MITGEST first midterm meeting was a success

On November 29, 2023, for the first time, the MITGEST consortium got together with the MITGEST project officer Gergana Simeonova-Arida to update our progress and talk about plans. After a warm welcome from the project coordinator Carlo Vascotto, a round-the-table took place where supervisors of doctoral candidates (DCs) and associated partners introduced their roles in the project. The consortium brings together partners with complementary expertise and specialities, coming from different sectors, both academic and industrial. The consortium members introduced their involvement both as a beneficiary on the institutional level and as supervisors of DCs and secondments. 

The online meeting was an excellent opportunity to communicate the progress of the project, and challenges within the first months as well as discuss future plans and direction of MITGEST research. The presentation discussed many aspects of the project which included:

Introductions

• Introduction from the MITGEST coordinator 
• Presentation of all research teams regarding their role in the project, including the Introduction of the Associated Partners (APs)

Project Updates

• European Research Executive Agency (REA) Project Officer presentation on “Monitoring of project implementation, reporting and purpose of the mid-term check”  – what is expected from the project and the supervisors, including milestones and dissemination.
• Coordinator’s report on the network and the progress

DCs Updates

• Fellows’ individual presentation (5-10 min each) during which DCs present themselves, their background and their research projects (foreseen research, training, secondments, etc.)
• Restricted session with the DCs that focused on the discussion between the project officer and the researchers
• The DCs presentations allowed them to show their understanding of the project and their role within the project to the PO. The restricted session with the PO fostered an open discussion about the recruitment, challenges and lessons learned, elaborating on what has been successful and what DCs want to achieve from the project. 

The meeting was then rounded off with a summary of what has been discussed and the next steps for the project coordinator and project partners as well as the DCs.  Overall, the meeting was a success, and the consortium brings partners with many expertise and specialities together and we look forward to the continued success of our consortium.

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