Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions : lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 : report from the Cluster Event with European Industrial Doctorates (10 November 2022).
Date: 2023-09-19
Institutions: European Research Executive Agency
Subjects: EU research policy, Framework Programme for Research and Development, education grant, industry-research relations, information analysis, innovation, intellectual property, professional qualifications, public-private partnership, report, research project, research staff, student mobility, vocational training

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions  

Lessons Learnt from the 
implementation of European 
Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 
2020 

Report from the Cluster Event with European Industrial 
Doctorates (10 November 2022) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
European Research Executive Agency  
June – 2023 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

European Research Executive Agency (REA) 
Unit A.1 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks 

E-mail:  REA-INFO@ec.europa.eu  

European Commission B-1049 Brussels 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 

Lessons Learnt from the 
implementation of European 
Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 
2020 

Report from the Cluster Event with European Industrial 
Doctorates (10 November 2022) 

2023 

European Research Executive Agency (REA) 
   Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 

4 

Manuscript completed in June 2023 

1st edition 

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 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Table of Contents 

Acknowledgement .............................................................................................. 6 

Acronyms ............................................................................................................ 7 

Foreword ............................................................................................................. 8 

Executive Summary ............................................................................................ 9 

1. 

Introduction ................................................................................................ 11 

2.  Portfolio Analysis ....................................................................................... 14 

3.  Survey Results .......................................................................................... 16 

4.  Testimonials by ESRs ................................................................................ 19 

5.  Workshop Outcomes ................................................................................. 21 

6.  Lessons Learnt from Projects .................................................................... 36 

7.  Keynote by Marja Makarow ....................................................................... 38 

8.  Roundtable Discussion .............................................................................. 39 

9.  Key Messages from The Cluster Event ..................................................... 41 

ANNEX A: Meeting Agenda .............................................................................. 44 

ANNEX B: Preparatory survey .......................................................................... 45 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Acknowledgement  

This report is based on the notes taken by six experts invited to attend the cluster event 
and  appointed  to  draft  specific  parts  of  the  meeting  report:  the  main  rapporteur  Prof. 
Haydn  Thompson  (THHINK  BV)  and  the  other  five  workshop  rapporteurs:  Tobias  Bauer 
(Head  IT  Security  Consulting,  INFODAS),  Prof.  Kenneth  Camilleri  (Professor,  Systems 
and Control  Engineering,  University  of Malta),  Hilary  Hanahoe  (Secretary  General  of  the 
Research Data Alliance (RDA)), Dr. Gohar Sargsyan (Director for Partnership, Innovation 
and  Sustainability,  CGI)  and  Prof.  Donatella  Verbanac  (Professor,  Medical  Biochemistry 
and  Hematology,  University  of  Zagreb).  The  experts’  contribution  is  mainly  presented  in 
Chapters 5 of the report. 

The  whole  report  was  coordinated  by  Thomas  Vyzikas,  for  the  cluster  event  organizing 
team,  from  the  MSCA  Doctoral  Networks  unit,  that  also  includes  Dana  Weintraub,  Sofia 
Hardouin  Monroy  and  under  the  supervision  of  Frank  Marx  and  Klaus  Haupt.  The  full 
report was finalised cooperatively by the REA organising team and DG EAC co-organising 
team, Sohail Luka and Claire Morel. 

The description of the EID Cluster event together with the presentations of the speakers 
can  be  accessed  via  the  link:  https://rea.ec.europa.eu/events/msca-industrial-doctorates-
lessons-learned-horizon-2020-2022-11-10_en. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Acronyms 

•  DG EAC - Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 

•  DG RTD - Directorate General for Research and Innovation 

•  DN-ID - Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates 

•  EACEA - European Education and Culture Executive Agency 

•  EC - European Commission 

•  EC - European Commission 

•  EHEA - European Higher Education Area 

•  EID - European Industrial Doctorates 

•  EIT - European Institute of Innovation and Technology 

•  EJD - European Joint Doctorates 

•  ERA - European Research Area 

•  ERASMUS+  -  EU's  programme to  support  education,  training,  youth and sport  in 

Europe 

•  ESR - Early Stage Researcher 

•  ETN - European Training Networks 

•  EU - European Union 

•  EU - European Union 

•  H2020 - Horizon 2020 Programme (2014-2020) 

•  HE - Horizon Europe Programme (2021-2027) 

•  HES - Higher and Secondary Education Establishments 

• 

• 

IPR - Intellectual property rights 

ITN - Innovative Training Networks 

•  JU - Joint Undertaking 

•  KICs - Knowledge and Innovation Communities 

•  MCAA - Marie Curie Alumni Association 

•  MSCA - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 

•  NCP - National Contact Point 

•  PM - Project Manager 

•  PO - Project Officer 

•  PPP - Public-Private Partnership 

•  REA - European Research Executive Agency 

•  RTO - Research and Technology Organisations 

•  SME - Small and medium-sized enterprises 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Foreword 

The  cluster  event  on  European  Industrial  Doctorates  (EID)  took  place  on  10  November 
2022 with over 160 participants involved in Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) EID 
projects, companies, associations and funding organisations. The event was organised by 
the  European  Research  Executive  Agency  in  close  cooperation  with  the  European 
Commission’s  Directorate-General  for  Education,  Youth,  Sport  and  Culture.  The  EID 
event  followed  a  series  of  networking  meetings  organised  since  2021,  gathering 
coordinators  of  MSCA  European  Joint  Doctorates  or  focusing  on  specific  topics  such  as 
cancer research, ocean research and the European Green Deal. These events are part of 
a wider strategy that strives to provide feedback to policy by collecting best practices from 
MSCA projects and by offering opportunities for networking to projects working in similar 
areas or facing similar challenges. 

The MSCA European Industrial Doctorates have a special position in the MSCA funding of 
doctoral  programmes  –  they  are  forging  partnerships  of  universities  and  research 
institutions with the non-academic sector notably with industry and businesses. Thus, the 
EID projects are key vehicles in advancing innovation at doctoral level and in bridging the 
skills gap between research and the market. This has a two-fold outcome: improving the 
employability  of  the  fellows  and  boosting  an  innovation-based  European  economy  and 
sustainable  growth.  However,  the  intersectoral  mobility,  joint  procedures  and  the  strong 
involvement of the non-academic sector pose challenges in the implementation of the EID 
projects. 

We  are  pleased  to  share  this  report,  which  takes  stock  of  the  experience  and  the 
knowledge collected from the implementation of MSCA EID in Horizon 2020. The concrete 
recommendations  will  help  better  orient  the  new  MSCA  Industrial  Doctorates  in  Horizon 
Europe  and  serve  as  a  guide  to  applicants  and  project  participants  for  better  designing 
and  implementing  their  projects.  Following  the  identified  best  practices  and  the  lessons 
learnt to avoid pitfalls, we hope that future Industrial Doctorates will continue to maximise 
their outcomes and benefits for doctoral candidates and institutions. 

Begoña ARANO  

Claire MOREL  

Head of MSCA & Support to Experts 
Department, European Research 
Executive Agency 

Head of MSCA Unit, Directorate-General 
for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Executive Summary 

Funded  under  the  Marie  Skłodowska-Curie  Actions  (MSCA),  the  European  Industrial 
Doctorate  (EID)  is  a  specific  implementation  mode  of  the  MSCA  Innovative  Training 
Networks  (ITN),  which  were  the  predecessor  of  MSCA  Doctoral  Networks  (DN) 
implemented  during  the  EU  European  Research  and  Innovation  Framework  Programme 
Horizon  2020  (2014-2020).  The  MSCA  ITN  and  DN  programmes  were  developed  to 
provide  a  highly  integrated  type  of  international,  intersectoral  and  interdisciplinary 
collaboration  in  doctoral  training.  Key  aspects  of  these  programmes  are  mobility  of  the 
fellows between project participants and their joint supervision. The Industrial Doctorates 
are highly prized training programmes performed in conjunction with industry. The fellows 
are  jointly  supervised  by  academic  and  non-academic  supervisors  providing  fellows  with 
an industrially-relevant PhD which has a clear foundation in industry and business skills. 
This  results  in  multiple  benefits  for  doctoral  fellows  such  as  enriching  their  experience, 
increasing their exposure to the non-academic sector and improving their employability. 

On  10  November  2022,  the  European  Research  Executive  Agency  (REA)  organised  a 
cluster  event  gathering  over  160  relevant  actors  from  75  EID  projects  funded  under 
Horizon  2020.  The  participants  represented  both  the  academic  and  non-academic 
sectors, which is essential for this mode of MSCA - ITN projects. The participants included 
project beneficiaries and coordinators, industry representatives, Early-Stage Researchers 
(ESRs), National Contact Points (NCPs), representatives from the REA and the European 
Commission  (EC)  as  well  as  the  Marie  Curie  Alumni  Association  (MCAA).  The  meeting 
was  pertinent  in  terms  of  timing  and  focus  as  highlighted  by  a  survey  conducted  by  the 
REA  in  April  20221.  During  this  cluster  event,  an  overview  of  the  funded  projects  was 
given,  as  well  as  the  key  outcomes  highlighted  by  the  survey.  The  experiences  of 
participants in the implementation of EID projects were discussed in depth. A key goal of 
the  meeting  was  to  document  successes,  good  practices  and  lessons  learnt,  as  well  as 
provide  recommendations  to help improve  and  enhance the  efficiency  and impact  of  the 
programme  for  fellows,  industry  and  academia  in  the  future,  thus  contributing  more 
effectively to the corresponding EU priorities. These conclusions are also applicable to the 
DN-ID programme in Horizon Europe. 

During  the  cluster  event,  six  parallel  workshops  took  place  to  share  ideas  and  best 
practices  covering  key  topics  identified  by  the  survey.  These  included  joint  procedures 
industry  and 
(governance,  recruitment,  supervision),  mobility-secondments-training, 
business participation, simplification of project administration, strengthening the impact of 
EIDs,  and  facilitating  project  implementation.  Three  ESRs  provided  testimonials  and 
shared  their  experience  working  in  EIDs  and  the  impact  it  had  on  their  careers.  Two 
project  coordinators  of  successful  EIDs  also  presented  their  insights  and  shared  best 
practices. To get a wider viewpoint, a Roundtable Policy Discussion was held with five key 
representative stakeholders from Academia, Industry, the Policy Directorate General (DG 
EAC),  the  MCAA,  and  an  EU  Member  State  ministry.  They  discussed  the  incentives  for 
organisations  to  participate  in  EIDs,  and  how  the  outcomes  of  the  projects  can  be 
enhanced, broadened and ultimately valorised. 

Overall, the stakeholders highlighted that the MSCA EID programme is very successful. In 
Horizon  2020,  155  EIDs  have  been  funded  with  €241M  supporting  over  900  ESRs.  The 
REA survey results showed that the experience of participants was very positive with 98% 
of  the  participants  considering  their  involvement  in  EID  projects  beneficial  for  their 
organisation. Notably, 84% of participants would be keen to join in another EID project. It 
is  also  clear 
long-lasting 
collaborations, which results in a structuring effect within Europe. 

is  being  successful 

the  programme 

in  creating 

that 

1 See ANNEX B: Preparatory survey. 

9 

 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

There are, however, still challenges, and although progress has been made with respect 
to simplifying the programme’s administration, it was highlighted in the cluster event that 
there is a need to make the scheme more attractive, particularly for industry. The needs 
for  more  flexibility  and  adaptation  was  a  key  aspect  raised  during  the  day.  In  particular,  
this  related  to  the  rule  of  spending  at  least  50%  of  the  fellowship  in  non-academic 
organisations.  A  number  of  best-practice  approaches  were  identified  for  recruitment, 
Intellectual  Property  Rights  (IPR)  agreements  and  for  issuing  visas  for  non-EU  fellows. 
The  monitoring  of  impact  in  terms  of  papers,  patents  and  other  outcomes  needs  to  be 
improved  to  clearly  demonstrate  the  produced  innovation.  Better  communication  is  also 
needed  as  a  means  of  raising  awareness  of  the  benefits  of  the  industrial  doctorate 
programmes.  Here,  there  is  an  opportunity  to  reach  out  to  the  Joint  Undertakings  (JUs) 
and  Public-Private  Partnerships  (PPPs)  which  have  a  strong  link  with  industry  to  further 
engage 
training.  Regarding  potential 
commercialisation  of  the  project  results,  even  if  not  a  key  objective  of  the  programme, 
there  needs  to  be  a  change  in  mindset  and  more  entrepreneurship  training  for  fellows. 
The latter is a core area of the transferable skills promoted by MSCA, and this feedback 
confirms  that  such  emphasis  should  be  maintained  and  strengthened.    Finally,  to  fully 
valorise  the  experience  and  skills  gained  by  the  ESRs,  as  well  as  the  benefits  for  non-
academic  organisations  a  set  of  potential  Key  Performance  Indicators  (KPIs)  could  be 
established to better measure the projects’ outcomes. 

the  non-academic  sector 

the  doctoral 

in 

The  cluster  event  participants  strongly  advocated  for  the  importance  and  value  of  the 
EIDs.  Both  industry  and  academia  put  forward  a  strong  message  of  commitment  to 
support  the  streamlining  and  enhancement  of  the  programme  to  further  successful 
implementation in the future. The main recommendation focused on the early involvement 
of the industry in the proposal preparation and the project in order to proactively resolve 
any issues, and to better incorporate their needs and build trust as foundations for long-
lasting collaborations. A summary of key recommendations is provided at the end of the 
present report.  

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

1. Introduction 

The  Innovative  Training  Networks  are  a  key  part  of  the Marie  Skłodowska-Curie  Actions 
(MSCA)2  under  the  previous  EU  Research  and  Innovation  Framework  Programme 
Horizon  2020.  There  are  three  different  implementation  modes:  European  Training 
Networks  (ETNs),  European  Joint  Doctorates  (EJDs)  and the  European  Industrial 
Doctorates (EIDs). 

