European Academy participated in the official kick-off meeting of SMART Researchers: Strategic Micro-Credentialing and Skills Recognition for a Dynamic ESRs Talent Ecosystem, hosted by the Faculty of Technical Sciences – University of Novi Sad at the Science and Technology Park between the 22^nd and 23^rd of September 2025.

SMART Researchers is a 36-month Horizon Europe project that will establish Career Support Centers and a ResearchComp-based micro-credentialing and certification framework to strengthen talent ecosystems for Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) in Widening countries.

Meeting highlights

Across two days, partners aligned on the project vision, work package roles, and the first six-month roadmap:

• Project context & objectives: Presentations by the coordinator Dr. Danijela Ćirić Lalić (UNSFTN) and European Commission representatives set the policy frame (ERA priorities) and confirmed the project’s contribution to researcher careers and the twin green & digital transitions.
• WP2 micro-planning: Partners translated WP2 deliverables—Transforming career support systems for ESRs—into concrete actions, clarifying milestones, responsibilities, and early interlinks with WP3.
• Stakeholder journeys workshop: Day 2 opened with a joint mapping exercise to align engagement pathways across pilots and outputs.
• WP6 micro-planning (DEC): Teams detailed dissemination, communication, and exploitation activities, channels, KPIs, and role-sharing to maximise visibility and long-term use of results.
• Governance & finance: The consortium reviewed management, monitoring, quality assurance, eligibility rules, documentation, and budget control to ensure smooth implementation.

European Academy’s role

European Academy will lead the training design and delivery dimension, bringing its e-learning infrastructure to scale high-quality, standards-aligned content across the consortium. Key contributions include:

• Building the course ecosystem (WP3–T3.3): Learner-centred courses developed with ADDIE, delivered via EA’s platform, with materials covering all 38 ResearchComp sub-competencies in multiple formats by Month 18.
• Co-designing the credential framework (T3.2): A 7-pathway / 38-sub-competency micro-credential and certification system aligned to EQF, EQAVET, and ISO 17024 by Month 12.
• Piloting & scale-up (T3.4–T3.5): A pilot with 100 ESRs by Month 22, expanding to 600+ ESRs by Month 34, targeting 300+ full certifications and integration of pathways into Career Support Centers.
• Support to WP4 activities: Ensuring certification pathways operate seamlessly in digital environments and during flagship events.