on personal interviews and survey results, and aims to provide empirical input for the university courses and training material that is to be developed. After that, twelve experts from seven European countries – including members of the foRMAtion Advisory Board – gave ten-minute presentations on existing initiatives and training programmes supporting RMAs.
This event was the chance for colleagues from Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to underline the importance of RMAs in the European Research and Innovation Ecosystem. After each presentation, participants launched short discussions on possible ways to train future RMAs, highlighting important aspects and the most significant elements that should be considered in the development of the foRMAtion training. Also discussed were the curriculum and teaching material for the international module and how to target potential RMAs.
At the closing of the three-day event, an interactive workshop was held on RMA competences and skills. During this session, participants had a lively discussion on the “ideal” RMA, regarding their attitude, skills, technical knowledge, appropriate and contextual behaviour.
The event also provided a platform for continuous networking, enabling participants to learn more about each other’s activities and interests and to pave the way for possible future cooperation.
The event was backed by the 2nd transnational meeting of the project partners. The partnership held brainstorming sessions on the conceptualization of the curriculum and the teaching material.
The next foRMAtion event will take place in September 2020 in Lisbon where, besides a joint staff training for teachers who will teach the international curriculum, a multiplier event will be organized to present and disseminate the project for stakeholders. This open event will provide a platform for interactive discussions and knowledge exchange on the developed materials, including the good practice collection, the international curriculum and the teaching material.
For more details, keep checking the foRMAtion website, where you can find all updates on the project. At the end of January, our social media sites will also be launched so you can follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Information and links will be posted on our home page shortly.
In case you have any questions or ideas on how to build synergies, do not hesitate to contact us via the project website or formation_hetfa@hetfa.hu.
