The meeting provided an opportunity to review the progress achieved during the project's first year and plan the next steps towards improving career development opportunities for early-stage researchers.

A key focus of the discussions was the need to strengthen cooperation between universities, research organisations and businesses to create practical career opportunities for researchers, both within and beyond academia.

From Identifying Needs to Practical Solutions

During the partner meeting, participants reviewed the results of research activities, consultations and stakeholder engagement workshops conducted so far across several European countries.

Partners discussed how the identified needs and challenges could inform the development of practical tools and support mechanisms for research careers.

The main topics included:

• Putting the principles of the European Charter for Researchers into practice within research organisations and among employers;

• Developing training and career support programmes that respond to researchers' actual needs;

• Strengthening technical, digital and transferable skills essential for career development;

• Establishing sustainable cooperation mechanisms between research organisations and industry, including mentoring, placements, joint initiatives and collaboration on real-world industry challenges.

Particular attention was given to moving beyond formal institutional partnerships and creating concrete opportunities for researchers, companies and professionals from different sectors to work together.

International Workshop Brought Researchers and Industry Representatives Together

On 16 October, the programme continued with the Industry Research Workshop, organised by TU Graz and bringing together representatives of academia and industry.

The workshop followed an interactive World Café format, encouraging active participation, knowledge exchange and joint exploration of practical challenges.

Discussions focused on four technological areas:

• Human Measurement & User State – measuring and analysing human characteristics and states;

• Digital Twins – digital twins and their applications in industrial processes;

• Human-Robot Interaction – interaction and collaboration between humans and robots;

• Dependable Engineering with LLMs – using large language models to support dependable engineering solutions.

Within the thematic discussions, participants exchanged perspectives on technological challenges faced by industry, the skills and competences required by researchers, and opportunities for more effective cooperation between research organisations and companies.

The discussions also explored practical cooperation formats that could help researchers better understand industry needs while enabling companies to benefit from scientific expertise and the innovative potential of the research community.

Strengthening Connections Between People, Research and Industry

The discussions in Graz highlighted the importance of direct interaction between academia and industry in building stronger research talent ecosystems.

Developing such connections requires not only institutional support but also opportunities for knowledge exchange, skills development and joint work on practical challenges.

For RAPIV, participation in the meeting and workshop offered an opportunity to exchange experience with European partners and industry representatives and explore approaches that could support future stakeholder engagement activities within INSIGHT.

The INSIGHT project aims to strengthen the European research talent ecosystem by improving career development conditions, promoting cross-sector collaboration and creating better professional opportunities for early-stage researchers.

The project is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.