The aim of EIDs is to train highly skilled researchers, and to stimulate entrepreneurship, 
creativity  and  innovation  in  Europe.  By  involving  the  non-academic  sector  in  doctoral 
training, a better match between skills public and private sector need is attained, thereby 
improving  the  employability  prospects  of  the  doctoral  candidates.  Crucially,  the  funded 
MSCA ITNs are expected to have a structuring effect on research in key topics by bringing 
together  key  expertise  across  Europe  enhancing 
longer-term 
sustainability.  The main difference  with  EIDs  is that  ESRs develop their skills  in industry 
and business by spending at least half of their fellowship duration there. The ESRs thus 
enjoy a joint academic and industry supervision while enrolled in a PhD programme in an 
academic institution.  

these  networks’ 

The  EIDs  provide  direct  benefits  for  universities,  industry,  students  and  ultimately 
employers.  For  universities  and  industry  the  collaborations  are  mutually  beneficial 
providing cross fertilisation that often goes beyond the project lifetime having a structuring 
effect  on  doctoral  training.  Fellows  benefit  from  personal  development,  gaining  both 
research  and  industrial  experience.  The  collaborations  promote  excellent  science  and 
allow  industry  to  attract  better  candidates  with  skills  that  match  market  needs  while 
gaining more international visibility. This gives industry access to top research talent and 
knowledge,  which acts  as  a  catalyst for technology  transfer  and innovation.  As  the main 
actors of the non-academic sector, industry and businesses play a key role in advancing 
innovation and bridging the gap between research and market. Nevertheless, EIDs cater 
for  collaborations  with  the  non-academic  sector  as  a  whole  and  not  only  industries.  
Accordingly,  a  non-academic  partner  could  for  example  be  a  Non-Governmental 
Organisation,  a  Think Tank,  a  charity,  a  hospital,  a museum  or  a  department  in national 
administration. 

international, 

intersectoral  and  multi/interdisciplinary  collaboration 

EIDs  have  been  funded  since  2014  under  the  MSCA,  a  core  part  of  Horizon  2020,  the 
EU’s  flagship  programme  for  research  and  innovation  between  2014-2020.  Since  their 
introduction  in  Horizon  2020,  155  EIDs  have  been  funded  with  €241M,  which  has 
supported over 900 research fellows. As all ITNs, EIDs were designed with the objective 
in 
of  promoting 
doctoral-level  training  in  Europe  and  beyond.  Moreover,  as  a  dedicated  implementation 
mode of the ITNs, EIDs specifically involve the non-academic sector – in practice having a 
particular focus on industry and businesses - in the doctoral training, so that the skills of 
the trained researchers better match public and private sector needs, thereby meeting the 
objectives of inter-sectoral research of ITN and resulting in enhanced employability of the 
fellows.  To  achieve  this,  the  joint  supervision  of  the  researcher  is  mandatory  and  is 
ensured by at least one supervisor from the academic sector and one supervisor from the 
non-academic  one.  Furthermore,  the  researchers  must  spend  at  least  50%  of  their 
fellowship  duration  in  the  non-academic  sector.  In  addition,  the  commitment  and 
involvement  of  both  sectors  is  ensured  through  the  joint  management  structures, 
considered essential for the project implementation.  

2 https://rea.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-grants/horizon-europe-marie-sklodowska-curie-actions_en  

11 

 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

The  set-up  of  such  joint  research  supervision  and  project  management  governance  at 
doctoral level can be challenging. These challenges are often underestimated during the 
preparatory phase of the EID proposals preparation. The implementation experience with 
EID  projects  shows  additional  challenges  in  comparison  to  the  ETN  mode,  such  as 
mobility arrangements for the recruited researchers, consecutive recruitments, or different 
culture  and  tasks  between  the  academic  and  non-academic  participants.  Moreover, 
certain EID-specific rules were strict and have been continuously evolving in the different 
Work Programmes, creating additional challenges to applicants and project beneficiaries. 
The identification of potential difficulties or blocking issues and of possible corresponding 
solutions together with best practices and lessons learnt from ongoing or finished EIDs is 
of  utmost  importance  in  order  to  overcome  the  barriers  towards  the  setting  up  of  new 
Industrial Doctorates.  

in 

involved 

The  MSCA  EID  Cluster  Event  represented  a  networking  opportunity  for  a  growing 
interdisciplinary  community 
industrial  doctoral 
the 
programmes.  The  cluster  event  allowed  participants  to  exchange  views  and  provide 
feedback for policy making with regards to the improvement of DN-ID in Horizon Europe, 
taking stock of the experience from Horizon 2020. The event brought together participants 
from  Horizon  2020  EID  projects  to  share  their  challenges,  lessons  learnt  and  best 
practices from their experience in project implementation, as well as to suggest means to 
increase  the  potential  for  innovation  advances  and  maximise  the  benefits  for  the  career 
development of the fellows.  

implementation  of 

In this regard, the key objectives of the EID cluster event were to:  

•  collect good practices in EID project implementation; 

• 

identify  possible  solutions 
innovation; 

to  existing  bottlenecks 

for  generating 

tangible 

•  gather  practical  comments 

for 

improving  cross-sectoral 

interactions  and 

collaboration between academia and industry;  

•  provide 

inputs 
implementation;  

for 

the  policy 

feedback  related 

to  obstacles 

for  project 

•  provide  outputs  that  can  be  beneficial  for  MSCA  Industrial  Doctorates  in  Horizon 

Europe. 

from  EID  projects  (coordinators, 
The  meeting  attracted  around  100  participants 
supervisors,  ESRs),  approximately  15  from  relevant  stakeholder  organisations  (MSCA 
Alumni,  employers’  organisations,  practitioners 
industrial  doctorates 
programmes)  and  NCPs  (National  Contact  Points),  and  another  45  participants  from  the 
(REA,  EACEA,  Commission’s  Directorates  General).  The 
Commission  services 
participants  shared 
implementation  experiences  via  6  parallel 
workshops,  each  with  around  30  participants,  addressing  specific  topics.  These  topics 
were  identified  as  being  important  in  the  REA  survey,  conducted  in  April  2022.  The 
workshops  addressed  topics  such  as  joint  procedures,  administration,  mobility  and 
secondments, 
industry  and  business  participation  and  project 
practicalities.  

their  own  project 

training,  policy, 

from  other 

Plenary  sessions  were  also  organised  before  and  after  the  workshops.  These  included 
presentations  from  two  project  coordinators,  testimonials  from  ESRs  and  a  roundtable 
discussion that focused on enhancing the employability of the EID ESRs. The ESRs were 
invited to share their experience through testimonials at the beginning of the day, and also 
participate  in  the  workshops.  The  roundtable  discussion  and  workshops  provided  inputs 

12 

 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

on MSCA project implementation, acting as a tool for the REA to provide policy feedback 
to  the  DG  EAC  of  the  European  Commission.  The  event  closed  with  conclusions  and 
recommendations drafted by dedicated rapporteurs.  

The  present  report  includes  the  information  exchanged  during  the  one-day  EID  Cluster 
Event and highlights important conclusions and recommendations for the improvement of 
the  EID  project  implementation  and  the  DN-ID  programme  design.  The  structure  of  the 
report mirrors the structure of the EID Cluster Event (see ANNEX A – Meeting Agenda). 

13 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

2. Portfolio Analysis  

A portfolio analysis3 of EID projects funded in Horizon 2020 shows that overall, €3.42Bn 
has  been  allocated  to  MSCA  ITNs,  representing  ~55%  of  the  total  MSCA  budget  and 
5.9% of the total Horizon 2020 budget (€80Bn). The EIDs received approximately 15.3% 
of the MSCA ITN funding, corresponding to €241M in Horizon 2020. 

An average project within MSCA ITN funds around 9 beneficiaries with an average project 
budget of €3.35M supporting 11.5 ESRs. There have been 7 ITN/EID calls between 2014 
to  2020  attracting  1009  applications,  and  from  these,  155  projects  have  been  funded. 
Between 2014 and 2020 there has been a stable submission trend with EID success rates 
varying between 13% and 21% dependent on the year since the scheme began in 2014, 
as seen in Figure 1. This is considerably higher than the ETNs, which had a success rate 
of about 10 %4. 

s
n
o
i
t
a
c

i
l

I

p
p
a
D
E
e
b
g

i

l

i
l

e
f
o
r
e
b
m
u
N

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

137

108

166

127

114

119

83

22

20

18

25

26

22

22

2014

2015

2018
2017
2016
H2020 ITN (EID) calls

2019

2020

unsuccessful EID applications

successful EID applications

EID success rate

Figure 1:Applications and funded EID proposals in Horizon 2020 

The  EID  programme  has  funded  727  beneficiaries,  48%  of  which  came  from  the  non-
academic sector, with 40% of them being SMEs. Furthermore, 248 partner organisations 
engaged with the programme, of which 62% came from the non-academic sector and of 
which  28%  were  SMEs.  Overall,  around  930  Fellows  with  90  nationalities  have  been 
trained in EID  projects. This  shows  a  large diversity  of  participants  and the  openness  of 
the programme. 

3 Access the presentations via the link: https://rea.ec.europa.eu/events/msca-industrial-doctorates-lessons-learned-horizon-
2020-2022-11-10_en  

4 In Horizon 2020, the different implementation modes had different allocated budget. In Horizon Europe, all implementation 
modes  belong  under  the  same  budget  split,  corresponding  to  the  scientific  panel  under  which  they  had  submitted  an 
application. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

PHY
3%

SOC
3%

MAT
3%

CHE
16%

LIF
19%

ENV
10%

ECO
1%

ENG
45%

Figure 2: EID funded projects per scientific panel 

In  terms  of  scientific  fields,  EIDs  have  a  particularly  strong  representation  in  the  ENG 
panel (Information Science and Engineering), as shown in Figure 2, with 45% of projects 
being in this area.  

In terms  of  implementation,  the  projects  tend to be  smaller  than  ETNs,  and  this  is  likely 
because  smaller  projects  are  easier  to  manage  in  a  cross-sectoral  setting.  The  average 
size  for  an  EID  is  177  person  months  equating  to  around  5  ESRs.  Notably  very  few 
consortia  request  the  maximum  grant  size  (540  person  months).  The  average  EID 
consortium has 4.7 beneficiaries, but with a significant number of projects (20%) with only 
2 beneficiaries, which is considerably smaller to the average number of 9 beneficiaries in 
ETN and EJD projects.  

In terms of participants, the non-academic sector plays a key role. The top ten companies 
as  regards  participations  in  different  EID  projects  are  shown  in  Figure  3  and  represent 
large well-known industrial companies. These are companies that participated in 2-4 EID 
projects each. The top 11 Universities are also shown in Figure 3 and they participated in 
4 to 8 EIDs each. Therefore, considering the relatively low number of projects where each 
entity  participates,  there  is  high  diversity  in  the  participants  and  it  can  be  said  that  the 
programme is open to a wide range of non-academic participants. 

15 

 
 
 
  
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Figure 3: Top 10 Participating Companies and Universities in EIDs 

Due  to  their  strong  industrial  component,  EIDs  have  the  potential  to  produce  tangible 
innovation. This can be more concretely measured through the reported patents that stem 
from  the  projects.  Typically,  EID  projects  report  twice  the  number  of  patents  than 
ETN/EJDs  per  ESR.  A  recent  study5  about  the  cluster  analysis  of  ITN  projects  supports 
that  innovation  is  generated  mainly  at  industrial  partners.  In  particular,  it  was  found  that 
beneficiaries that are in nature industrial, such as companies, and are identified in general 
as innovators, can boost the project success in terms of innovation produced.  

Regarding  the  ESR’s  experience,  at  the  end  of  their  fellowship,  the  ESRs  are  asked  to 
complete questionnaires, from which it appears that EIDs are viewed positively and ESRs 
report  a very  high  satisfaction  level  with  the  programme (83%).  It  was  particularly  noted 
that there are more job opportunities for EID students in large enterprises and SMEs than 
from other ITN modes.  

In  conclusion,  EIDs  tend  to  be  smaller  in  terms  of  participants  and  budget,  attract  both 
large  industry  and  SMEs,  produce  on  average  more  innovations  and  result  in  better  job 
prospects for ESRs compared to other ITN modes.  

3. Survey Results  

As  a  preparatory  step  for  the  organisation  of  the  EID  Cluster  Event,  a  survey  was 
launched  in  April  2022  to  identify  the  key  aspects  in  Horizon  2020  EID  Projects6.  All 
beneficiaries’  registered  contact  points  from  Calls  2014-2020  were  invited  to  report  on 
their  role  in  the  project,  their  incentives  to  participate,  their  challenges  and  their 
achievements.  The  response  rate  was  very  good  with  almost  90%  of  the  EID  projects 
(137/155)  responding  to  the  survey.  There  were  481  individual  responses  from  both 
academic  and  non-academic  beneficiaries  and  coordinators.  Notably,  45%  of  the 

5  Report  on  R&I  project  cluster  analysis:H2020  MSCA  ITN  2014-2015-2016-2017:  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/0bece3cd-a697-11ed-b508-01aa75ed71a1/language-en  

6 Access the presentations via the link: https://rea.ec.europa.eu/events/msca-industrial-doctorates-lessons-learned-horizon-
2020-2022-11-10_en  

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

responders belong to the non-academic sector, which gives reassurance that the results 
of the survey represent those participants who are in the centre of the EID programme.  

this 

The  survey  showed  that  the  main  project  bottlenecks  are  linked  to  mobility  and 
the  cluster  meeting  was  on 
administration.  For 
administrative/organisational/logistical issues rather than scientific issues. The responses 
from  the  participants  from  different  sectors  were  analysed  and  compared  in  order  to 
identify  the  different  incentives  that  drive  engagement  with  EID  projects  and  the 
challenges that are experienced from both sides (academic and non-academic). 

focus  of 

reason, 

the 

It is worth noting that a similar survey was conducted by the European Commision at the 
beginning  of  Horizon  20207.  The  main  difference  with  the  present  survey  is  that  the 
previous  one  included  input  also  from  EID  fellows,  but  examined  only  EID  projects  until 
March 2016, when none of the EID Horizon 2020 projects was reached completion. Since 
the  rules  of  the  EID  programme  have  evolved,  direct  comparisons  between  the  two 
surveys  may  be  inconclusive.  Nevertheless,  both  surveys  highlighted  similar  challenges 
for the implementation of EID projects, such as visa issuing for international mobility and 
joint  supervision  across  sectors  and  countries.  Herein,  the  analysis  concerns  only  the 
survey of the present study. 

Overall Experience: Overall, the experience of participants was very positive with 98% of 
the  participants  considering  their  involvement  in  the  EID  projects  beneficial  for  their 
organisation.  Further,  84%  would be  keen to join in another  EID  project. Feedback  from 
academic  beneficiaries  indicated  that  the  scheme  was  excellent  for  training  researchers 
and  that  the  links  with  industry  gave  great  experience.  From  an  industry  perspective,  it 
was noted that via engagement in research it was possible to show that a company was 
innovative.  

Coordinators:  75%  of  project coordinators came  from  Higher  and  Secondary  Education 
the  academic  sector.  The 
Establishments  (HES),  which  represent  predominantly 
satisfaction with the programme among them was very high. It was noted that the private 
for-profit  organisations  (industry,  SMEs  and  businesses)  prefer  to  participate  as 
beneficiaries  in  EID  projects  instead  of  leading  the  project,  most  likely  because  the 
administrative  and  project  management  burden  is  reduced  compared  to  that  of  the 
coordinators. 

