ENABLECARES first meeting: Training the next generation of biomedicine researchers

February 11 2021 witnessed the launch of the kick-off meeting of the ENABLECARES project, where members from the 5 project beneficiaries and the European Commission gathered online to sync up and discuss all the points to guide the project to success.

ENABLECARES is a consortium formed by IRB Barcelona, Radboud university medical center, Radboud University, the European School of Molecular Medicine and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen. The multidisciplinary background of project team members includes research managers, academic officers, members of innovation and technology transfer departments, entrepreneurs, data scientists, data stewards, and open science managers, among others.

At the meeting held on 11 February, Clara Caminal, coordinator of the project, explained how ENABLECARES came about as a response to a need for career counselling for young biomedical researchers, identified during the successful EU-funded project, Enable. Clara presented the main project goals and the expected impact on researchers’ employability, the excellence of the partners’ training programme and ultimately the potential contribution of the project to European Policy. 

In that regard, Rinske van den Berg, policy officer at the European Commission Directorate-General for Research & Innovation, emphasised how projects like ENABLECARES are called to play a key role in defining a European competency framework that will strengthen the attractiveness and recognition of researchers’ careers. 

Cristina Marcone, Project Adviser at the European Commission Research Executive Agency encouraged the team to coordinate efforts to make a true impact and gave some tips on achieving the efficient implementation of the project.

ENABLing CAReErS: priming talent for success in biomedicine

Coordinated by IRB Barcelona, the European project ENABLECARES will provide training in Open Science, entrepreneurship and innovation management to young scientists joining IRB Barcelona through this call and others. This training initiative is based on empowering these researchers and giving them the tools necessary to excel in their professional careers.

ENABLECARES gathers a variety of expertise, all of which will be put to the service of enhancing the career opportunities of young researchers.

ENABLECARES will enrich the transferable skills course catalogue of its five partners (IRB Barcelona, Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud University, the European School of Molecular Medicine and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen) with state-of-the-art training on advanced competencies increasingly demanded by emerging professions. 

Training curricula in entrepreneurship and open science will be established through co-creation and train-the-trainers strategies based on the expertise of IRB Barcelona, Radboud University Medical Center and Radboud University. 

Participants will benefit from the support of local career advisors trained by IRB Barcelona’s Academic Office. These advisors will help personalise their training itineraries with the most suitable combination of workshops and additional transferable skills courses available locally.

The ENABLECARES project will last 2 years, but it will optimise the training of young researchers at IRB Barcelona well beyond as it follows a "train-the- trainers" system. This approach allows a well-orchestrated transfer of knowledge from experienced staff to reference trainers, thereby retaining expertise at the Institute and benefiting future generations.

ENABLECARES will track the career paths of participants after they have completed the courses. This information will set the basis for further actions to modernise PhD programmes to ensure greater employment opportunities.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101006361.