How to Join the European Funding Programmes

The European Commission offers a wealth of funding opportunities for research and innovation, with Horizon Europe being the most well-known programme at the moment. However, many researchers find navigating the complex landscape of funding schemes, instruments, and conditions to be overwhelming. This complexity often discourages them from applying or participating.

In this one-day interactive course, our trainer with over 22 years of experience in European proposal development and project management will offer key insights into the European research funding landscape. You will learn how to identify the right partners, find and interpret funding calls, understand the essential components of a strong proposal, meet project obligations, and understand the organisational requirements for successful participation. By the end, you will be better equipped to navigate and engage in EU funding programmes.

This course can be fully tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation or research group. Whether you want to raise awareness on the readiness of the organisation to participate in Europe, train a department to increase their involvement in European programmes or help individual researchers explore funding opportunities relevant to their specific research areas, the training can be adapted to your goals.

How to Join the European Funding Programmes

Technical Grant Writing

Writing a competitive funding proposal goes beyond having an excellent research idea – it requires the ability to describe your ideas in a clear, structured, and persuasive manner. Technical writing skills are essential to ensure your proposal stands out in a highly competitive environment. How do you effectively translate complex ideas from your mind to paper, presenting them in a way that is comprehensive, coherent, and concise? A well-written proposal not only showcases the quality of your research but also builds trust in your ability to execute it successfully.

If your proposals have ever been misunderstood by evaluators, if you are a starting researcher or if writing is not one of your strongest skills, then this personalised training is for you. Our trainer, with over 22 years of national and international grant writing experience, will guide you on how to improve your writing using your own research proposal as the foundation for hands-on learning. In three personal online sessions, you will be coached on writing a strong one-pager to attract collaborators and a compelling summary to capture the interest of evaluators.

This training can be organized for individual researchers or groups working on the same proposal.

Technical Grant Writing

This training can be organized for individual researchers or groups working on the same proposal.

Technical Grant Writing

This training can be organized for individual researchers or groups working on the same proposal.

Technical Grant Writing

This training can be organized for individual researchers or groups working on the same proposal.

Technical Grant Writing

This training can be organized for individual researchers or groups working on the same proposal.

How to Build Your Research Consortium

Collaboration in research is crucial not only for achieving your scientific goals but also for advancing your career. While working alone may allow you to move quickly, collaborating with others will take you further. But how do you go about building an effective research consortium? Understanding the key success factors – such as networking, identifying and selecting the right partners, defining your value proposition, assigning roles and responsibilities, and fostering long-term collaboration – is essential.

Drawing on over 22 years of experience in international scientific collaborations, our trainer will equip you with insights and tools to develop a structured approach for realizing your consortium idea. This hands-on two-day training will also provide you with the opportunity to work on your own consortium concept and practice how to communicate it persuasively to potential partners.

Join this course to enhance your effectiveness in scientific collaboration and become a driving force behind turning research ideas into successful, collaborative projects!

How to Build Your Research Consortium

Join this course to enhance your effectiveness in scientific collaboration and become a driving force behind turning research ideas into successful, collaborative projects!

How to Build Your Research Consortium

Join this course to enhance your effectiveness in scientific collaboration and become a driving force behind turning research ideas into successful, collaborative projects!

How to Build Your Research Consortium

Join this course to enhance your effectiveness in scientific collaboration and become a driving force behind turning research ideas into successful, collaborative projects!

How to Build Your Research Consortium

Join this course to enhance your effectiveness in scientific collaboration and become a driving force behind turning research ideas into successful, collaborative projects!

How to Write and Present a Competitive Funding Proposal

In a competitive funding environment, researchers must prepare proposals that are structured, clear, and meet all the requirements of funding agencies. The proposal should not only be convincing in terms of scientific excellence, impact, and implementation, but it must also stand out from the competition. To succeed, a proposal must score highly on all evaluation criteria, often including a clear plan for how the results will be used to create societal impact. Additionally, researchers should be prepared to present their proposal effectively during an interview.

This interactive training provides a comprehensive overview of all the elements that make a proposal competitive. You will learn how to apply the Logical Framework to structure your project idea and gain insights into the importance of the various aspects of impact. The course includes practical exercises, where you will develop your own project idea and practice how to pitch.

