The foundation for a strong and competitive research and innovation system is constituted by researchers. Europe now boasts 2 million researchers, and it is crucial to ensure their careers remain attractive across all sectors of society.
In response, following the European Commission's proposal on 13 July 2023, the Council adopted the Council Recommendation on a European framework to attract and retain research, innovation, and entrepreneurial talents on 18 December 2023. This includes a new Charter for Researchers to enhance working conditions.
The aim of this Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) is to support Member States in implementing the new standards set out in the Council Recommendation. It addresses key aspects of research career attractiveness, such as recruitment, working conditions, skills, inter-sectoral mobility, career development, and balanced talent circulation.
The MLE will cover the following topics:
- Topic 1: Recruitment, working conditions, career development and progression
- Topic 2: Skills and inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and interoperable careers
- Topic 3: Enabling conditions for attractive R&I systems and balanced circulation of talents
- Topic 4: A conducive policy and legal context for attractive research careers, including incentives for the implementation of the Charter for Researchers
Documents
The summary factsheet presents the objective of the mutual learning exercise, key topics of interest, scheduled meetings, names of the experts and DG R&I Policy Officers.
The report is structured around a simplified HR lifecycle structure, dividing the broad MLE topic into five sections, discussing the impact of career policies from the employee journey perspective.