Incentives:  There  are  different  incentives  to  engage  with  EID  projects,  and  participants 
were asked whether they were looking for new business opportunities, wanted to increase 
international  visibility,  improve  quality  of  training,  get  access  to  research  infrastructures, 
establish long lasting collaborations, participate in exchanges or wanted funding for PhD 
candidates.  For  HES  the  greatest  incentive  is  in  gaining  funding  for  fellows.  For  private 
organisations the top reasons for participation were to establish long-lasting collaborations 
with  institutions  and  to  engender  knowledge  exchange.  The  long-lasting  cross-sectoral 
collaborations  and  access  to  further  opportunities  through  the  network,  e.g.,  via  new 
proposals,  were  highlighted  as  being  key  benefits  of  participation  by  all organisations as 
shown in  Figure  4. Other benefits for HES participants were the production of publications, 
new scientific collaborations, and increased visibility. 

Main  outcomes:  As  seen  in  Figure  5,  the  participants  in  the  survey  highlighted  that  long-
lasting  collaborations  was  the  main  outcome  of  the  EID  projects  (80%  on  average),  and 
the  second  main  outcome  was  accessing  further  opportunities  through  the  established 
network  (75%  on  average),  such  as  applications  for  funding  and  new  scientific 
collaborations.  The  potential  commercialisation  of  the  project  outcomes  was  the  least 
achieved  result.  However,  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  private  for-profit  organisations  have 

7  European  industrial  doctorates  Towards  increased  employability  and  innovation:  final  report  (2017),  published  by  the 
European Commission, DOI: 10.2766/643937, https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/c6abb4b4-3c3e-11e7-
a08e-01aa75ed71a1  

17 

 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

reported  2-3  times  more  such  outcomes  compared  to  the  other  types  of  participants, 
indicating their role in valorising the project results and exploring market uptake. 

i

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10%

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100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Paving the way for new business
opportunities, e.g., start-up or spin-
off

Increase visibility /
internationalisation of your
organisation

Improve the quality of the training
programmes and supervision

Acquire access to research /
industrial infrastructures

Establishing long-lasting
collaborations and partnerships
between non-academic and
academic sectors
Knowledge exchange across
sectors and disciplines

Obtain funding and attract top PhD
candidates

HES

Other

Private
for profit

PUB

RTOs

Figure 4: Incentives to join EID projects for different organisations8 

Human capital gain (e.g.,
new recruitments from the
ESRs)
Potential commercialisation,
identifying new business
opportunities
Innovation gains (e.g., new
patents, products, services
etc)
Access to further
opportunities through the
network
Long-lasting cross-sectoral
collaborations

HES

Other Private
for profit

PUB

RTOs

Figure 5: Outcomes from EID projects for different organisations 

8  HES:  Higher  and  Secondary  Education  Establishments;  PUB:  Public  Bodies;  RTOs:  Research  and  Technology 
Organisations  

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Identified  Challenges:  Overall,  the  survey  showed  that  approximately  40%  of  the 
participants  had  not  faced  significant  challenges.  The  responders  indicated  as  main 
challenge  in  the  project  implementation  the  joint  supervision  across  two  countries  and 
diversion of ESR effort into non-academic tasks while on secondment, which can lead to 
an  interruption  of  an  ESRs’  focus  on  scientific  project  work  if  not  properly  designed. 
Moreover,  anecdotal  evidence  indicated  that  the  ESRs  found  the  transition  between  the 
academic style and industrial style of supervision as being difficult in some cases. 

An important conclusion from the survey was also that the private for-profit partners faced 
the  same  challenges  in  the  project  implementation  as  the  other  participants.  One  would 
expect  that  private  entities  with  a  commercial  interest  would  highlight  IPR  as  being  a 
challenge, but overall IPR was not indicated in the survey as being a main  issue during 
the project implementation.  

A deeper analysis of the responses showed that challenges are identified at an individual 
project level (55% of negative comments came from 11% of projects). Specifically, many 
problems arose in the Call 2019 projects that started in 2020, possibly due to the COVID-
19 pandemic that caused lockdowns and travel restrictions, which affects particularly EID 
projects  that  have  compulsory  mobility.  The  above  highlight  that  the  challenges  are  not 
directly related to issues stemming from the EID programme itself.  

Administrative  barriers  and  costs:  Secondments  and  cross-sectoral  and  international 
mobility  were  reported  as  the  main  implementation  and  administrative  issues  for  the 
consortia.  However,  such  mobility  is  at  the  core of  the  MSCA  programme9.  It  was noted 
that visa issues restrict ESRs’ mobility, especially for non-EU nationalities. The 50% rule 
for presence in the non-academic sector had also presented a real challenge for students 
on a 3-year PhD as well as the supervisors at both academic and industrial organisations. 

This issue is also reflected in the administration costs, which were higher than expected 
due  to  legal,  human  resource  and  visa  overheads.  The  administrative  effort  was  also 
highlighted  as  a  matter  of  concern  by  some  organisations,  which  calls  for  better 
considerations  regarding  the  simplification  of  administrative  procedures  as  well  as  the 
number and content of reporting deliverables during the proposal design.  

Conclusions:  In  conclusion,  the  very  encouraging  outcome  was  that  90%  of  projects 
responded and that there was very high level of satisfaction among the participants in EID 
projects (98%). The main incentives to participate in EID projects and the main outcomes 
from  the  projects  were  long-lasting  collaborations  and  knowledge  exchange.  This 
contributes  positively  to  creating  a  sustainable  structuring  effect  of  the  doctoral  training. 
There  were,  however,  a  number  of  challenges  similar  for  both  the  HES  and  private  for-
profit partners. The greatest challenges referred to mobility, which is a core aspect to the 
programme, and 43% considered the international mobility to be the most administratively 
cumbersome  aspect  of  projects.  Notably,  29%  of  the  participants  indicated  joint 
supervision  and  monitoring  as  the  most  significant  challenge.  Further  analysis  showed 
that the majority of the challenges and issues identified were mainly reported by a small 
number  of  projects,  indicating  that  the  issues  are  caused  by  the  project  implementation 
and are not inherent at the EID programme.  

4. Testimonials by ESRs   

A series of testimonials was given by ESRs who had been engaged in MSCA EID projects 
highlighting  the  experience  and  benefits  gained  as  well  as  the  challenges  encountered. 

9 The MSCA DN-ID programme in Horizon Europe introduced more simplified and flexible rules for mobility. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

The testimonials aimed at obtaining directly the view of the ESRs who are in the core of 
the EID programme and essentially the main beneficiaries of the projects. 

4.1. Elena Detta (VIRO-FLOW) 

Elena was an ESR in the VIRO-FLOW project10. She finished her PhD in July 2021 and is 
now a Post-Doctoral researcher in computational and organic chemistry. Her main driver 
for pursuing the industrial doctorate was to achieve a life changing experience from both a 
scientific and personal point of view. She conducted half of the PhD in a company, which 
was  a  very  good  experience.  The  work  was  both  multidisciplinary  and  multicultural  as  it 
was performed in Germany and Spain. This led Elena, who is Italian, to learn German and 
Spanish. The aim of doing the PhD had been to pursue research challenges, and this had 
been  successful.  In  terms  of  improving  the  experience  for  ESRs,  it  was  noted  that  the 
transition between countries had been quite smooth as the consortium partners provided 
good  support  to  deal  with  accommodation,  documentation,  tax  declarations,  etc.  Writing 
the  thesis  was  more  of  a  challenge  as  there  was  a  lot  of  pressure  to  produce  many 
deliverables and reports for the programme. This could be reduced as it left less time to 
develop scientific skills. It was noted that it would be useful to specify at the project start 
the  number  of  publications  that  an  ESR  is  expected  to  achieve  in  order  to  give  a  better 
idea of the output required from ESRs in terms of publications. From a career perspective, 
the  chance  to  travel  and  build  a  network  in  conferences  and  workshops/webinars  was 
seen  as  highly  beneficial.  It  was  noted  that  the  experience  had  been  very  good  and  life 
changing. 

4.2. Mariana Pereira Guimarães (SOLOCLIM) 

Mariana  was  an  ESR  in  the  SOLOCLIM  project11,  which  deals  with  climate  adaption  in 
architecture. The project supported a cohort of 6 ESRs engineer architects at universities 
and  consulting  companies.  Mariana  came  to  the  programme  after  finishing  a  double 
masters in the USA. She was at a career decision point whether to continue in academia 
or go to industry, and the MCSA Industrial Doctorate programme allowed her to evaluate 
both  routes.  There  had  been  some  hurdles  to  doing  this  caused  by  travel  restrictions 
coming  to  Europe  due  to  the  COVID-19  lockdowns.  The  obstacle  was  circumvented  by 
the  Italian  University  and  Dutch  consultancy  company  partner  through  virtual  signing  of 
contracts which allowed her to receive her salary. Meetings and courses were conducted 
online  as  well.  Other  hurdles  included  a  lack  of  understanding  of  PhD  requirements,  in 
how  the  available  funding  could  be  used  for  training,  and  on  simple  things  such  as 
submitting invoices, booking trips and getting reimbursed. 

Mariana highlighted what a great experience the project had been and that she would do it 
again. She has met many skilled and helpful people and had opportunities to present her 
work  internationally.  The  project  has  changed  her  perspectives  and  she  would  now 
consider a job in a consultancy company when she returns to Italy.  

10 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/766058  

11 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/861119  

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

4.3. Marina Avena Maia (REWATERGY) 

Marina is an ESR at Cambridge University working on the REWATERGY project12 looking 
at  wastewater  treatment  with  industrial  experience  in  a  company  in  Delft  (NL).  She 
highlighted that she had chosen the industrial doctorate to enrich her experience at both 
the  scientific  level  and  from  a  professional  point  of  view.  In  terms  of  hurdles,  she 
experienced a key problem related to visa bureaucracy in the UK and the Netherlands as 
she  is  originally  from  Brazil.  This  is  a  common  problem  for  non-EU  fellows.  Experience 
shows that it is necessary to start the paperwork in advance, because the procedures can 
sometimes take at least 6 months. This should be considered when setting up projects in 
different countries. It was noted that the strict 50% placement at university and in industry 
as planned in her project was difficult to comply with if there are long waiting times for visa 
paperwork.  

Marina  highlighted  that  the  EID  programme  is  an  amazing  opportunity  for  students.  It  is 
highly  beneficial  as  the  researcher  gets  a  PhD  while  at  the  same  time  develops  as  a 
professional. Marina has received technical training to improve as a scientist and has also 
gained many soft skills that allows her to enter the jobs market. In particular, she has been 
doing  a  lot  of  training  on  communication  skills  and  has  received  four  awards  for 
presentations at conferences and events. This has really enriched her career. 

4.4. Commonalities among ESRs 

In  all  cases  the  ESRs  wished  to  expand  their  horizons  both  from  a  scientific  and 
professional point of view. The opportunity to experience an industrially driven project was 
highly appreciated and the soft skillsets that had been gained were clearly demonstrated 
in  their  statements.  Although  there  are  some  hurdles  (temporary  in  the  case  of  COVID-
19),  but  also  known  issues  such  as  obtaining  visas  and  understanding  the  necessary 
paperwork  requirements,  these  had  been  overcome.  The  experience  for  the  ESRs  was 
very positive and had led to enrichment of their careers. 

5. Workshop Outcomes  

At  the  EID  Cluster  Event  six  90-minute  parallel  workshops  were  organised  to  perform  a 
deeper  dive  into  topics  which  had  been  highlighted  by  the  survey  (see  ANNEX  B  – 
Preparatory  survey).  These  were  led  by  a  Moderator,  who  coordinated  and  chaired  the 
discussion,  and  a  Rapporteur,  who  summed  up  the  result  of  the  discussions.  Each 
workshop  attracted  around  30  or  more  participants  with  a  mix  of  research,  academic, 
industry and policy backgrounds. Participants were assigned to a workshop based on their 
preferences  during  the  registration  for  the  event.  The  workshops  were  designed  to  be 
interactive  and  encourage  the  active  participation  from  all  the  participants,  who  could 
express their ideas and make suggestions for the improvements of the EID programme or 
the implementation of industrial doctorate projects. 

The  REA  organisers  together  with  the  moderators  and  rapporteurs  of  the  workshops 
prepared a preliminary structure of the workshops, including a list of points for discussion, 
as seen in Table 1. 

12 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/812574  

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

1) Joint procedures  

4) Administration  

Table 1: Six parallel workshops description 

Moderator: Jan Tobias   

Rapporteur: Tobias Bauer   

Moderator: Tobias Nielsen   

Rapporteur: Donatella Verbanac   

How to effectively engage both academic and non-
academic partners in:  

How to simplify and make more efficient the project 
implementation  

•  Governance structure  

•  Recruitments   

•  Supervision  

•  Scientific reporting  

•  Financial management  

•  Project Manager assisting the coordinator  

•  Consortium agreement  

•  Consortium internal organisation  

2) Mobility – Secondments – Training  

5) Policy workshop  

Moderator:  Susana Fernandez Prieto  

Moderator: Marco Biancolini   

Rapporteur: Hilary Hanahoe  

Rapporteur: Haydn Thompson  

How to better prepare the project for:  

How to strengthen the impact of EID projects?  

•  Compliance with the 50% cross-sectoral mobility 

• 

rule   

Incentives for pursuing an industrial 
doctorate  

• 

• 

International mobility administration (visa, work 
permit etc)  

•  Contribution to EU Policies: Green Deal 

and Horizon Missions  

Joint network events: summer school, workshops 
etc  

•  Creation of start-ups and potential for 

market uptake   

•  Synergies with other projects / programmes  

•  Alumni strengthening and employability of 

the fellows  

3) Industry and business participation  

6) Project practicalities  

Moderator: Sterling Raymond   

Rapporteur: Gohar Sargsyan   

Moderator: Sarah Hudson   

Rapporteur: Kenneth Camilleri  

How to strengthen and further integrate the industrial and 
business participation:  

Specific tips to facilitate to the project 
implementation  

• 

Involvement in the proposal design to reflect their 
needs and expectations early in the process  

•  Tangible impact: Advancing science and 

enhancing innovation  

•  Benefit for the career development of the ESRs  

•  Creation of long-lasting collaborations and 

interactions  

•  Open access / Open data - IPR issues   

•  PhD duration  

•  Enrolment in a PhD  

•  Resignations of ESRs  

In the following sections the key messages from the workshops are presented. 

