Discover our CU.ecr in action

The CU.ecr offers a unique platform for sharing best practices and addressing challenges related to the training, mobility, and career development of Early-Career Researchers (ECRs) within our universities.

The CU.ecr was developed within the Circle U.'s Empowering Research Innovation Action project between 2021-2024, and was formerly known as the ECR Forum.

Community of Practice for Early-Career Reseachers (CU.ecr)

As a community of practice, the CU.ecr facilitates regular interaction among members to exchange experiences and identify areas for improvement. The CU.ecr has already conducted workshops and is creating digital tools to enhance communication among its members.

Membership includes ECRs, academic supervisors, and administrative staff supporting ECRs, such as heads or coordinators of Doctoral Schools and representatives from research institutes/centres or faculties. Building on the pioneering activities of CU ERIA, this community of practice aims to:

  • Support the skills and career development of early-career researchers.
  • Share good practices and discuss issues related to ECR training, mobility, and careers, including topics such as training content and mentoring.
  • Share and provide guidance on developing training sessions for ECRs.
  • Oversee the development of mobility schemes for ECRs and maximize mobility opportunities within the alliance.
  • Promote the use of the cotutelle de thèse model to enable ECRs to establish close ties with two CU universities for both training and research.

Fellowships

Mobility programme

Postdoc Mobility Programme

Looking to expand your research network across Europe? The Circle U. Postdoc Mobility Programme offers short-term fellowships to help postdocs find their future teams, prepare funding proposals, and take the next step in their academic careers.

Network

Circle U. Intersectoral Mobility Programme

Boost your career with Circle U.’s Intersectoral Mobility Programme: short stays for PhDs and postdocs to gain skills, expand networks, and collaborate beyond academia across Europe.

Courses

Students in Pisa
BachelorMasterPhD 5 ECTS

INCLUDE Summer School: Innovation for Inclusion, Equity and Participation in Higher Education

The INCLUDE Summer School offers an immersive learning experience combining knowledge acquisition and collaborative problem-solving around Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in higher education. The course will be hosted at the University of Pisa from the 6th to the 10th of July 2026. Participants in the INCLUDE webinar series have preferential access, but the Summer School is open to everyone.
Photo Open conversation one health
BachelorMasterPhD 0 ECTS

Open Conversation: One Planet–One Health? New Challenges for Medical Thinking in times of Climate Change

This Open Conversation explores the interdependence between climate change and disease across species and ecosystems — and why a truly holistic understanding of health must go beyond the human.
A face mask illustrating the book "Covid-19 Ad memoriam" by Laëtitia Atlani-Duault
BachelorMasterPhD

Open Conversation: Remembering the Covid-19 Pandemic

What will we ultimately remember about the Covid-19 pandemic? For many, this global crisis represented a true "anthropological rupture" – a profound moment of personal and collective change that has left deep societal scars.
Water Energy
BachelorMasterPhD 0 ECTS

Water in a Changing Climate: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus

This online lecture explores water as a central pillar of the Water-Energy-Food (WFE) Nexus, highlighting how hydrological instability affects agriculture, energy systems, and urban infrastructure — and how adaptation strategies can strengthen resilience.
SeventyFour, MotionArray
BachelorMasterPhD 0 ECTS

Open Conversation: Navigating power in international interactions: a view across languages and cultures

This Open Conversation explores how power relations are shaped not just by politics and economics, but by the everyday ways we address and interact with each other — across languages, cultures, and international contexts.
A woman shopping for groceries
PhD 5 ECTS

Sustainable Food Systems and Interdisciplinary Research Practices: A Mission Driven Approach

This interdisciplinary course is designed to equip future scientists with the skills needed to conduct research within sustainable food systems. It aims to provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the field while introducing key research methodologies, and project management and proposal writing techniques.
Lightning in the sky
22
Apr.
2026

Climate change and extreme weather events

Photo Open conversation one health
22
Apr.
2026

Open Conversation: One Planet–One Health? New Challenges for Medical Thinking in times of Climate Change

women founder network
04
May.
2026

WFN "From Potential to Power" Spring Track 2026

Lichens on a tree
Past
15
Apr.
2026

Intersectionality in Research: what it is and why it matters

The alliance of 9 European Universities