We believe that, by representing and consolidating the community of ECRs in Europe, we can achieve better conditions and improve research culture for all of these researchers. In fact, we believe that more satisfied and better equipped ECRs are increasingly able to generate new knowledge and provide innovative solutions to societal challenges. For more information on our values and efforts, we invite you to look at our Mission and Vision statement.
Each year since 2001, our Annual Conference has taken place in different countries and represents a great opportunity to network with other ECRs and stakeholders from across Europe. This year, Eurodoc Conference 2020 ~ Open Up your Research! was held online from Warsaw for the first time, due to the pandemic.
Eurodoc’s highest decision-making body, the General Meeting, is held annually and is composed of delegates appointed by each member organisation. Throughout the year, Eurodoc’s daily activities are run by an elected Administrative Board, supported by a Secretariat and an Advisory Board.
The three most important issues for ECRs at present, identified by Eurodoc, are:
- Career development, especially for the growing number of positions in the non-academic labor market, and across international settings. ECRs need improved training and professional awareness to narrow the ‘skills gap’.
- Open Science, what is it and how ECRs can practice it. Open Science is a new way of conducting research, by opening up access to research data and results via new digital technologies and collaborative tools.
- Emerging mental-health issues in academia, especially in the case of doctoral candidates and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our recent joint statement on Sustainable Research Careers with the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), we called on universities and research institutions, as well as funding bodies and governments to:
- provide sustainable career prospects for ECRs,
- deploy career management services at organisations employing ECRs,
- put more emphasis on transferable skills training and recognition,
- provide a wide variety of networking options and services in- and outside of academia.
A Joint Declaration on Sustainable Research Careers (2019, MCAA/Eurodoc)
To increase ECRs’ employability in multiple work sectors, the Eurodoc Doctoral Training Working Group identified the most important transferable skills and competences relevant for ECRs to gather during their doctoral training program and beyond.
Report on ‘Transferable Skills and Competences’ (2018, Eurodoc)
As members of the European Commission Expert Group on Graduate Tracking, we have also advocated for the inclusion of PhD holders in career tracking systems functioning at the European level, in order to map and improve the situation of ECRs.
For more information, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook or subscribe to the Eurodoc Newsletter!
We look forward to collaborating further with the PRIDE Network.