22 

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

5.1. Joint  Procedures  -  How  to  effectively  engage  both 

academic and non-academic partners 

The  Joint  Procedures  workshop  focused  on  the  joint  academic  and  non-academic 
procedures  required  to  implement  industrial  doctorates.  The  workshop  attracted  around 
30 participants with a mix of backgrounds including project representatives from academia 
and  industry,  REA  staff  and  ESRs.  The  joint  procedures  comprise  the  governance 
structure,  recruitment,  supervision  and  the  preparation  of  the  consortium  agreement. 
During  the  workshop,  the  participants  identified  challenges,  best  practices,  issues  and 
potential solutions, which are discussed below. 

Governance Structure 

Both  the  academic  and  non-academic  sectors  are  engaged  in  project  governance.  The 
projects  are  typically  coordinated  and  organised  by  academic  beneficiaries  that  lead  the 
project activities. Academic partners mainly drive organisation and decision-making since 
they are much more familiar with the rules and conditions of Horizon 2020. The academic 
partners  also  have  dedicated  support  offices  that  help  with  project  management  and 
compliance  with  all  rules  and  regulations.  Typically,  EID  are smaller  projects  with  5  to  6 
beneficiaries and fewer ESRs than other ITNs, which requires relatively lean governance 
structures.  Industry  partners  appreciate  the  academic  partner  taking  the  lead  to  ensure 
compliance  with  all  Horizon  2020,  national  and  university  rules  associated  with 
implementing the project and the PhD student enrolment. It was highlighted that a higher 
contribution  of  industry  to  coordination  can  positively  contribute  to  academic  institutions 
since  the  sector  can  bring  additional  perspectives  to  project  management.  Hence, 
industrial coordination can also improve the allocation of internal company resources and 
broader engagement to make the results more useful. 

Recruitment 

Usually,  there  is  a  good  pool  of  researchers  interested  in  industrial  doctorates  from  all 
over the world. Best practice is that both the academic and industrial sectors jointly select 
the  candidates.  The  selection  should  be  merit-based  and  aligned  with  the  MSCA  Work 
Programme requirements. Consortia use their websites and the EU platform EURAXESS 
to  advertise  positions.  It  was  noted  that  the  EID  projects  are  popular  among  applicants 
from  Asian  and  Middle  Eastern  countries.  Some  selected  candidates  can  face  severe 
issues  obtaining  their  visas,  which  causes  delays  in  the  project.  The  actual  salary  to  be 
paid after all deductions needs to be clearly stated. The recruiting institution also deducts 
non-wage  labour  costs  from  the  total  paid  allowances,  and  this  can  have  a  significant 
impact  on  the  researcher’s  take-home  pay.  Furthermore,  the  need  to  set  up  work 
contracts in different countries creates an administrative burden for students and can be 
time-consuming.  It  was  noted  as  important  to  get  the  balance  right  between  industrial 
secondment  time  and  in  achieving  scientific  progress.  The rule to  spend  at  least  50%  of 
the time within industry would benefit from additional flexibility to optimise projects based 
on individual student needs and it should be designed well from the outset of the project in 
order to have an added value to the training.  

Supervision 

It is mandatory that both academic and industrial partners actively supervise researchers. 
However,  having  a  primary  supervisor  that  guides  and  facilitates  decision-making  is 
essential. This supervisor must be clearly identified from the very beginning of the project. 
This  should  be  agreed  upon  in  the  proposal  and,  as  such,  evaluated  and  implemented. 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

However,  in  practice  ESRs  require  partial  adjustments  according  to  their  individual 
situations.  Therefore,  the  supervisory  board  should  closely  monitor  the  frequency  and 
efficiency of the supervising meetings and arrangements and propose adjustments if this 
is required. A different issue is that the industry supervisors can request additional tasks 
from  the  doctoral  candidate  –  sometimes  unrelated  to  the  individual  research  project-, 
which can easily result in overload and endanger good scientific progress. It is important 
that  all  supervisors  be  aware  of  the  requests  made  upon  ESRs  and  that  they  regularly 
meet for  proper  expectation management.  The  local  doctoral schools  also request  partly 
different  progress  measures  compared  to  the  research  and  training  programme,  which 
brings  additional  workload  for  the  doctoral  candidate.  Here,  it  is  suggested  that  the 
doctoral  candidate  and  the  PhD  supervisor  assess  the  school’s  expectations  and 
requirements from the beginning so that the ESR can adequately align with these needs 
minimising double reporting. 

Consortium Agreement 

the  participating  organisations  (not  among 

For the Consortium Agreement it is advised to start early with the preparation process, for 
example, during the proposal creation. In practice, this rarely occurs due to the high risk of 
not obtaining the funding and investing too much effort and resources without a final need. 
Therefore, consortia typically begin with the creation of the Consortium Agreement during 
the grant preparation phase. The main aspects that are negotiated are related to internal 
intellectual  property  agreements,  the  embargo  rules  for  the  publication  of  scientific 
findings and dissertations, and the distribution of the management costs to enable proper 
project  management  and  network-wide  training.  Since  the  Consortium  Agreement  is 
concluded  between 
the 
negotiations  are  conducted  by  the  legal  departments  and  lawyers.  It  was  noted  that 
establishing  the  agreement  usually  takes  significantly  longer  than  expected  because  of 
the large number of people involved, the different views on the IP and financial aspects, 
and the high degree of freedom with which a consortium can establish this document. A 
possible  solution  to  avoid  delays  is  to  provide  a  central  pre-defined  template  which 
contains  only  a  few  options  from  which  consortia  can  choose.  Additionally,  researchers 
and  non-academic  organisations  would  benefit  from  a  better  explanation  of  the  potential 
terms  and  conditions,  options  available  and  the  meaning  of  these for  a  consortium.  It  is 
essential to define all requirements so that commercialisation by consortium members is 
possible  and  cannot  be  delayed  or  blocked  by  other  consortium  members,  due  to  not 
providing  a  required  license,  or  disagreements  on  selling  license  rights  or  intellectual 
property rights to a third party.  

individuals), 

Summary of the key recommendations 

1.  Considering Governance, industry-coordinated networks should be encouraged to 
in  project  governance, 

industry  participants 

increase  engagement  of 
supervision, management, decision-making, etc.  

the 

2.  To  ease 

recruitment, 

for  50% 
secondments/placements  in  the  non-academic  sector  in  a  different  country  were 
relaxed.  

it  would  help 

requirement 

the 

if 

3.  For  generating  the  Consortium  Agreement,  it  would  be  beneficial  to  have 
Intellectual  Property 

examples  and  better  explanations  with 
management as well as suitable model clauses for industrial doctorates.  

respect 

to 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

5.2. Mobility,  Secondments  and  Training-  How  to  better 

prepare the project 

This  workshop  was  attended  by  26  participants  from  12  different  countries  covering  a 
large spectrum of expertise in terms of EID project representatives, REA staff, ESRs and 
NCPs.  During  the  workshop,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  interaction  and  discussion  on 
mobility,  secondments  and  training  topics  identified  by  the  survey.  These  included  the 
difficulties of compliance with the 50% cross-sectoral mobility rule and the administrative 
issues of international mobility (visa, work permit etc.). The workshop also explored best 
practice for organising joint network events such as summer schools and workshops, and 
how to best promote synergies with other projects and programmes. 

Compliance  with  the  50%  cross  sector  mobility  rule  and  international  mobility 
administration (visa, work permit, etc.) 

There  was  consensus  from  both  industrial  and  academic  participants  that  cross-sector 
mobility is very beneficial for the ESRs and participating organisations. However, there is 
a  need  for  efficient  joint  planning  by  industrial  partners,  the  academic  counterparts  and 
PhD  programme  supervisors  as  there  are  some  institutional  and  national  restrictions  on 
timing  as  well  as  different  PhD  programme  structures.  Additionally,  industrial  partners 
often  need  to  ensure  that  the  research  continues  during  the  industrial  secondment.  This 
may have implications on company practice and policies. The consortium should agree on 
an  optimum  start  time  for  the  recruitments  and  secondments.  Considering  mobility  from 
other regions to Europe the main issues are visas and work permits. Thus, non-EU ESRs 
may  face  stricter  rules  for  mobility.  This  creates  significant  overhead  and  bureaucratic 
difficulties.  This  is  further  complicated  when  contract  changes  arise,  for  example  from 
academia  to  industry.  There  are  implications  and  differences  between  academic  and 
industrial  contracts  in terms  of  social  welfare  benefits  and  taxation. Mobility  also creates 
challenges in terms of where taxes are paid and by whom.  

Considering  best  practices  for  ESR  contracts,  one  size  does  not  fit  all.  For  example,  in 
some countries, e.g., Italy, academic regulations require that the ESR is contractually tied 
for the duration of the PhD programme meaning that an industrial contract is not possible. 
A  proposed  best  practice  is  to  create  an  18-month  academic  contract  combined  with  an 
18-month  industry  one  to  reduce  bureaucracy,  however,  ESRs  prefer  to  have  only  one 
contract. It was highlighted that finding appropriate solutions is hugely time consuming for 
all involved (beneficiaries and ESRs). This requires financial resources, international legal 
experts  and  accountants,  presenting  a  barrier  and  potential  for  significant  delays. 
Academic  institutes  and  large  industrial  organisations  often  have  dedicated  international 
coordination  departments  or  dedicated  expertise  to  deal  with  mobility  and  contractual 
challenges.  However,  smaller  organisations,  e.g.,  SMEs,  do  not  necessarily  have  these 
resources  available  and  struggle  with  the  related  expenses  and  time  to  identify 
appropriate solutions. 

It was noted that NCPs are an excellent reference point, but for bureaucratic issues they 
often  do  not  have  the  mandate  or  information  necessary  to  support  visa,  contract,  work 
permit  queries.  However,  EURAXESS13  provides  very  helpful  advice  and  support  for 
multinational  complexities  and  the  REA  can  provide  visa  support  letters,  which  are 
powerful to accelerate visa applications. Overall, it was noted that applicants, beneficiaries 
and  ESRs  would  very  much  welcome  a  centralised  contact  point,  which  could  provide 
guidelines  from  the  REA  during  both  the  application  phase  and  project  execution.  As  a 

13 https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/  

25 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

starting  point  a  set  of  Frequently  Asked  Questions  (FAQs),  which  is  regularly  updated, 
could be made available to beneficiaries and potential applicants14.  

Joint network events: summer school, workshops, etc. 

Overall creativity is key to maintain motivation. Joint activities are hugely beneficial to both 
beneficiaries as well as ESRs in terms of community creation, getting to know each other, 
as well as expanding networks. However, there had been many challenges with respect to 
COVID-19 in terms of face-to-face opportunities. Stakeholders highlighted the importance 
of restoring face-to-face meetings and making them part of the projects. It was also noted 
that  larger  projects  face  networking  challenges  where  collaboration  between  work 
packages and across the whole project is required. There are, however, a number of best 
practices.  Project  wide  summer  schools  or  similar  “time  together”  occasions  are  very 
powerful, fruitful, and important. Involving ESRs in, or indeed giving ownership to them, to 
organise  networking  events  and  training  plans  creates  many  professional  and  personal 
opportunities.  To  address  internal  project  networking  frequent  (monthly)  structured 
meetings  between  ESRs  and  supervisors  to  advance  progress  and  discuss  technical 
challenges has proven to be successful. Additionally, ESRs should be encouraged to hold 
team  meetings  (e.g.,  30  minutes  per  week)  without  their  supervisors,  which  allows  for 
direct  and  frank  discussions.  Overall,  it  was  advocated  that  it  is  important to  ensure  that 
there  is  a  diverse  set  of  joint  networking  events,  with  a  good  balance  of  face-to-face 
opportunities in the Description of Action of the Grant Agreement. Empowering the ESRs 
to plan and execute some of these also adds to their skillset. 

Synergies with other projects/programmes 

It was highlighted that exploiting synergies with other projects and programmes was very 
positive  and  can  lead  to  unexpected  connections  and  benefits.  There  are,  however, 
challenges  related  to  the  incorporation  of  extra  external  events  and  networking  as  this 
needs  to  be  done  without  compromising  any  patents,  IP,  knowledge,  etc.  The  activities 
also may not have been identified as a specific activity in the Grant Agreement and thus 
can  represent  a  deviation  from  the  project’s  core  activities.  It  was  noted  that  the  REA 
Project  Officers  (PO),  with  an  overview  of  funded  projects,  can  be  instrumental  in 
highlighting  connections  with  “sister”  projects. 
leverage 
external/personal networks and connections to offer increased training and networking for 
both  the  consortium  and  the  ESRs.  It  was  emphasised  that  inter-departmental  and 
institutional  opportunities  are  very  valuable 
the 
dissemination  of  the  programme  and  activities  across  companies  within  the  same 
(industrial)  group,  which  can  result  in  unexpected  benefits  and  connections.  A  key 
recommendation is to include the development of project and/or programme synergies in 
the project work plan, with appropriate allocation of time and resources, from the outset, 
as they are very beneficial. 

for  ESRs.  A  good  example 

is  also  possible 

to 

is 

It 

Summary of the key recommendations 

1.  Projects struggle with many bureaucratic issues (visas, tax, etc.) and rely on a mix 
of  support  contact  points.  The  creation  of  a  dedicated  contact  point  would  be 
highly  beneficial  to  provide  advice,  both  at  the  application  and  project  execution 
phases, on visa and contractual aspects. 

14 The REA produces a FAQ annually after every coordinators’ infoday. 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

2.  Networking  is  highly  beneficial,  and  it  is  important to ensure that  a diverse  set  of 
face-to-face 

joint  network  events  are  available,  with  a  good  balance  of 
opportunities.  

3.  Project  and  /or  programme  synergies  should  be  incorporated  into  work  plans  as 
they  are  very  positive  and  can  lead  to  positively  unexpected  connections  and 
benefits. 

5.3. Industry  and  Business  Participation 

to 
strengthen  and  further  integrate  the  industrial  and 
business participation   

-  How 

This  workshop  considered  ways  of  strengthening  and  further  integrating  industrial  and 
business  participation.  Several  specific  aspects  were  discussed,  including  earlier 
involvement  in  the  proposal  design  to  better  reflect  needs  and  expectations  and  how  to 
create tangible impact through advancing science and enhancing innovation. Also, how to 
create long-lasting collaborations and interactions was explored. The workshop attracted 
32 participants with a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural mix representing industry, academia, 
government, NCPs and ESRs. 

