Training

Advancing Europe’s Next Generations on
the Path to Sustainability

We are committed to training brilliant young scientists dedicated to lead Europe’s next generations towards sustainability in the highly polluting chemical process of halogenation.

The Cotutelle training provides ideas, supervision and guidance for a transformative journey of 13 DCs to produce original research and acquire transferable skills that will enable Europe’s next generations the path to sustainability while preparing them for successful careers in the biotechnology/chemistry sectors. The 13 DCs will explore interdisciplinary approaches to achieve the goals of their Individual Research Projects (IRPs) and collaborate across disciplines, which is challenging outside of a DN-JD. The network is established by world-leading experts from European academic institutions and industrial partners that will together implement the training agenda. This setting provides strong interdisciplinary co-supervision and intersectoral exposure in secondments to the doctoral candidates and bridges intersectoral and multidisciplinary boundaries across training in drug discovery, enzyme catalysis and engineering, and continuous process development.

Our training goals:

The overarching goal of HaloVerse’s training programme is to provide a balanced inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral environment for network-wide participants, as well as creating strong bonds amongst the network that shall last well beyond the project duration.

The specific training objectives are to:

  1. enhance attractiveness of DCs’ careers in front-line academic and industrial biocatalytic research;
  2. equip DCs with state-of-the-art techniques and methods, and foster an entrepreneurial/innovation mind-set;
  3. provide DCs with the best transferable skills in the field;
  4. create an active, long-term network of young researchers;
  5. cascade expertise and spread best practice throughout Europe.

HaloVerse Training Schools

We have planned a series of events designed for all DCs involved in HaloVerse. These events will provide the perfect multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral environment for network-wide participants, as well as creating strong bonds amongst the network that shall last well beyond the project duration. These training schools will foster the dissemination of research results, implement strong networking structures and increasing exchange of expertises between academia and industry. Moreover, these events will be complemented with Training Schools for DCs to learn novel techniques and research tools, needed to convert ideas to innovations, while scouting for industrial implementation possibilities.

1. Training schools

We have planned seven workshops, divided into scientific schools and transferable skills workshops. Supervisors, DCs, partner organizations, and external teachers will teach knowledge covering scientific and transferable skills. HaloVerse is particularly concerned with providing training in sustainability, gender awareness and diversity, scientific leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, and out-of-the-box thinking. This training will prepare DCs for decision-making positions. Additionally, our DCs will have the opportunity to visit the research facilities of our industrial partners and discuss the usefulness of the developed concepts within HaloVerse with industry experts.

2. Industrial Immersion workshop

A special highlight of HaloVerse’s training program is the industrial immersion workshop organized by AstraZeneca, a world-leading pharmaceutical company. The workshop introduces DCs to key potential applications of halogenases in industry, ranging from the biocatalytic synthesis of APIs to drug discovery for novel drugs. The workshop will include dedicated lectures and a drug discovery project case study. There will be a special focus on providing critical feedback on the industrial usefulness of the developed enzymes and on formulating strategies to overcome possible limitations for scaling up.

3. Final conference

At our last outreach event, our DCs will present their latest results, demonstrating the dissemination and communication skills they acquired during the training sessions. The DCs will jointly organize this conference as a satellite event to a major scientific conference to increase the dissemination of their results.

Local training

Our project is set to strengthen the technical skills of our DCs to ensure they can successfully execute their individual research projects. Our multidisciplinary activities planned for this purpose will serve trainees to obtain ECTS towards their PhD degree.

1. Hands-on training

Four institutions involved in our project will organise lab courses to instruct DCs in core technologies and state-of-the art instrumentation. These sessions will last up to one week and will combine theorical lectures with intensive practical training.

2. National doctoral school

Some of our host institutions will offer additional local training on scientific and transferable skills. DCs will follow theoretical/seminar courses (e.g., scientific integrity, English writing literature seminars) to complement the structured training program. These courses will deliver the knowledge and skills necessary for the successful execution of the DCs’ individual research projects and to obtain ECTS for their PhD degree.

External training

Our DCs will participate in at least two international scientific events that are relevant in the field of biocatalysis. Moreover, our researchers will jointly organise one Final International Conference in collaboration with their supervisors, inviting for these occasions external leading scientists to provide lectures and discuss the project’s results.

Communication & Open Science training

HaloVerse is fully committed to disseminating the most relevant findings of our project to a broad audience, not limited to the scientific community. We aim to materialize the social impact of our project and encourage the further implementation of its outcomes. We have integrated communication and outreach activities into the training programs of our DCs, who will be guided by professional science communicators.

Through communication and open science training, DCs will learn to present scientific data and ideas in a manner appropriate for publication, translate complex scientific topics into narratives understandable to the public, and develop more responsible communication practices. Researchers will learn how to manage FAIR data and implement best practices for short- and long-term data storage and sharing with third parties.