CATRIN organized training for project managers with top experts

A three-day training session for research project managers, with experts from the renowned Hungarian company Europa Media as trainers, was held by CATRIN at the end of May. Colleagues from all parts of Palacký University were invited and welcomed. The event was attended by about 20 participants and was financed by two CATRIN’s Twinning projects—Nano4Tarmed and SAN4Fuel.

“The training was designed to meet in particular the needs of the so-called post-award project managers working in research. Participants gained a lot of information and also did practical exercises focused on project management, especially cost reporting. Together with the lecturers, we focused on issues regarding eligible costs, periodic or final reporting or calculation of eligible personnel costs. However, also our pre-award project managers were not left short of valuable information concerning grants proposals,” said the organizer, Monika Klimparová, from CATRIN.

CATRIN invited colleagues from the other university units as well, so that they could gain new information and share their experience. In total, more than two dozen university employees from the field of project management took part in the event.

“The seminar was very valuable as it was interactive and full of practical information. I liked that it was not only theoretical, but also involved practical insights shared by experienced lecturers who are active in the field and manage projects themselves. The final workshop focused on calculating personnel costs, which is one of the hot issues of projects funded by the European Commission Framework Programmes, was very beneficial,” said Pavla Tresterová from the UP Project Service.

Eva Richterová, her colleague from the UP Project Service, also gave a positive feedback on the event. “The seminar was a great benefit for me, mainly thanks to the amazing professionalism and presentation skills of both speakers, a comprehensive and detailed look at the H2020/HE project implementation and especially from the point of view of those who deal with these projects in practice. I consider the practical insights and the final workshop to be very valuable. I will certainly use all the provided materials and templates and return to them,” she said.

Europa Media supports various types of organisations, including universities, research institutions, non-profit organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises, so that they can make efficient use of funding coming from European sources. The training at CATRIN was made possible by European projects which, in addition to scientific tasks, also aim to support the improvement of the competences of project managers through the exchange of knowledge in an international environment.