Attraction of private sector 

The participants  discussed  successful  approaches that  had  been  adopted  to  attract  new 
partners from the private sector to participate in EID proposals. The feasibility of actively 
involving  industry/business  partner  during  the  preparation  of  the  proposal  was  also 
considered. This covered the need for integration of the industrial organisations during the 
proposal  preparation  phase  and  take  into  account  their  incentives  to  participate.  There 
was  an  agreement  that  careful  consideration  needs  to  be  placed  on  alignment  of  the 
business and academic organisations’ goals. This is complex as the EID programme often 
requires detailed research plans before engagement.  As most projects are proposed and 
coordinated  by  academia,  there  was  a  general  agreement  that  there  are  considerable 
challenges  with  regards  to  involving  industry  in  an  EID  project.  Despite  that,  all  the 
participants  highlighted  that  they  found  engaging  in  the  EID  programme  positive.  The 
industry participants in the workshop saw added value to their business. For example, one 
of  the  industry  participants  highlighted  an  excellent  collaborative  innovation  project  as  a 
reference.  This  had  resulted  in  short  and  mid-term  business  benefits  for  its  clients. 
Another industry participant noted that they had a strong research organisation within the 
company  providing  a  system  that  can  support  multiple  EID  programmes.  One  of  the 
challenges  raised  was  the  difficulty  in  approaching  new  partners.  This  requires  new 
methods  of  engagement  such  as 
talk  shows,  conferences,  personal  business 
connections, and reliance on prior successful project collaborations.  

Tangible impact: Advancing science and enhancing innovation 

Tangible innovations, such as patents and outcomes translated into products, services or 
even spin-offs were discussed. IPR was discussed intensively and may be a key barrier to 
industry  engagement.  It  was  highlighted  that  there  needs  to  be  a  focus  on  this  in  early 
conversations with industry. This is important as the filing of new patents can add value in 
terms of revenue streams for industry and new grants and recognition for academia. In the 
past,  universities  wanted  to  own  their  research  results,  however,  due  to  the  expense  of 
applying  and  maintaining  patents,  most  universities  have  become  more  open  to  joint 
ownership.  The  handling  of  patents  can  be  complex  potentially  consuming  time  and 
money.  It  is  therefore  important  to  agree  beforehand  who  will  own  the  patent,  who  will 
27 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

bear  the  costs  and  who  will  maintain  it.  The  workshop  participants  believed  that  patents 
and  publications  are  good  ways  of  tracking  innovation,  although  the  number  produced 
depends  on  the  type  of  innovation.  For  the  creation  of  spin-offs,  some  companies 
organise workshops and exercises for ESRs. The aim of these is to stimulate innovation 
and change the mentality ESRs towards spin-off creation. One of the participants provided 
an  example  of  “24-hour  spin-off  creation  challenge”  which  ESRs  had  undertaken.  The 
need for measurable KPIs for ESRs and industry engagement in the EID programme was 
advocated and this could also be used to monitor tangible outcomes of the collaboration. 
Industry participants highlighted the lack of measurable KPIs within their organisations for 
addressing participation in research and innovation, including EID projects. Introduction of 
quantitative  and  qualitative  measurement  criteria  for  both  ESRs  and  industry  would  be 
beneficial.  Experiences  were  shared  on  how  to  better  integrate  the  ESRs  into  the 
company  and  balance  academic  research  with  industrial  needs.  The  need  for  ESR 
training  to  help  them  fit  within  industry  was  raised.  Some  of  the  industrial  organisations 
have well established induction training sessions for ESRs. In some cases, this includes 
education on business aspects such as creating MVP (Minimum Viable Products) and in 
talking to potential investors. 

Benefit for the career development of the ESRs 

The  career  progression  of  ESRs  and  how  to  ensure  proper  industrial  monitoring  of  the 
ESR  was  discussed.  All  university  and  industry  participants  mentioned  that  they  have 
established  internal  mechanisms  in  place  to  discuss  and  track  the  career  progress  of 
ESRs. Some participants have 2-3 weekly meetings with ESRs to monitor progress. One 
of the participants shared that from their experience only 20% of ESRs end-up in scientific 
careers,  which  means  80%  choose  other  paths,  including  moving  to  industry.  Another 
company  highlighted  that  out  of  6  ESRs  that  they  supported  only  one  was  recruited  by 
them,  however,  this  was  not  a  primary  reason  for  engaging  in  EIDs.  There  was  also  an 
EID project where three of the ESRs went on to pursue industrial careers, but not in the 
same companies in which they did their secondment. It was highlighted that overall, 90 % 
of  ESRs  from  this  particular  organisation  ended  up  in  an  industrial  career.  The  main 
challenge  identified  in  moving  to  industry  was  the  integration  of  ESRs  into  a  different 
culture. In one case an ESR did not have the right competence, had not integrated well, 
and was asked to resign.  To  avoid  such  cases in  the  future  it  was proposed that  during 
the  interviews  it  is  good  practice  to  dedicate  the  first  10  min to the  project,  then  discuss 
about  the  individual’s  motivation  and  understand  why  the  ESR  is  important  to  him/her. 
Considering  secondments  and  supervision  of  the  ESRs,  it  is  important  to  have  good 
collaboration  between  two  supervisors,  otherwise  the  fellow  has  to  choose  which 
supervisor’s instructions to follow.  

Creation of long-lasting collaborations and interactions 

Examples of long-lasting collaborations, not only within EID programme, but also beyond 
the  funding  were  explored.  In  most  cases  collaboration  had  occurred  due  to  previous 
collaborative experiences. Not all projects result in further collaborations and there needs 
to  be  mutual  value  in  a  collaboration.  Engaging  new  partners  requires  more  time  to 
develop a trusted relationship. New collaborations can be beneficial to expand the horizon 
of  the  business,  but  a  strategic  approach  is  needed.  To  enable  this,  it  is  important  to 
engage  in  platforms,  networks  and  EU/EID  related  events  to  identify  potential  partners. 
There was also some discussion on how to extract more value from ESR secondments for 
future collaborations.  This  led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  important  to  clearly  understand 
the business needs of the industry and make sure to regularly align them with the ESR’s 
research  goals.  In  this  way  industry  sees  better  value  and  stays  engaged  in  future 
projects. 

28 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Summary of the key recommendations 

1.  The  consortium  should  analyse  and  clearly  understand  the  incentives  of 
industry/business  and  engage  them  as  early  as  possible  in  the  EID  proposal 
preparation phase.  

2.  Ownership of intellectual property is critical for industry/business. A clear position 
on  ownership,  including  costs  of  filing  and  maintaining  IPR  needs  to  be  agreed 
during proposal preparation and further clarified in the consortium agreement. 

3.  Good  collaboration  is  the  key  guarantor  for  effective  long-lasting  relationships 
between academic and industrial organisations. It is important to have a balanced 
collaboration between both industry/business and academic supervisors to ensure 
mutual interests are pursued and to help the ESR to obtain holistic experience.  

5.4. Administration  -  How  to  simplify  and  make  more 

efficient the project implementation   

The  workshop  addressed  several  topics  identified  by  the  survey  with  respect  to 
internal 
administration  such  as  scientific 
organisation of the consortium. The idea of providing help for the coordinator in terms of 
providing  a  dedicated  Project  Manager  (PM)  was  also  discussed.  Altogether,  the 
workshop attracted around 25 participants with representatives from academia, large and 
small industry, ESRs, NCPs, and REA staff. 

financial  management,  and 

reporting, 

Scientific reporting 

There  was  an  agreement  that  the  reporting  on  measurable  outputs,  particularly 
deliverables,  could  be  very  demanding  from  a  quantitative  and  qualitative  point  of  view. 
Already  the  REA  shows  flexibility  in  adjusting  some  deliverables  during  the  Grant 
Agreement preparation process, but participants highlighted that it would be beneficial to 
provide  more scope to  change  the  names  of  deliverables  as  the  work  plans  were  made 
more than a year before the start of the project. It was noted that research can easily go in 
another  direction  as  the  project  advances.  Here  a  possible  solution  would  be  to  identify 
mandatory  and  non-mandatory  deliverables  in  the  proposal  template,  and  to  have 
standard  templates  for  the  mandatory  deliverables.  For  reporting,  more  flexibility  was 
advocated regarding the time needed, e.g., for the mid-term report, or to have a different 
format  of  reviews  for  the  EIDs.  In  addition,  it  was  generally  agreed that  online  meetings 
have been functioning well in the last few years (during the COVID-19 outbreak), including 
the Mid-term Review Meetings (organized between months 12 and 15). The online option 
facilitated a lot, and the ESRs do not have to travel, however, personal interaction with the 
PO is appreciated. Some participants found it helpful to have face-to-face review meetings 
when there are different levels of interaction with the external expert monitor. The one-day 
duration  of  a  review  meeting  was  considered  suitable  for  average-size  EIDs,  but  more 
days  may  be  required  for  larger  projects.  An  identified  good  practice  is  to  link  Mid-term 
Review Meetings with project related events, e.g., summer or winter schools. 

Financial management 

The participants highlighted that the financial resources have been used appropriately and 
transparently and there are no specific issues due to the strict administrative rules. It was 
highlighted  that  ESRs  with  a  single  contract  with  the  academic  partners  experienced 
additional  administrative  hurdles  when  spending  time  in  different  countries  at  the  private 
sector. For instance, in some countries it is necessary to return to the country where the 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

contract was issued every three months in order to retain residency status. This leads to 
potential  issues  with  visas  and  with  returning  for  the  continuation  of  the  project.  Some 
stakeholders  have  used  double  (separate)  contracts,  one  for  the  academic  partner  and 
one  with  the  private  sector.  This  creates  additional  administration  which  represents  a 
burden. However, when the taxation laws in different entities/countries are diverse, having 
a double contract is financially convenient for fellows. From an industry perspective, dual 
contracts  are  considered  a  suitable  solution.  Overall,  the  key  need  is  for  additional  help 
and experience sharing with respect to the different taxation regimes and on how to deal 
with  split  contracts.  It  was  highlighted  that  funding  the  tuition  fees  and  associated 
expenses per doctoral candidate during the duration of the PhD program (usually not less 
than  four  years)  can  represent  a  burden,  particularly  for  the  universities.  Many  EU 
countries  have  a  four-year  PhD  program,  and  while  the  academic  partner  manages  the 
tuition  fees,  there  is  no  provision  for  the  ESRs'  living  allowances  in  the  final  year.  This 
requires further resources/money outside the budget received from REA. It was noted that 
it is possible to pay the tuition fees from the consortium budget categories B1 and B2 (if 
agreed  upon  and  put  in  the  Consortium  Agreement).  To  overcome  this  issue,  it  was 
reported that some ESRs finalised all research in the project's first three years, and then 
performed  teaching  activities  in the  fourth  year.  The  flexibility  of  offering  a  three  or  four-
year PhD at the very beginning of the project is another option.  

Project Manager assisting the Coordinator 

There  was  strong  agreement  that  a  PM  assisting  the  Coordinator/Consortium  would  be 
highly  beneficial.  The  HES  and  academics  face  increased  difficulties  when  handling 
projects without the assistance of a PM. Best practice would be for the HES to identify the 
PM in the plans from the beginning, and this should be the first person appointed. It was 
noted that a good PM can run two-to-three small EID Projects in parallel. This, however, 
would require allocation of additional resources to the project management tasks since the 
HES  does  not  have  enough  resources  to  support  a  dedicated  PM  to  assist  the  project. 
Although  a  portion  of  the  projects  management  costs  can  be  allocated  from  all  the 
partners,  this  budget  may  not  be  sufficient.  It  was  also  noted  that  it  would  be  useful  to 
have  some  proper  guidelines  generated  by  experienced  PMs  on  how  to  handle  a  PM 
position,  particularly  when  managing  a  higher  number  of  users  (ESRs).  Project 
coordinators and stakeholders have very good experience with personnel coming out from 
academia who could take the place of a PM. The best solution, and an excellent initiative, 
would  be  to  have  available  PMs  in  the  EID  network  willing  to  participate  in  managing 
projects, sharing experiences and exchanging ideas. The REA could potentially facilitate 
this through the ID session during the upcoming Coordinator's Information Days.   

Consortium internal organisation 

It was highlighted that an internal communication strategy is essential for the ESR's career 
development and the project's progress. Based on experience, the dedicated Supervisory 
Board  approach  with  clear  decision-making  duties  is  functioning  very  well.  There  is  no 
need  for  a  separate  ESR  Board  as  a  standard  element  in  the  Consortium's  internal 
organisation. The consortium's internal communication strategy is, in general, the project 
team's  responsibility.  However,  some  best  practices  and  recommendations  were 
identified. The communication strategy is often organised as a discussion of scientific and 
strategic decisions as well as interactions with the Supervisors. This strategy is essential 
for the ESR's career development and the project's progress. A predefined structure and 
schedule of interactions/reporting provides an excellent communication strategy between 
the  ESRs  and  their  supervisors  and  mentors.  Experience  shows  that  keeping  regular, 
broad, and open monthly interaction (organised in person, utilising online communication 
platforms  or  via  phone  calls)  represents  best  practice.  In  addition,  half-yearly  meetings 
with all the mentors helps address the robustness of results and verify the course of the 

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 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

research  project.  Having  a  predefined  structure  with  mandatory 
individual 
reporting/meetings  is  recognised  as  a  credible  preventive  mechanism  to  deal  with 
potential difficulties. It was noted that there is a difference between the academic system 
requirements  for  reporting  and  the  project  consortia  level  reporting  needs.  Internal 
reporting  requirements  for  universities  cannot  envisage  what  is  happening  at  the  project 
level  of  writing mandatory  reports  and  it  is  important that  production  of  these  mandatory 
reports  does  not  compete  with  the  EIDs’  necessary  academic  reporting  requirements. 
Double reporting should be avoided to reduce the burden of the ESRs. 

Summary of the key recommendations 

1.  Scientific  reporting  can  be  very  demanding,  particularly  for  small  projects. 
Providing pre-defined formats of reports and deliverables for EIDs might provide a 
potential solution.  

2.  Additional help and experience sharing is needed when dealing with two different 
taxation regimes when multiple recruitment of an ESR is needed. The best option 
is to put in place double contracts to simplify the paperwork involved. 

3.  A  dedicated  Project  Manager  is  a  valuable  member  of  the  project  team.  An 
experienced Project Manager can serve several projects. Having the possibility to 
find  experienced  Project  Managers  within  the  EID  project  network  to  exchange 
ideas and support projects would be highly appreciated. 

5.5. Policy workshop - How to strengthen the impact of EID 

projects? 

