The annual cycle of Early Career forums organised by Agrotecnio since 2021 to address cross-cutting issues related to research activity came to an end on 26 June. This year, the forums have dealt with issues such as the rejection of scientific publications or funding opportunities in post-doctoral research.
Laura Sarri, postdoctoral researcher of the Animal Nutrition and Environment group, welcomed the last session of the ‘Early Career Forum’ cycle of forums of the 2024-2025 academic year, focused on advice for writing competitive applications such as the Horizon Europe projects of the European Commission or the projects of the State Plan (PEICTI) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Sònia Marin Sillué (Agrotecnio-UdL), who leads the Applied Mycology research group at Agrotecnio, opened the session by reviewing how to structure a project, the importance of having clear objectives and writing concisely to make the most of the available space and facilitate the task of the evaluator. In this sense, Marin stressed the importance of using graphics to condense information and make it easier to read. “It is essential that when you make reference to your field of study you do not make mistakes about the latest advances in research, as you may come across evaluators who are experts in the field who, if they find erroneous or outdated data, will disqualify you”.
For his part, Lluis Coll Mir (UdL-CTFC) focused his speech on the point of view of project evaluation. “Those who evaluate projects are people, not machines, so there is always a certain subjectivity,” he said, “but if your project does not receive funding, it does not mean that it is not good, but that perhaps you have not explained it well or that someone else has done it better”. Coll reviewed the most common evaluation criteria: relevance, novelty, hypotheses and objectives, which must meet those of the call for proposals. The researcher also referred to elements of the applications that often go unnoticed, such as contingency plans or data management plans. These elements must be taken care of, as they can make a difference in a highly competitive environment.
The session ended with a lively debate in which the audience asked questions about consortium building, budgeting or getting the right size of the different tasks throughout the life of a project.
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