Empowering ECRs to make research projects flourish: lessons from a European research project.

Abstract

Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are essential contributors to scientific innovation and research outcomes, yet their empowerment and development within research projects remains an underexplored area. While European and national initiatives provide valuable funding and career development opportunities, less attention has been given to how similar opportunities can be meaningfully integrated and supported within the structure of research projects themselves. Drawing on experiences from the EU Horizon 2020 project MYRIAD-EU, this perspective explores practical approaches to integrating ECR empowerment into collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Approximately 30% of the project consortium was made up of ECRs, whose involvement was facilitated through structural mechanisms such as the establishment of an ECR Board, direct representation in project management, and leadership opportunities within work packages. Additionally, ECRs co-organized dedicated events and actively fostered professional networks both within and beyond the project. These opportunities and activities benefitted the ECRs in multiple ways, including skill development and professional network formation. ECRs also offered various benefits to the project, including additional resources and ideas to successfully manage and conduct the project as a whole, as well as external recognition for its empowerment efforts. We showcase three types of activities, including structural involvement in project management, organizing events for ECRs, and efforts to form ECR networks. We identify and discuss three enabling factors that play a critical role in creating an empowering environment: advisory support, ECR agency, and other factors, such as project design. Within this perspective, we aim to encourage research projects and funding institutions to further build on these practices, ranging from low-hanging fruit to more high-effort, high-reward options, in order to foster environments where ECRs can grow into independent researchers with benefits for the projects as well.