The  workshop  was  well  attended  attracting  around  34  participants  with  a  mix  of 
backgrounds  including,  ESRs,  academia,  small  and  large  industry  as  well  as  REA  staff. 
The aim  of the  workshop was elaborated  in terms  of the  key  driving  question on  how to 
strengthen  the  impact  of  the  EID  projects.  Firstly,  the  incentives  for  pursuing  an  EID 
programme  were  explored.  Following  on  from  this,  the  discussion  addressed  how  the 
impact  of  the  work  could  be  strengthened  in  general,  but  also  more  specifically 
considering contributing to EU Policies such as the European Green Deal and the Horizon 
Europe Missions.  Commercial  impacts  were  also  considered  in  terms  of  opportunities  to 
create start-ups and the potential for market uptake. Finally, alumni strengthening, both of 
the  ESRs  and  internal  academic  staff,  as  well  as  the  employability  of  fellows  were 
considered. 

Incentives for pursuing an industrial doctorate 

The  incentives  are  strong  for  both  academia  and  Industry  to  engage  with  the  EID 
programme.  A  key  incentive,  as  identified  by  the  survey,  was  the  establishment  of  long-
lasting  collaborations.  This  was  confirmed  by  the  workshop  participants,  and  the 
opportunity  for  networking  was  also highlighted. There  are various  different  perspectives 
with respect to the incentives. For large Industry engaging with an EID is seen as a way of 
exploring  a  new  idea  and  as  a  networking  opportunity.  Another  driver,  more  for  smaller 
companies,  is  to  try  out  new  ideas.  For  many  companies  it  is  possible  to  network  at  a 
national  level,  but  at  an international  level  this  is  more  difficult,  so the MSCA  provides  a 
route to this. Experience shows that many projects are driven by academia. This is due to 
awareness of the programme within the academic sector. Anecdotal evidence was given 
on how a project started from a chance meeting at an event between an academic and a 
large  company  that  had  a  problem  that  they  wanted  to  solve.  This  had  led  to  a  project 
being set up with 3 ESRs. The financial interest in participating differs depending on the 
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 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

size  of  companies.  Smaller  companies  find  the  funding  attractive  to  pursue  research, 
however,  for  larger  companies  the  administration  overheads  are  greater.  The  funding 
levels  of  MSCA  programmes  are  thus  less  attractive  for  them  and  it  is  more  difficult  to 
engage in projects. In terms of content, it was highlighted that it is important to identify real 
industrial  problems  that  companies  are  interested  to  engage  with,  and  balance 
expectations  due  to  the  different  academic  and  industry  needs  to  publish  and  protect 
Intellectual  Property.  Considering  the  incentives  for  students  to  pursue  EIDs,  although 
there is great interest in ESR positions among potential candidates, there are also several 
challenges.  These  include  difficulties  in  employing  students  outside  of  the  EU  Member 
States and a mismatch between funding which only lasts for three years and the four-year 
PhD requirements in some countries.  

In  terms  of  best  practice,  it  was  highlighted  that  projects  tend  to  start  from  pre-existing 
interactions,  and  long-term  collaborations  are  key  to  building  trust.  From  an  industry 
perspective, recruitment of good staff is a driver and running an EID programme allows a 
company  to  perform  an  extended  assessment  of  an  ESR  as  well  as  train  them  with  an 
appropriate skill set. 

How to strengthen the impact of EID projects? 

Many impacts are identified by the survey prior to the EID Cluster Event, and these are at 
the ESR level, at the project level and at the consortium level. Some of these are related 
to  creating  synergies,  some  are  with  respect  to  innovation  and  there  is  also  some 
evidence  of  commercialisation.  It  was  highlighted  during  the  workshop  that  it  takes  time 
for  impact  to  be  generated,  particularly  commercialisation  which  tends to  be  beyond  the 
lifetime  of  the  project.  Following  up  and  monitoring  this  impact  is  difficult  as  although 
reporting  platforms  remain open,  there  is  no  formal follow  up requirement.  If  long-lasting 
collaborations  are  formed  beyond  the  project  duration,  then  there  should  be  an 
opportunity  to  gather  more  information  in  the  longer  term.  The  importance  of  having  a 
long-term monitoring system was emphasised.  

There  is  also  insufficient  communication  of  impact.  There  is  a  strong  emphasis  on 
producing  academic  papers  as  the  consortia  tend  to  be  academic  driven.  It  would  be 
beneficial if the industry partners also produced outputs such as White Papers. Overall, it 
is important to better communicate the impact of EID projects. The survey that had been 
performed was seen as a good start and it was advocated that this should be periodically 
repeated to gather information on impact. Additionally, long-term monitoring of long-lasting 
collaborations would be valuable.  

Contribution to EU Policies, European Green Deal, and Horizon Missions 

It  was  highlighted  that  the  various  EU  policies  are  well  communicated  by  the  EC  to  the 
public.  These  policies  are  in  general  not  reflected  in  current  projects  strongly  as  they 
mostly  address  bottom-up  science.  However,  there  are  examples  of  projects  that  can 
strongly contribute to the European Green Deal and Horizon Mission priorities. A balance 
is needed as if projects are directed to strongly focus on EU policies/missions then there 
are likely to be fewer proposals and fewer good or very focused ideas.  

Overall, it was noted that there is a need for better and more targeted communication of 
EU  policies to  academia  and  industry,  and this will  naturally  lead  to more proposals  and 
research that is in synergy with them. At the same time, there are already other targeted 
programmes  and  Calls  for  proposals  that  address  topics  such  as  the  European  Green 
Deal and the Horizon Missions. To incentivise the contribution to the EU policies and the 
reporting from the EID projects, an approach that may be effective is for the EC to provide 
appropriate  credit  if  these  topics  are  addressed  in  EID  projects  and  also  promote  these 
projects across the community.  

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 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Creation of start-ups and potential for market uptake 

It  was highlighted that  there  are very  few  instances of  start-ups  being  created.  This  was 
further discussed, and underlying issues were found to be the lack of an entrepreneurship 
culture  in  Europe,  a  lack  of  funding  for  start-ups  and  a  lack  of  innovation  training.  The 
engineering projects are far more likely to produce patents and such EID projects produce 
more  patents  than  other  areas,  e.g.,  social  science  projects,  but  even  here  patenting  is 
very project dependent. If a new start-up is to be created, then this tends to be done by 
the  academic  partners.  It  was  commented,  however,  that  many  academic  supervisors 
wish to  concentrate  on their  academic careers  and  do  not  have  an  interest  in creating  a 
start-up.  Even  if  students  are  keen,  there  may  not  be  support  for  this.  Also  due  to  the 
nature  of  the  work  being  performed  in  terms  of  early-stage  research,  the  idea  of 
commercialisation is seen as happening much later, even several years after the project 
end. More fundamentally, the EID programme is not designed to encourage the creation 
of start-ups, instead it focuses on inter-sectoral doctoral training. 

The need for more entrepreneurship training and creation of an innovation mentality was 
highlighted. Already some projects provide this in as part of the soft-skills training, but in 
many  cases  this  is  not  a  requirement.  Moreover,  to  avoid  any  IPR  ownership  difficulties 
that  could  prevent  future  commercialisation,  there  is  a  need  to  appoint  an  IP  manager 
from industry and put in place good IP protection from the very beginning of the project. In 
practice  the  main  market  uptake  of  new  ideas  into  industry  was  via  knowledge  transfer 
through employing the ESR.  

Alumni strengthening and employability of fellows  

It  was  acknowledged  that  the  EID  projects  are  clearly  skilling  the  next  generation.  The 
employability  of  ESRs  depends  on  acquiring  a  broader  skillset  than  just  technical  skills 
and  the  key  challenge  is  to  find  appropriate  high-quality  training.  It  is  not  just  the  ESRs 
who require training. Internally academia also has to invest heavily in its own internal staff 
to  educate 
them  on  the  MSCA  programme  management  and  reporting  needs. 
Considering employability of ESRs industry is very happy as they get very good, trained 
candidates for employment, and have the opportunity to “try” them in advance. However, 
a  challenge  is  in  lining  up  open  job  positions  at  the  appropriate  time  for  good  ESR 
candidates.  It  is  not  possible  for  a  company  to  keep  positions  open,  for  instance  for  6 
months while an ESR completes their PhD course.  

It  was  highlighted  that  the  programme  is  creating  highly  skilled  ESRs  with  relevant 
industrial  experience.  The  model  is  very  good,  but  it  would  be  possible  to  enhance  the 
skillset of ESRs with more entrepreneurial training. In addition to enhancing the ESRs, the 
programme  is  also  increasing  the  quality  of  academic  staff  members,  particularly  giving 
them interdisciplinary experience, which boosts their careers.  

Summary of Key Recommendations 

1.  There  are  clear  incentives for  ESRs  and  academia  to  participate  in  EID  projects. 
While, to encourage industry to participate there is a need to have trust, there is a 
need  to  address  real  industry  problems  and  balance  publication  and  IPR 
expectations.  Recruitment  of  good  skilled  staff  is  a  driver  for  industry  and  more 
flexibility to allow easier employment of ESRs would be beneficial. 

2.  Impact takes time and for the predominantly academic-led projects, there is a need 
to  better  communicate  the  industry  impact.  The  impact  of  projects  towards 
European  Commission  policies,  such  as  the  European  Green  Deal  and  Horizon 
Europe Missions, should be collected and highlighted.  

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 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

3.  There  is  need  for  entrepreneurship training  to create an  innovation  mentality  and 
encourage  creation  of  start-ups.  Researchers  with  strong technical  and with  high 
entrepreneurial skills help boost the European Economy.  

5.6. Practicalities  of  Projects  -  Specific  tips  to  facilitate  to 

the project implementation   

This  workshop  considered  practical  aspects  that  have  an  impact  on  the  efficient  and 
effective  running  of  an  EID  project.  The  practical  aspects  identified  from  the  preliminary 
survey were issues related to open access and open data, IPR, the duration of PhD, the 
enrolment process for PhD programmes and the resignation of ESRs during the course of 
a project. This list was further extended to include a number of additional aspects related 
to  PhD  recruitment,  such  as  salary  differences,  different  polices  at  different  institutions, 
secondment  challenges  with  respect  to  finding  accommodation  and  obtaining  visas  as 
well  as  the  impact  of  changes  within  the  industrial  partners.  The  workshop  was  well 
attended  with  34  participants  with  a  good  mix  of  universities,  research  agencies  and 
industry. 

ESRs and their PhD programmes 

Several challenges were discussed considering the mismatch between PhD durations and 
the  EID  duration,  the  added  challenge  due  to  delayed  recruitment,  different  conditions 
applied to ESRs recruited in different institutions/countries and the impact of resignation of 
ESRs. However, it is worth noting that these are not EID-specific challenges. They can be 
augmented though due to the mandatory inter-sectoral mobility. For institutions that have 
four-year PhD programmes it was noted that the coordinator must find alternative funding 
for the fourth year. Even for institutions with three-year PhD programmes, it was remarked 
that spending significant time in industry was not looked upon favourably as it constrained 
the  research  and  stifled  creativity  as  there  is  not  much  time  for  research  exploration. 
Delays  in  recruitment  or  in  obtaining  visas  exacerbated  these  duration  constraints. 
Considering  different  conditions  for  ESRs,  the most  obvious difference  is  salaries,  which 
may  cause  some  disgruntlement  among  the  ESRs.  While  it  was  acknowledged  that  the 
cost-of-living  variations  from  country  to  country  justifies  different  salaries,  it  was 
highlighted that the cost of living may also vary from city to city within the same country, 
even to the point of being higher than that of a higher-cost country. This results in financial 
pressure  on  the  ESRs,  which  is  especially  manifested  in  the  cost  of  accommodation  in 
certain  cities.  The  final  issue  discussed  was  the  impact  of  an  ESR  resigning.  Although 
there is no way of always preventing this, it can be an issue if the ESR resigns at such a 
time  that  it  is  not  sensible  to  recruit  a  new  replacement  ESR  due  to  little  remaining 
funding.  

In terms of best practice, it was recommended to enrol the ESRs on the PhD programme 
as  early  as  possible.  It would  be  beneficial  if the  EID rules allowed  funding  for  four-year 
PhDs  and  to  also  mitigate  recruitment  and  visa  delays,  it  would  be  desirable  if  EID 
projects’ duration was extended to five years. More flexibility in the time spent in industry 
would  also  help.  A  highly  praised  best  practice  that  helps  mitigate  the  challenge  of 
disgruntled  ESRs  in  the  light  of  different  employment  conditions  is  to  have  an  ESR 
orientation  session  organised  by  the  beneficiary  to  make  the  ESRs  aware  of  the  local 
conditions  and  to  ensure  full  transparency  of  the  EID  financial  rules.  Once  all  the  ESRs 
are  recruited,  a  kick-off  ESR  meeting  should  be  organised  to  present  the  whole  project 
covering  the  scientific  and  financial  issues.  It  was  emphasised  that  the  ESR  career 
development  is  paramount,  so  the  beneficiary  needs  to  be  flexible  to  ensure  that  the 
ESRs get the most benefit from their participation in the programme, even if this requires 

34 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

changes  to  some  project  deliverables.  The  decision  on  whether  to  recruit  a  new  ESR 
when  one  resigns  needs  to  factor  in  the  new  ESR’s  career  development.  It  was 
highlighted  that  REA  POs  have  been  very  supportive  in  such  cases,  which  was  greatly 
appreciated. 

Secondments, industrial change and differing policies 

The  key challenges  identified  were  with  respect  to  accommodation  and visas  during  the 
secondment.  Securing  visas,  especially  for  non-EU  ESRs  and  for  EU  countries  outside 
the Schengen Area, emerged as a major hurdle. Delays in securing visas made it difficult 
for  ESRs  to  spend  the  required  time  in  secondment,  jeopardising  the  secondment  plan. 
Another  challenge  highlighted  was  the  difficulty  in  retaining  an  ESRs’  accommodation 
while  they  work  in  the  industrial  partner  which  often  leaves  them  looking  for  new 
accommodation on their return.  

There  are  several  risks  to  industrial  secondments  related  to  the  content  and  purpose  of 
the secondment. One risk is the potential for company’s priorities to change resulting in a 
lack  of  interest  in  the  project.  Other  associated  risks  are  changes  to  availability  of 
equipment  or  from  the  industrial  contact  point  moving  on.  These  risks  can  also  result  in 
changes  to  the  project,  which  may  also  place  additional  pressures  on  the  ESR,  who 
requires stability throughout the PhD.  

Disbursement of funds can be complicated as beneficiaries may have different policies. It 
may  be  more  difficult  for  the  ESR  to  claim  reimbursement  for  expenses  when  the  funds 
are managed  by  an  industrial  organisation than  it  would be  if they  were  managed  by  an 
academic institution. This could potentially be solved if the academic beneficiary hired all 
the ESRs. 