The training is offered in two formats: a 1-day programme focused on writing and presenting a structured project idea, and an extended 2-day programme that also covers the development of a dissemination and exploitation plan (valorisation), a key component for demonstrating impact. The extended programme is particularly suited for writing proposals with a strong societal impact focus.

How to Write and Present a Competitive Funding Proposal

Surviving academia

In your academic career, you are often with one leg in your current position and with the other already focusing on the next project. Also, tasks and responsibilities can be quite unclear and everybody asks for your time and contributions in for instance cooperation, teaching and co-supervision. This in-between position regularly leads to an unclear work load, a work load that is too high, or conflicts about tasks, responsibilities and even authorship. How can you shape your academic position and make it the best time of your life? How can you create calm, focus and concentration in your work?

In this 2-day course, we help you to look at your tasks, responsibilities and work load. We then work on shaping your ideal work conditions and relationships. What are your goals? What is it that you want to ask for? What is it that you need to say no to? How can you negotiate about roles, tasks and responsibilities? We then discuss time management tips and mainly Deep Work (Cal Newport, 2016), to help you create concentrated undisturbed blocks of time to focus on your main tasks.

With an academic training actor you will practice skills such as how to say no, deal with contradicting interests, and communicating your needs. The course is very interactive and you will share with – and learn a lot from – your fellow academics. We will fine-tune the program based on the intake forms of the participants, so as to address your individual wishes.

Surviving academia

Surviving academia for postdocs

As a postdoc, you are often with one leg in your current position and with the other already focusing on the next project. Also, tasks and responsibilities can be quite unclear and everybody asks for your time and contributions in for instance cooperation, teaching and co-supervision. This in-between position regularly leads to an unclear work load, a work load that is too high, or conflicts about tasks, responsibilities and even authorship. How can you shape your postdoc position and make it the best time of your life? How can you create calm, focus and concentration in your work?

We then discuss time management tips and mainly Deep Work (Cal Newport, 2016), to help you create concentrated undisturbed blocks of time to focus on your main tasks.

With an academic training actor you will practice skills such as How to say no?, deal with contradicting interests, and communicating your needs. The course is very interactive and you will share with – and learn a lot from – your fellow postdocs. We will fine-tune the program based on the intake forms of the participants, so as to address your individual wishes.

Surviving academia for postdocs

We then discuss time management tips and mainly Deep Work (Cal Newport, 2016), to help you create concentrated undisturbed blocks of time to focus on your main tasks.

How to Develop an Impact Pathway

Funding agencies like NWO and the European Commission invest significantly in research that address major societal problems. In such funding schemes, impact is often evaluated as equally important as scientific excellence. As an applicant, you have to write a compelling and with a professional training actorsound, and that your research will deliver the right results? How can you convincingly describe which stakeholders will have to use your results to achieve societal impact?

This one-and-a-half-day interactive training will guide you step-by-step through the key components of developing an impact pathway. You will learn how to structure your narrative, define quantifiable indicators for each phase, and identify the most relevant stakeholders for your project. You will bring your own funding proposal idea to the training, applying the concepts directly through hands-on exercises, and by the end, you will have a first draft of your impact pathway tailored to your idea.

You will also have the opportunity to present your draft impact pathway to a group of stakeholders, practicing how to engage and communicate effectively. By the end of this course, you will walk away with a clear understanding of how to create a meaningful impact pathway, and a concrete outline for your next funding proposal.

How to Develop an Impact Pathway

How to Write and Present a Competitive Funding Proposal

Social safety for academic leaders

In order for academic leaders to tackle sensitive issues like social safety, psychological safety and trust, academic leaders need knowledge, skills, self-reflection and self-confidence. Staff and students have to feel safe enough to express ‘I feel stressed’ or ‘I feel this is not just’, ‘I do not feel heard’ or disagree with the team dynamics and criticize supervisors and leaders. Leaders themselves also need to feel safe to have such delicate conversations. What are indicators of safety and trust? How can you create an open and safe atmosphere, where there is trust? How can you display example behavior, and address good and bad behavior in your group?

