Insights from the first INSIGHT engagement workshop
Career pathways beyond academia remain difficult to navigate. At INSIGHT’s first online engagement workshop, 60 participants from across the research and innovation ecosystem explored how practical experience, mentoring, clearer guidance and stronger cross-sector cooperation can help early-stage researchers build more sustainable careers.
Bridging research and industry in practice
On 16 July 2026, the INSIGHT project brought together 60 participants for the online workshop “Bridging Research and Industry: New Career Pathways for Early-Stage Researchers.” Researchers, universities, research organisations, companies, innovation intermediaries and public-sector actors explored where cooperation between academia and industry currently falls short and what could make it more useful for researchers at the beginning of their careers.
The academic and research community formed the largest participant group, alongside representatives from SMEs and industry, business support organisations, public authorities, research support structures and the INSIGHT consortium. The discussion also highlighted the need to involve more employers, HR professionals and funding actors in future activities.
Mariya Zlateva from RAPIV and Matteo Falsetta from 28DIGITAL introduced the workshop’s practical focus and connected it to INSIGHT’s wider ambition to strengthen researchers’ skills, networks and career opportunities. Raluca Coscodaru from UEFISCDI presented the role of universities, companies, public authorities and intermediaries in building stronger talent ecosystems, while Gülsah Solmaz from Fraunhofer FIT introduced the European Charter for Researchers as a framework for improving recruitment, career development, mobility and working conditions.
A clear message emerged: contacts and joint projects alone do not guarantee meaningful cooperation. Opportunities must also be visible, accessible, fairly structured and connected to researchers’ longer-term development.
Insights from the participants
Participants worked in four breakout groups facilitated by Omar Veledar and Georg Macher from Graz University of Technology, Suad Krilašević from the Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology, and Raluca Coscodaru from UEFISCDI. Using a shared board, the groups identified challenges, explored cooperation opportunities and used dot voting to indicate the ideas they considered most relevant.
Career options beyond academia are still difficult to see
Early-stage researchers and students often have limited information about careers outside universities and research organisations. In some disciplines, academic research and teaching remain the most visible or traditionally expected routes. Alternative opportunities may exist, but researchers do not always receive enough guidance to understand where their competences could be valuable or how to present them in a different professional context.
Researchers and employers often work to different expectations
Participants described a gap between academic and industrial working cultures. Academic environments may prioritise theoretical quality, publication and longer-term investigation, while companies frequently work around implementation timelines, customer needs and measurable outcomes. These differences influence how researchers interpret industry roles and how employers assess academic experience. They can also create pressure in joint arrangements when researchers are expected to satisfy two sets of requirements without sufficient coordination between the organisations involved.
Practical exposure can make career transitions more realistic
Company visits, job shadowing, placements, internships, industry case studies, guest lectures and short research residencies were repeatedly proposed. These formats can give researchers first-hand experience of non-academic working environments while helping employers understand the knowledge and capabilities available within universities and research organisations.
Mentoring and guidance help researchers navigate uncertainty
Mentoring was highlighted as an important source of support for researchers who are still exploring their options. An experienced mentor can help them interpret different career routes, understand institutional and employer expectations, identify transferable competences and maintain momentum when academic opportunities are limited or uncertain. Participants also called for clearer career navigation that brings existing opportunities and support services into a more coherent pathway.
Networking needs a route to action
Participants were clear that networking should lead to more than an exchange of contact details. Connections made at events often fade because there is no structure for follow-up. Career talks, targeted matchmaking, thematic workshops, informal coffee chats and communities of practice could become more valuable when they lead towards a defined next step, such as an applied challenge, consultancy opportunity, training activity or joint research idea.
Cooperation should be two-way and ecosystem-wide
The groups did not frame cooperation as a one-directional transition in which researchers simply adapt to industry. Companies can also contribute to teaching, curriculum development and the formulation of research questions. Several participants argued for broader involvement from public authorities, schools, community organisations, intermediaries and other actors that shape regional talent ecosystems. Multi-stakeholder laboratories linked to universities were suggested as one possible space for presenting needs, developing talent and testing new forms of cooperation.
Ideas to take forward
The workshop generated several practical formats that INSIGHT can examine further through its training, career-support and sectoral engagement activities:
- short research residencies, placements and job-shadowing opportunities;
- structured cross-sector mentoring and career guidance;
- company-led career talks, applied case studies and workplace exposure;
- matchmaking around concrete research, innovation and consultancy challenges;
- multi-stakeholder laboratories or communities that support continued cooperation;
- training for researchers, HR professionals and institutional leaders; and
- mechanisms that recognise experience and competences gained across sectors.
These proposals came from an exploratory workshop and will need to be considered in relation to specific sectors, institutional settings and participant needs. Upcoming INSIGHT sectoral workshops will provide an opportunity to examine the most promising approaches in greater depth, particularly in manufacturing, automotive, deep tech, robotics and Green Deal-related fields.
What comes next
The findings will inform INSIGHT’s training pathways, mentoring and career-support services, future sectoral workshops and Talent Ecosystem Roadmap. They also reinforced a clear message: researchers should not be left to navigate cross-sector career transitions alone. INSIGHT will continue working with stakeholders to embed stronger career support and cooperation into everyday practice.