Considering  best  practice  to  mitigate  visa  problems,  it  was  suggested  to  liaise  with  the 
beneficiary’s  human  resources  (HR)  department  at  the  earliest  possible  time.  Here  the 
support  of  the  REA  and  the  POs  was  acknowledged  in  terms  of  understanding  the  visa 
challenge  and  in  issuing  support  letters.  To  address  accommodation  difficulties, 
participants  have  been known to  ask  ESRs to  swap  their  accommodation when an  ESR 
moves  out  so  that  the  accommodation  is  not  lost.  In  the  case  of  changes  within  the 
industrial  organisation,  there  needs  to  be  the  flexibility  to  redesign  the  project 
appropriately.  

Open access and open data, and intellectual property rights 

The  challenges  due  to  open  access  and  IPR  were  discussed,  and  this  mainly  revolved 
around  the  cost  of  open  access  publishing,  which  is  a  general  challenge  not  specific  to 
EIDs  though.  It  was  pointed  out  that  while  some  universities  have  Open  Access 
subscriptions, this limited the choice of venues for publication and, in those periods of the 
year  when  the  subscriptions  run  out,  delays  are  incurred  in  submitting  for  publication.  It 
was also highlighted that conflicts can arise due to patents being claimed by the industrial 
partner on the topic of the ESR’s PhD. This makes it difficult for the ESR to publish and 
complete their  academic  requirements. With respect to Open  Access,  it was pointed  out 
that  there  is  leeway  to  negotiate  with  Open  Access  publishers  which  may  result  in 
discounts on the Open Access fees. It was also highlighted that the EC follows the policy 
of  ‘as  open  as  possible,  as  closed  as  necessary’15  with  regard  to  open  access 
publications,  indicating  that  there  is  a  degree  of  flexibility.  Considering  IP  issues,  best 
practices  indicate  that  the  IP  agreements  should  be  kept  as  simple  as  possible  (e.g.,  in 
the  Consortium  Agreement)  with  a  main  contract  agreed  between the  main  beneficiaries 

15 Horizon Europe Programme Guide  

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

and  add-on  agreements  signed  by  the  secondment  organisations.  It  was  recommended 
that background IP is identified from the project start.  

Summary and Key recommendations: 

1.  It is recommended that five-year EID projects are funded to cover funding for four-
year PhDs with some flexibility on the time required to be spent in the industry.  

2.  ESRs should be made fully aware of the EID financial rules, the conditions faced 
by  the  different  ESRs  and  their  respective  employment  conditions.  The  ESRs 
should  be  employed,  where  possible,  by  the  academic  beneficiaries  to  avoid 
complications from different reimbursement policies within industrial organisations. 

3.  To  avoid  IPR  issues  it  is  important  to  distinguish  from  the  start  the  ESR’s  PhD 
research objectives from those research objectives that may be of direct interest to 
the industrial partners. 

6. Lessons Learnt from Projects  

Two  projects  were  invited  to  present  lessons  learnt.  One  was  VIRO-FLOW16  from  the 
H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017  Call  and  the  second  one  was  ASIMIA17  from  the  H2020-MSCA-
ITN-2018  call.  These  addressed  drug  discovery  and  aerospace  simulation,  and  their 
coordinators shared lessons learnt that can be applicable to other projects. 

6.1. VIRO-FLOW Anna Banet (Coordinator ICIQ Spain) 

Consortium  Composition:  The  VIRO-FLOW  project  had  two  main  beneficiaries,  an 
academic  and  a  non-academic  one  both  with  a  background  in  biology  and  chemistry.  A 
further  two  associated  partners  were  added  during  project  implementation.  The  project 
funded three ESRs with chemical and biology backgrounds.  

Selection  Process  for  ESRs:  For  recruitment,  at  least  four  years’  experience  and  or  a 
master’s  degree  was  required.  The  positions  were  advertised  widely  on  the  partners 
websites,  social  media  and  jobs  portals.  Indicatively,  it  was  noted  that  there  were  81 
applicants,  and  so  it  is  necessary  to  have  good  selection  criteria.  The  process  involved 
prescreening,  phone  interviews  and  then  face-to-face  interviews  for  the  seven  final 
candidates. On-site interviews were organised, and it was necessary to cover the costs of 
the invited candidates, but the advantage was that the students got to see the institutions 
and vice versa. This is easier to do for smaller projects. A strict calendar for the selection 
was  used  to  speed  up  the  process.  Notably,  each  university  has  its  own  process, 
admissions calendars and national rules. It was strongly advised to have a reserve list of 
good  applicants,  as  candidates  apply  for  multiple  positions  and  may  therefore  not  be 
available to employ. Other candidates may start but leave early on. Having a reserve list 
provides  a  quick  solution  to  addressing  these  eventualities.  In  the  case  of  VIRO-FLOW 
the three ESRs were recruited by the academic partner as this was thought to be easier. 
In practice this was not the case due to the long 18-month secondments in the industry. 
This  led  to  tax  declaration  and  health  insurance  issues  for  the  ESRs  and  institutions.  A 
challenge was noted for this matter.  

16 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/212130/  

17 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/813605   

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 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Secondments: With respect to the 50% secondments in the industry, it was noted that it 
is  important to  plan  well.  These  are challenging  for  the  ESRs  in terms  of  change,  and a 
good working plan was vital as the ESRs needed to finish everything at each institution as 
they cannot go back. The scope for additional secondments within the rules is limited and 
in one case an ESR needed less time at the academic institution and more in industry.  

Management:  The  project’s  management  had  employed  standard  communication 
channels; monthly meetings had been held and in addition, the ESRs had had their own 
meetings. Each ESR had two supervisors, one from each beneficiary. Most important was 
to keep  each  supervisor  informed,  and  monthly network-wide  meetings were  held  where 
the  ESRs  presented  their  progress.  It  was  noted  that  previous  experience  of  managing 
this type of project is highly recommended. There is also a need to engage with different 
departments  of  the  organisation  internally,  and  it  is  good  if  these  have  prior  experience 
with similar programmes. On the non-academic side there are time pressures on scientific 
staff performing management and with less experience of working with such programmes.  

For  the  Consortium  Agreement,  it  is  important  that  all  IPR  is  discussed  at  the  proposal 
stage  so  that  people  are  clear  on  background  IPR,  exploitation  and  the  dissemination 
needs. In terms of budget 100% of living and mobility allowance was administered by the 
academic partner, however, management costs between partners were shared.  

Training:  A  number  of  network-wide  activities  had  been  performed  including  a  4-5  day 
training course for the ESRs to gain experience of scientific talks and transferable skills. 
Soft  skills  training  was  shared  between  projects  to  amortise  effort,  but  this  also  has  the 
added advantage that the ESRs can meet with other ITNs and projects. This had proved 
very beneficial leading to new collaborations.  

Outcomes:  Very  positive  long-lasting  collaboration  had  been  achieved  as  the  company 
has  now  established  a  permanent  laboratory  in  the  academic  partner  institution.  The 
ESRs  had  become  highly  employable  in  the  drug  discovery  field  due  to  their 
multidisciplinary  experience.  The  ESRs  were,  in  particular,  very  positive  about  their 
experience and the value to their careers. 

6.2. ASIMIA  Charles  Hirsch 
Design Systems Belgium) 

(Coordinator  CADENCE 

Consortium  Composition:  The  ASIMIA  project  is  addressing  computational  fluid 
dynamics with partners from Airbus, McLaren and Dyson. The project was original created 
by  a  Brussels-based  start-up in  computational  algorithms,  but this  has  been acquired  by 
CADENCE18  during  the  course  of  the  project.  The  academic  partner  is  the  Universidad 
Politécnica de Madrid in Spain and the project supports five ESRs addressing a range of 
synergistic algorithmic or application issues.  

Selection  Process  for  ESRs:  It  was  noted  that  recruitment  was  challenging  and  not 
optimal.  Two  students  came  from  India,  one  from  China,  one  from  Greece  and  another 

18 https://www.numeca.com/home  

37 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

one from Spain. There had been problems with obtaining a visa for the Chinese student 
and  several  issues  with  social  security,  etc.  One  student  left  after  six  months,  and  so  a 
replacement  had  to  be  found.  The  recruitment  was  a  lengthy  process,  and  it  was  noted 
that  many students  just send  in  a  standard  CV not  adapted  to the  position  on  offer.  150 
CVs were screened, and joint interviews were set up between partners. 

Secondments:  COVID-19  had  proved  a  challenge,  and  secondments  had  to  be  virtual 
due to travel restrictions. The ESRs worked on two research codes, one from CADENCE 
and  one  from  Universidad  Politécnica  de  Madrid,  and  this  led  to  a  fruitful  exchange  of 
knowledge.  Some  academic  ideas  were  tested  on  industrial  codes,  and  some  industrial 
methodologies were implemented in university codes.  

Management:  Bi-weekly  supervision  meetings  were  put  in  place.  There  were  no  issues 
with IPR as only research codes were addressed. The experience was that the scheme is 
highly successful, but the administration load for both industry and academia is high. The 
biggest  problem  encountered  was  that  in  some  cases  the  ESR  is  considered  to  be  a 
foreign immigrant by governments as they do not understand the MSCA EID status. 

Training:  The  provided  training  covered  scientific  needs  and  also  soft  skills,  such  as 
communication,  presentation,  etc.  For  IPR  management,  a  commercial  approach  had 
been adopted as there are opportunities for industrial exploitation.  

Outcomes - The main benefit of engagement in the programme had been the transfer of 
knowledge and the creation of highly trained engineers ready to be employed. Two of the 
ESRs have been hired and so their IPR belongs to the employing company.  

7. Keynote by Marja Makarow 

Marja Makarow is the President of Academia Europaea19, after having ended her term as 
Director  of  Biocenter  Finland20.  She  is  former  Vice-President  of  the  Finnish  Research 
Council - Academy of Finland, Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation, and 
Vice-President  for  Research  and  Innovation  and  Professor  of  Applied  Biochemistry  and 
Molecular Biology at the University of Helsinki.  

In her presentation she highlighted the pressing need to invest in the renewal of industry 
by creating skilled staff. An example of how this had worked in Finland 30 years ago was 
given. The country had experienced severe economic problems with the fall of the Soviet 
Union. There had been a strong relationship with Russia, and overnight agreements were 
cancelled which led to many companies going bankrupt. In turn, banks started to wobble 
and unemployment  in Finland  went to  30%.  To address  this, the  government  decided to 
invest in education for high technology industries. These industries employ a high number 
of  PhDs.  To  support  this,  public-private  doctoral  programmes  were  put  in  place  with 
universities.  This  led  to  spectacular  results  and  the  resource-based  economy  became 
knowledge  based.  Notably  the  country  is  now  one  of  the  best  performers  in  terms  of 
innovation in the EU scoreboard. Todays’ challenges were highlighted as being the green 
and digital transition, the energy crisis and technological sovereignty.  

19 https://www.ae-info.org/  

20 https://www.biocenter.fi/  

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

There is a need for entrepreneurship. This is linked to economic growth, which in turn 
leads  to  more  re-investment  in  the  future.  Although  Universities  provide  a  set  of  skills, 
these  are  not  enough.  There  is  a  need  for  a  real-world  understanding  of  the  business 
ecosystem.  This  requires  recognition  of  the  merit  and  provision  of  careers  for 
entrepreneurial students that acknowledges their impact on society. It was highlighted that 
PhDs  are  needed  in  both  the  academic  and  the  non-academic  sectors.  There  are  not 
enough  positions  in  academia for  new  PhDs  to follow  a tenure  track,  so inevitably  some 
need to go to industry. In this respect, the importance of activities such as the European 
Institute  of  Innovation  and  Technology  Knowledge  and  Innovation  Communities  (EIT 
KICs21)  was  highlighted.  These  provide  thousands  of  graduates  annually  with  an  EIT 
labeled  certificate.  There  are  nine  thematic  KICs  across  Europe  and  also  a  range  of 
regional innovation hubs that engage with large companies, start-ups, regional bodies and 
universities. The creation of Aalto University was given as an example of how formation of 
a new University can bring together research and innovation in a multidisciplinary setting. 
Most PhD candidates at the university do research with companies. Students are provided 
with a cutting-edge course on entrepreneurship. There is also a dedicated programme in 
Aalto  Ventures  which  provides  start-up  experience  to  think  like  an  entrepreneur.  Other 
courses  address  business  leadership  and  consider  the  impact  of  the  student’s  own 
research  to  enhance  their  career  progression.  This  has  led  to  students  being  far  more 
entrepreneurial and they have set up events like Slush22 to gather like-minded people.  

Programmes are being put in place to fund postdocs or PhD candidates to work on highly 
specialised 3-6 month projects with the expectation that 600 researchers will participate. It 
was  also  highlighted  that  other  EU  programmes  and  funds  are  useful  to  support  new 
companies.  These  include  Pathfinder  grants23  for  early  stage  and  breakthrough  in 
academia, Breakthrough funds24, Accelerator Programme25 grants for startups as well as 
a range of coaching and mentoring services. 

Finally, it was highlighted that a key lesson learnt is that a detailed plan is needed for the 
candidate  and  industry  from  the  outset  to  make  sure  that  both  sides  benefit.  As  a  best 
practice, at the end of the placement both the PhD candidate and the company involved 
have to write their own assessment of success. The text provided by the company can be 
used in the CV of the PhD candidate as a reference for future employers. This had clearly 
shown that internships were hugely beneficial.  

8. Roundtable Discussion 

The  roundtable  discussion  addressed  policy  aspects,  in  particular,  the  benefits  and 
challenges  of  connecting  academia  and  industry  together  via  PhD  programmes.    This 
highlighted  many  benefits,  but  also  cultural  differences  between  academia  and  industry, 
differing  needs  in  terms  of  publishing  and  protection  of  Intellectual  Property,  as  well  as 
pragmatic issues of mobility and administration burdens. The Roundtable Discussion was 
moderated by Claire Morel (DG EAC) with participation from Benjamin Martinez Sanchis 
(Coimbra  Group26),  Murat  Gunes  (MCAA27),  Rob  Smeets  (Director  PPPs  -  Philips),  and 

21 https://eit.europa.eu/tags/kics  

22 Slush 2023 – The World's Leading Startup Event  

23 https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-pathfinder_en  

24 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7437  

25 https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-accelerator-0_en  

26 https://www.coimbra-group.eu/    

27 https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/  

39 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Kristine Henriksen (Innovation Fund Denmark28). Each participant made a brief statement 
before the open discussion. 