We share examples, cases and experiences among participants, such as: How can you adequately handle a complaint of a PhD student about a supervisor that is your direct colleague? How can you deal with issues of diversity, gender equality and conflicts? How do you support openness about work pressure and stress? How can you effectively involve your superiors and the organization as a whole, if needed?

In this course, you define your own strengths and form a vision on your leadership and psychological safety. The expert trainers – Bruno and Bas are psychologists with more than 10 years of experience in such themes – will inform you on the science behind such themes and models such as Deep Democracy, or regarding trust or setting boundaries. With a professional and academic training actor some participants will practice how to have conversations about such complex issues.

We will fine-tune the workshops to your wishes and context by the intake forms that you fill in. Everything that you share, stays in the classroom: We are all bound by confidentiality. This is a very active course with lots of tips!

Social safety for academic leaders

Dealing with work pressure

A practical, science-based module, that makes your life easier.

An increasing number of university employees in The Netherlands report negative effects of workload and work pressure. In this module, we offer various evidence-based techniques to help you strengthen your mental resilience and coping strategies. This practical, no-nonsense course day aims to be your first step to more focus, concentration and relaxation!

High work pressure may lead to often reported effects such as:

‘I have difficulty to stop thinking about work because my brain is so excited!’
‘I have worrying thoughts a lot.’
‘I have trouble sleeping.’
‘I can not concentrate well.’
‘I regularly feel tired.’
‘I feel like I’m about to explode sometimes.’
‘Sometimes I feel I am not present in my private life.’

These experiences may coincide with a variety of physical signals that are not always recognized as stress-related. Under stress, people may feel tired, jumpy or grumpy. Or they have headaches, stomach aches or intestinal problems, sweating, skin conditions, loss of concentration, forgetfulness. Some people simply feel tension in their body. Being aware of such thoughts, feelings and symptoms helps you to make timely decisions. Also, there are many science-based techniques available to relieve such symptoms.

We will inform you about the science behind stress and mindset, and invite you to share the causes and effects of your work pressure and stress. In exercises and a peer group coaching carousel we practice various techniques to focus, relax, and maintain your energylevels. We offer a fruitful discussion about the cognitive assumptions you make (RET). We also practice physical relaxation techniques, mindfulness, concentration exercises, active mind wandering and other science-based techniques that will help you to stop feelingstressed, relax and sleep well.

This module will give you practical tips, take-home exercises, and references to other courses at your university as well as to books, websites and tests. Using your intake forms, we will fine-tune the program to your wishes and needs.

Cooperation in Science

Convincing colleagues and managers of the importance and urgency of your ideas is hard enough, but how do you strike a deal after that? How do you make it into a project? How can you involve the right people, gain and maintain commitment, and ensure results? How can you convince end-users, employers or clients? In science, this can lead to successful products, protocols, further science and more. But a lack of knowledge and skills often leads to misunderstanding or lack of commitment in scientific projects, unnecessary delays, friction, frustration, and a loss of opportunities.

Knowledge of various types of projects, your role and place in the organization, interests analysis, strategic analysis, and legal arrangements are all part of the structural aspects. However, such knowledge is only effective when combined with communication skills: You need to be able to propose and negotiate propositions and opportunities; build durable internal and external relationships; know how to use strategic communication in organizational politics; set up projects and define and negotiate roles and make clear agreements about tasks and commitment; prevent and manage conflict or friction; show assertive and personal leadership; actively apply stakeholder management and keep everybody on track; deal with hierarchy and personal or cultural differences. This training also offers you the opportunity to practice your own situations with a professional training actor.

How can you become the driving force behind successful project ideas? This training helps you to improve your effectiveness in cooperation in science.

Energy management

Are you often to tired after work to go and do something fun and relaxing? Do sleep endlessly or fall ill when you start your holidays? Or do you simply wnat to know how to prevent getting overworked? In this workshop we see what energy sources and leaks are, in your individual situation, and share these experiences and solutions with the other participants.

You will reflect on what you think, feel and do in various situations when you feel you are loosing energy or experience stress. By looking at common energy leaks and sharing with other participants, you will become conscious of the steps to take. Practical tips that support your energy level are shared, such as sufficient light during the day, plants in your office, focus and concentration, changing negative thoughts, positive interaction with people, focusing on what you have accomplished, etc.

At the end of this workshop you know what to do to get and maintain more energy in your life!

