On 22 March 2024, the BREAKthrough consortium convened with project advisor Stanka Miteva to provide updates on progress and discuss future plans. Following a warm welcome from project coordinator Jean-François Collet, an introductory session ensued where all BREAKthrough beneficiaries and associated partners introduced themselves. The consortium, comprising partners with diverse expertise from academic and industrial sectors, highlighted their roles both on an institutional level and as supervisors of the doctoral candidates (DCs).
The online review meeting served as an excellent platform to present project advancements and initial challenges, as well as to deliberate on forthcoming strategies and the overarching direction of the BREAKthrough project. Key presentations covered various project aspects, including:
Introductions:
- Overview from the BREAKthrough coordinator
- Presentation by each research team outlining their project contributions
Project Updates:
- Presentation from the European Research Executive Agency (REA) detailing project expectations, supervisor roles, milestones, and dissemination strategies
- Coordinator’s report on network status and progress
DCs Updates:
- Individual presentations (5-10 minutes each) by doctoral candidates introducing themselves, their backgrounds, and their research projects, including planned research, training, and secondments
- A private session with DCs focusing on discussions between the project advisor and researchers
- The DCs’ presentations demonstrated their grasp of the project and their respective roles. The private session with the project advisor facilitated open discourse on recruitment, challenges, lessons learned, successful strategies, and DCs’ aspirations within the project.
The meeting concluded with a summary of discussions and outlined next steps for the project coordinator, partners, and DCs. Overall, the meeting was deemed successful, showcasing the consortium’s diverse expertise and specialties, and setting a promising trajectory for future achievements.