Kristine Henriksen highlighted that Denmark has been running a programme equivalent to 
the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme for two years. The aim 
of the Innovation Fund in Denmark is to educate and produce research talents while at the 
same time connecting academia and industry. This opens the eyes of students to the work 
field  by  performing  projects  with  Industry.  This  also  contributes  to  business-oriented 
research  as  well  as  business  in  SMEs  and  large  enterprises.  Projects  can  also  be 
implemented with public institutions. The main purpose of the programme is to strengthen 
collaboration between industry and academia. 

Rob Smeets of Philips highlighted that their key driver is to get outside knowledge into the 
company. A key benefit is that the company gets access to a pool of researchers. This is 
particularly important for Philips as they are in a transition from a hardware company to a 
software company. Many internal people that used to do chemistry and physics are now 
working  on  computer  science.  Via  collaboration  with  young  researchers,  the  company 
gets  insights  that  help  it  go  digital.  It  was  highlighted  that  there  were  opportunities  for 
MSCA  to  engage  more  with  European  PPPs  and  associations  who  have  experience  in 
Industry and EU programmes. 

Benjamin  Martinez  Sanchis  from  the  Coimbra  Group  highlighted  that  the  association 
brings together 40 Universities from 22 countries in one of oldest European networks. This 
started  in  1985  even  before  the  ERASMUS  programme29.  50%  of  activities  of  the  group 
are to try and influence European policies. The Industrial Doctorate is seen as key and it 
was highlighted that their value really depends on the researchers themselves. The added 
value  for  universities  is  clear.  There  is  a  need  to  strengthen  and  energise  relations, 
encourage  entrepreneurial  initiatives,  and  reinforce  competencies  and  lifelong  learning 
mentality and practices in companies.  

Murat Gunes from the MCAA echoed the added value of Industrial Doctorates. The alumni 
association bridges industry and academia, which is important as industry and academia 
speak  different  languages.  This  gives  both  sides  a  wider  perspective  so  that  industry 
understands better the research perspective and academia learns the business language. 
The ESRs  benefit  by  gaining  more  confidence  and  competitiveness  through exposure  to 
industrial experience.  

In the open discussion, it was noted that understanding academic and industrial needs is 
key. If the joint supervision really works, then the result is a good project with high impact. 
This  requires regular meetings  and often  in such  cases the  collaboration  continues after 
the  project.  However,  the  style  of  supervision  in  academia  is  different  to  supervision  in 
business,  which  offers  normally  mentoring.  It  was  highlighted  that  outcomes  are  not 
always  research  related.  For  example,  via  a  MSCA  programme,  Philips  had  gained 
knowledge  on  the  use  of  data  and  legal  constructs  as  well  as  security  and  privacy  for 
home  monitoring,  etc.  This  has  major  benefits  for  the  company  as  it  allows  them  to 
understand  how  to  appropriately  deal  with  health  data  and  access  new  markets,  e.g., 
China.  The  multidisciplinary  aspects  are  also  highly  important.  It  was  noted  that  it  is  not 
just industry that can host PhD candidates, it is also possible for a range of non-academic 
institutions  to  host  PhDs  such  as  hospitals,  policy  institutes  and  NGOs.  The  term 
“Industrial Doctorates” is thus wider than just industry.  

It  was  commented  that  organising  a  training-oriented  network  is  easier  because 
universities with similar cultures get together with the same aim. Working with industry is 
more challenging. The concept of bilateral industry doctorates had been tried in the past, 

28 https://innovationsfonden.dk/en  

29 https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/  

40 

 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

but those programmes did not give a broad European scope. It was advocated that after 
COVID-19 there is a need for a new definition of mobility. The key question is “How much 
mobility  do  we  need?”.  Post  COVID-19,  there  is  less  mobility  and  the  requirement  to 
spend  50%  of  time  abroad  has  become  a  greater  barrier.  It  was  noted  that  in  Denmark 
there had been a significant decrease in EID PhD applications due to COVID-19 and other 
instabilities. Another factor in this was a large increase in other funds available which were 
more attractive. At a national level, there is a push to increase the number of applications 
and  increase  the  number  of  grants.  Outreach  is  being  used  to  contact  companies  and 
universities  that  do  not  know  about  the  EID  programme  and  to  highlight  the  benefits.  It 
was  noted  that  it  is  beneficial  to  leave  things  more  open  in  an  industrial  doctorate 
programme  so  that  a  PhD  student  can  try  both  industry  and  academia  without  solely 
committing to either.  

In terms  of  attracting  industry,  a main  issue  is the  requirement to  publish results.  Not  all 
companies are open to publicising the research and this makes universities more reluctant 
to engage. More flexibility and less prescription are needed. The prescriptive format of the 
scheme, e.g., 50% of time within industry is a barrier and it would be better if mobility is 
driven by scientific requirements. It was noted that it is not easy to find a candidate who 
wants to change countries after 18 months. Likewise, pursuing a PhD in some countries 
may take longer than the grant, i.e., four years.  

More fundamentally, PhD preparation has largely stayed unchanged within academia. In 
general candidates concentrate on a study topic which is maybe less attractive to industry. 
There is a lack of subject-related skills and the accelerated pace of technology makes the 
skills provided less relevant to industry.  

It  was  noted  that  the  administrative  overhead  is  always  an  issue.  Although  the  role  of 
stakeholders is defined well, there is a need to be clear on the objectives of a project and 
intellectual  property.  One  way  of  making  EIDs  more  attractive  is  to  increase funding.  To 
attract  new  participants,  seminars  should  be  organised  to  share  the  positive  results  of 
previous projects. 

9. Key Messages from The Cluster Event  

to 

to 

interact 

researchers 

The  meeting  was  closed  by  Begoña  Arano  (Head  of  Department  A,  REA).  Overall,  the 
meeting showed that there was widespread consensus that the EID programme offers an 
opportunity 
in  a  structured  way,  while  stimulating 
entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in Europe. The key needs emphasized during 
the day had been the needs for flexibility and adaptation with respect to secondments and 
reporting needs. The REA is ready to see if adaptations are feasible and they are already 
trying to simplify  implementation.  The aim  is  to make the  whole scheme  as attractive as 
possible.  It  was  noted  that  synergies  and  cooperation  between  projects  should  be 
encouraged. More exchanges would be beneficial and projects could be proactive in this. 
There are many opportunities and there is a need to raise the visibility of the EID scheme, 
e.g.,  by  reaching  out  to  the  JUs  and  PPPs  which  have  a  strong  link  with  Industry.  It  is 
clear  that  the  ESRs  find  the  Industrial  Doctorate  stimulating,  which  is  good  for  both 
industry  and  academia.  A  key  outcome  of  EIDs  is  the  creation  of  long-lasting 
collaborations and these can lead to a structuring effect within Europe. This demonstrates 
the crucial role that MSCA can play in getting the academic sector together with industry 
and  business.  It  is  crucial  to  show  how  important  the  programme  is  for  innovation  in 
companies.  Finally,  it  was  noted  that  the  networking  during  the  day  had  proved  very 
positive and participants were encouraged to continue this. A key aim is to create an EID 
community to valorise and promote the scheme.  

41 

 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

Areas for Improvement 

During the cluster meeting several practical issues that need addressing were highlighted. 
Many  can  be  solved  through  exchange  of  experience  and  via  advanced  planning,  e.g., 
recruitment delays and agreements on patent ownership, however, there are some more 
fundamental  issues  such  as  the  mismatch  between  PhD  durations  and  the  EID  duration 
that require further investigation. Experience shows that start-ups and spin-offs – although 
not  an  objective  of  the  EID  programme  –  do  not  happen  frequently  and  the  support  to 
generate innovation needs to be further explored. Here, it is clear that the approach from 
the academic side needs to change and there is a need to change the mindset to nurture 
entrepreneurship training for students. This change needs to come both from the bottom 
up  and  top  down  in  PhD  programmes.  There  is  a  need  for  better  measurement  of  the 
outcomes  with  KPIs  for ESRs  both  on the  academic and  industry  side. This  is  important 
so  that the  experience  and  skills  gained by the ESRs  are measurable and  valued in the 
future.  Measurement  of  impact  is  an  issue  and  there  needs  to  be  much  better 
communication of outcomes. This is not just academic papers, but also patents and other 
outcomes.  

The  conclusions  from  the  six  parallel  workshops  (see  Table  1:  Six  parallel  workshops 
description), are compiled below: 

Joint Procedures 

1.  Considering Governance, industry-coordinated networks should be encouraged to increase engagement 

of the industry participants in project governance, supervision, management, decision-making, etc.  

2.  To  ease  recruitment,  it  would  help  if  the  requirement  for  50%  secondments/placements  in  the  non-

academic sector in a different country were relaxed.  

3.  For  generating  the  Consortium  Agreement,  it  would  be  beneficial  to  have  examples  and  better 
explanations  with  respect  to  Intellectual  Property  management  as  well  as  suitable  model  clauses  for 
industrial doctorates.  

Mobility Secondments and Training 

1.  Projects  struggle  with  many  bureaucratic  issues  (visas,  tax,  etc.)  and  rely  on  a  mix  of  support  contact 
points. The creation of a dedicated contact point would be highly beneficial to provide advice, both at the 
application and project execution phases, on visa and contractual aspects. 

2.  Networking is highly beneficial, and it is important to ensure that a diverse set of joint network events are 

available, with a good balance of face-to-face opportunities.  

3.  Project  and  /or  programme  synergies  should  be  incorporated  into  work  plans  as  they  are  very  positive 

and can lead to positive unexpected connections and benefits. 

Industry and Business Participation 

1.  The  consortium  should  analyse  and  clearly  understand  the  incentives  of  industry/business  and  engage 

them as early as possible in the EID proposal preparation phase.  

2.  Ownership of intellectual property is critical for industry/business. A clear position on ownership, including 
costs of filing and maintaining IPR needs to be agreed during proposal preparation and further clarified in 
the consortium agreement. 

3.  Good  collaboration  is  the  key  guarantor  for  effective  long-lasting  relationships  between  academic  and 
industrial organisations. It is important to have a balanced collaboration between both industry/business 
and academic supervisors to ensure mutual interests are pursued and to help the ESR to obtain holistic 
experience.  

Administration 

1.  Scientific reporting can be very demanding, particularly for small projects. Providing pre-defined formats 

of reports and deliverables for EIDs might provide a potential solution.  

2.  Additional help and experience sharing is needed when dealing with two different taxation regimes when 
multiple recruitment of an ESR is needed. The best option is to put in place double contracts to simplify 

42 

 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

the paperwork involved. 

3.  A dedicated Project Manager is a valuable member of the project team. An experienced Project Manager 
can  serve  several  projects.  Having  the  possibility  to  find  experienced  Project  Managers  within  the  EID 
project network to exchange ideas and support projects would be highly appreciated. 

Policy 

1.  There  are  clear  incentives  for  ESRs  and  academia  to  participate  in  EID  projects.  While,  to  encourage 
industry to participate there is a need to have trust, there is a need to address real industry problems and 
balance  publication  and  IPR  expectations.  Recruitment  of  good  skilled  staff  is  a  driver  for  industry  and 
more flexibility to allow easier employment of ESRs would be beneficial. 

2. 

Impact takes time and for the predominantly academic-led projects there is a need to better communicate 
the  industry  impact.  The  impact  of  projects  towards  European  Commission  policies,  such  as  the 
European Green Deal and Horizon Europe Missions, should be collected and highlighted.  

3.  There is need for entrepreneurship training to create an innovation mentality and encourage creation of 
start-ups. Researchers with strong technical and with high entrepreneurial skills help boost the European 
Economy. 

Practicalities of Projects 

1. 

It is recommended that five-year EID projects are funded to cover funding for four-year PhDs with some 
flexibility on the time required to be spent in the industry.  

2.  ESRs should be made fully aware of the EID financial rules, the conditions faced by the different ESRs 
and  their  respective  employment  conditions.  The  ESRs  should  be  employed,  where  possible,  by  the 
academic  beneficiaries  to  avoid  complications  from  different  reimbursement  policies  within  industrial 
organisations. 

3.  To avoid IPR issues it is important to distinguish from the start the ESR’s PhD research objectives from 

those research objectives that may be of direct interest to the industrial partners. 

43 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

ANNEX A: Meeting Agenda 

Time   

Topic   

Presenters  

9.30 – 9.45   

Opening 
welcome address  

remarks 

and 

Klaus Haupt (Head of Unit, MSCA Doctoral 
Networks, REA)   
 Claire Morel (Head of Unit, MSCA, DG EAC)  

9.45 – 10.00   

MSCA  EID 
brief portfolio analysis   

projects 

– 

Audrey Arfi  

(Head of Sector, MSCA Doctoral Networks, REA)  

10.00 – 10.15   

Overview of MSCA EID   
survey results   

Thomas Vyzikas  

(Project Manager, MSCA Doctoral Networks, REA)  

10.15 – 10.30   

3 testimonials by Early-Stage 
Researchers from MSCA EIDs  

Elena Detta (VIRO-FLOW)  

Mariana Pereira Guimarães (SOLOCLIM)  

Marina Avena Maia (REWATERGY)  

10.30 - 10.45   

Coffee break    

10.45 – 12.15  

6 parallel workshops   

12.15 – 13.15  

Lunch break   

13.15 – 13.35   

13.35 – 13.55  

13.55 - 14.10  

Lessons learnt and best practices 
- MSCA-ITN-2017 Project VIRO-
FLOW  

Followed by Q&A   

Lessons learnt and best practices 
- MSCA-ITN-2018 Project 
ASIMIA  

Followed by Q&A  

Keynote speech: the value of 
industrial doctorates for 
innovation and career 
development   

Selected moderators and rapporteurs;  
all participants  

Anna Banet  

(Coordinator - Institute of Chemical Research of 
Catalonia, Spain)  

Charles Hirsch  

(Coordinator - Cadence Design Systems Belgium)  

Prof Marja Makarow  
(President of Academia Europaea)  

14.10 – 15.00   

Roundtable discussion with Q&A   Benjamin Martínez Sanchis (Coimbra Group)  

Murat Gunes (Marie Curie Alumni Association)  

Rob Smeets (Philips)  

Kristine Henriksen (Innovation Fund Denmark)  

Moderator: Claire Morel (Head of Unit, DG EAC)  

15.00 – 15.15   

Coffee break    

15.15 – 16.15   

Conclusions  from  the  6  parallel 
workshops + Q&A   

Rapporteurs  

16.15 – 16.30   

Closing remarks: Summary of the 
event and follow up   

Begoña Arano   
(Head of Department, MSCA, REA)  

16.30   

End of the event  

44 

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

ANNEX B: Preparatory survey 

45 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learnt from the implementation of European Industrial Doctorates in Horizon 2020 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU 

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