Dealing with work pressure

In this course, we offer a tastery of various evidence-based techniques to cope with work pressure and the symptoms of stress. Studies show that stress is most damaging to people who lack coping skills and the self-confidence to aply them. This practical, no-nonsense course aims to be your first step to more focus, concentration and relaxation.

First we will discuss your tasks and activities and the pull-and-push forces in your environment. We analyze the causes of stress and perceived pressure. We investigate assumptions, possible solutions, and share alternative solutions. Reflecting on your attitude toward time, we discuss the positive sides and pitfalls of for instance perfectionism or impatience. A large part of the workshop is about coping strategies: how can you deal with the mental and physical strain? The increased work load and pressure on scientists leads to often reported effects such as: ‘I have difficulty to stop thinking about work, I have worrying thoughts a lot, I have trouble sleeping, I can’t concentrate, I regularly feel tired, I feel like I’m about to explode sometimes, sometimes I feel I am not present in my private life’. These experiences may coincide with a variety of physical signals that are not always recognized as stress-related. Under stress, people may feel tired, jumpy or grumpy, headaches, stomach aches or other intestinal problems, sweating, skin conditions, loss of concentration, forgetfulness. Being aware of such thoughts, feelings and symptoms helps you to make timely decisions. Also, there are many science-based techniques available to relieve such symptoms. In exercises and a coaching carousel we practice various techniques to focus, relax, and maintain your energy levels. We will also refer you to interesting books and practical guides.

Dealing with work pressure

First we will discuss your tasks and activities and the pull-and-push forces in your environment. We analyze the causes of stress and perceived pressure. We investigate assumptions, possible solutions, and share alternative solutions. Reflecting on your attitude toward time, we discuss the positive sides and pitfalls of for instance perfectionism or impatience. A large part of the course is about coping strategies: how can you deal with the mental and physical strain? The increased work load and pressure on scientists leads to often reported effects such as: ‘I have difficulty to stop thinking about work, I have worrying thoughts a lot, I have trouble sleeping, I can’t concentrate, I regularly feel tired, I feel like I’m about to explode sometimes, sometimes I feel I am not present in my private life’. These experiences may coincide with a variety of physical signals that are not always recognized as stress-related. Under stress, people may feel tired, jumpy or grumpy, headaches, stomach aches or other intestinal problems, sweating, skin conditions, loss of concentration, forgetfulness. Being aware of such thoughts, feelings and symptoms helps you to make timely decisions. Also, there are many science-based techniques available to relieve such symptoms. In exercises and a coaching carousel we practice various techniques to focus, relax, and maintain your energy levels. We will also refer you to interesting books and practical guides.

Dealing with Work Pressure

An increasing number of university employees in The Netherlands report negative effects of workload and work pressure. In this course, we offer various evidence-based techniques to help you strengthen your mental resilience and coping strategies. This practical, no-nonsense workshop aims to be your first step to more focus, concentration and relaxation!

The increased work load and pressure leads to often reported effects such as: ‘I have difficulty to stop thinking about work, I have worrying thoughts a lot, I have trouble sleeping, I can’t concentrate, I regularly feel tired, I feel like I’m about to explode sometimes, sometimes I feel I am not present in my private life’. These experiences may coincide with a variety of physical signals that are not always recognized as stress-related. Under stress, people may feel tired, jumpy or grumpy. Or they have headaches, stomach aches or other intestinal problems, sweating, skin conditions, loss of concentration, forgetfulness. Being aware of such thoughts, feelings and symptoms helps you to make timely decisions. Also, there are many science-based techniques available to relieve such symptoms.

We will inform you about the science behind stress and mindset, and you will share the causes and effects of your work pressure and stress. In exercises and a peer group coaching carousel we showcase various techniques to focus, relax, and maintain your energy levels. We offer a fruitful discussion about the cognitive assumptions you make (RET). We also practice physical relaxation techniques, mindfulness, concentration exercises, active mind wandering and other science-based techniques that will help you to stop worrying and sleep well. Using your intake forms, we will fine-tune the program to your wishes and needs.

Dealing with work pressure

In this course we offer a tastery of various evidence-based techniques to cope with work pressure and the symptoms of stress. Studies show that stress is most damaging to people who lack coping skills and the self-confidence to aply them. This practical, no-nonsense course aims to be your first step to more focus, concentration and relaxation.

Taking Charge of your PhD-project

In The Netherlands, one of the world’s top countries in terms of PhD-project success, only some 10% of the PhD-stdents finish within 4 years. About 15% quits the project altogether, and 25-75% take longer than 5 years. The main reason for PhD-students to quit their project or suffer delay lies in the relationship with the supervisor. Other important factors are difficulty with planning, and obscurity about their rights and formal conditions. Finally, a key factor is the availability of an adequate help network.

In the training, we clarify the formal conditions of the PhD-project and help to make clear agreements with their supervisor(s). We then help the PhD-student to plan their project and monitor it. Additionally, the students build and create a help network that will supply the right people around them to support their needs as project leaders.

With the aid of an actor we practice several cases from the PhD-project context. How do you deal with a chaotic supervisor, or an uncooperative master student? How can you avoid conflict and still get what you want?

A Creative View on your Career

Thinking about where you want to be in the future and planning your career, is only one of the strategies available. Actually, studies on career development show that such a planned strategy is not a reality for many scientists. Going for what drives you, and simply trying various aspects of jobs are two other valid strategies. Therefore, your view on your career can be much more open than you might think, and turning on your ‘creativity engine’ is what this course offers you.

In a creative setting, the trainer challenges your brain to reflect on current skills you may be able to translate to other types of jobs. Participants then actively brainstorm and discuss what motivates them, and who they are.

Active and evidence-based creativity exercises help you to open up and broaden your view on the past and the future. The result of this course is a clear personal compass that gives a sense of career direction, and helps you to base your career decisions on!

We will adjust the program to your wishes, which you can express in the intake form that we will ask you to fill in before the course.

Career pitch

Building a career starts by being able to express who you are, what your competencies are and which job you aspire. This requires both verbal and non-verbal skills in self-presentation. A career pitch helps you to convince others that they should stay in touch with you, keep you in mind for upcoming job opportunities, or hire you today!

In this workshop we focus on presenting a short story (pitch) that explains to others why they should remember you or hire you. We practice different situations in duos and with a professional training actor. We then apply the career pitch in a networking conversation, a job interview, and in a job evaluation interview. We look for a convincing story, but also help you to display a trustworthy charisma.

This fun workshop will give you a tool that you can immediately apply. It aims to convince the world to pick you: get noticed, get chosen, get hired!

Mediatraining

Making your work understandable to others than peer scientists is becoming increasingly important. Not only because the media play an important role in the imagebuilding of your work environment and are crucial for public education, but also because inter-. multi- and transdisciplinary research demand clear communication among people of various backgrounds. How do you explain your conclusions to a journalist, a policy maker, a patient, or a representative of civil communities?

The participants learn to prepare for an interview with the news media (radio, TV or newspaper) and a presentation for ‘laymen’. With an actor, the participants practice how to make their message understandable to a broad audience, how to present a core message, how to deal with difficult questions or downright attacks, and how to deal with ethical or societal questions. In a realistic setting you will convince the actor (reporter, patient, layman) and the audience of the importance of your message, whilst keeping in charge over the conversation.

Never again will you be lost for words!

Mediatraining

Never again will you be lost for words!

Mediatraining

Never again will you be lost for words!

Mediatraining

Never again will you be lost for words!

Mediatraining

with actor

Never again will you be lost for words!

Effective networking conversations

This workshop is all about Networking as a conversation skill. An effective network increases your visibility and chances on cooperation, jobs, and professional friends. Having a large and interesting network makes you more hireable.

We distinguish between two types of network conversations: 1. You meet a stranger at for instance a conference, and want to make acquaintance and find out if you could be of professional interest to each other; 2. You know whom you are going to talk to and you have a specific goal. Both types of conversations require very different preparation and execution. We use the perspective of negotiation to practice both variations, in line with your career and acquisition strategy.

With the help of a professional training actor, we practice various elements. For instance: how to approach someone at a meeting or conference; how to break into a conversation among people; how to create interest in what you do and who you are; how to persuade someone to set up a cooperation; how to capitalise on such encounters. Your individual wishes will be taken into account with the use of intake forms.