Welcome to the METEOR online Training Resources!
The online Training Resources you can find below are designed to help you think and learn about various aspects of research, innovation, and development in the context of postgraduate careers. Although we are using an off-the-shelf e-learning platform, the resources are mainly here to support discussion in groups and to raise questions. There is no pass/fail system or grading involved. However, we do provide assignments in the form of structured exercises for individual and group reflection.
The main purpose of METEOR is to develop transversal skills for PhD students and Early Career Researchers. Transversal skills, also known as transferable skills, are skills that are not specific to one kind of research topic (e.g., finding Higgs Bosons). They include skills such as teamworking, communication, and evaluation that can be applied in a wide range of situations.
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Teamworking is central to METEOR, and collaborative learning by doing is the best way of acquiring these skills. This, in turn, requires tasks to be set, and the main task in METEOR is to develop an outward-looking ecological research and innovation project proposal within a transformative research and innovation ecosystem.
The METEOR Programme as a whole has four main components:
- Peer mentoring groups (PMG): these are your teams, with interaction online and face-to-face within and between teams. Each team has the ultimate goal of preparing a Transformative Research and Innovation Proposal, which will be scored and published.
- METEOR academies, in 2026 and 2027: these are week-long face-to-face events in which participants come together for intensive discussions and learning activities.
- The online Training Resources as described here.
- Transformative Research and Innovation Proposals (TRIPS): these will be the final product of your collaborative work in METEOR and will be evaluated, published, and promoted by the project.
Participants will be considered to have completed the programme if they contribute to all activities, even if they cannot physically attend an academy, and have accessed and engaged with a substantial proportion of the training resources. This will be specified in more detail in the individual TRs.
There are three options for participation in METEOR:
- The first option is full participation in a peer mentoring group (PMG) over 12–15 months, attendance at two one-week academies in 2026 and 2027, and submission of a group Transformative Research and Innovation Proposal (TRIP). All travel and related expenses will be paid by METEOR on the basis of a limited number of places.
- The second option is online participation in a PMG over 12–15 months, and full or partial involvement in at least one TRIP.
- The third option is to use the online Training Resources and forums, but without contributing to a TRIP. There will be a final reflective evaluation, completion of which will result in an attendance certificate.
All participants must register their participation through one of the partner institutions, but we welcome participants from other institutions, although we may be unable to cover expenses for physical academy participation.
The Training Resources are each focused on one aspect of a transformative research and innovation ecosystem. We have structured them like conventional e-learning courses, but they work like YouTube: you can dip in and out as required. The important point is that the resources provide support for your collaborative activities within the METEOR programme as a whole. Each resource has a dedicated coordinator, who will be able to answer questions about the content or process of the respective training resource.
Accreditation
Due to various administrative issues around the awarding of ECTS credits, METEOR is unable to award credits directly. This will be addressed by your own institution as appropriate, but all METEOR partners have agreed to treat the programme as being within the scope of their own accreditation systems for PhD training.
Available Training Resources
A. Transformative Research
Transformative Research Training Resource positions METEOR in an ecosystem that supports, amongst other things, Transformative Research, Education for Sustainable Development, Global Citizenship, Climate Change Education, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in other words, world-changing research and innovation. We discuss what is meant by transformative research and link it to ideas of transformative personal growth.
B. Intercultural Competence and Inclusion
Intercultural Competence and Inclusion Training Resource emphasises the importance of intercultural and transcultural understanding in promoting the kinds of inclusive practices and cooperative learning necessary for Global Citizenship. For METEOR, intercultural understanding is fundamental to enabling productive transnational teamworking.
C. Collaboration and Teamwork
Collaboration and Teamwork Training Resource presents various approaches to collaboration, including the allocation of team roles, group leadership and building engagement. Our participatory models emphasise diversity and inclusion, building trust, task allocation and having effective communication practices. This TR will help to develop concrete scenarios for reflecting, learning, and applying concepts and methods of collaboration and teamwork in producing transformative Research and Innovation Proposals (TRIPS).
D. Supervision and Mentoring
Supervision and Mentoring Training Resource is based on the idea that supervision and mentoring can be seen as special instances of collaboration and teamwork. This training resource will help participants understand the value of mentoring, including peer mentoring, and coaching in career development. Another objective of this TR is to maintain collaboration between existing supervisors/mentors and METEOR participants, avoiding conflicting priorities, whilst increasing the quality of supervision and the openness of doctoral education to transversal skills improvement.
E. Research Proposal Evaluation Training
Research Proposal Evaluation Training Resource argues that evaluation should be an integral part of the research ecosystem, with systematic consideration of the aims and criteria involved. The objective of this TR is also to enable consistent and fair evaluation of TRIPS, bearing in mind their trans-disciplinary and international/intercultural aspects. This TR will also be a valuable resource for institutions, especially for those involved with grant writing.
F. Research and Innovation Project Design
Research and Innovation Project Design Training Resource covers the process of converting an initial idea into a viable project. This resource is designed to help at the early stages of project design, thinking about design for impact, what kinds of data might be involved, and their implications for analysis and project excellence. It will also help doctoral candidates in the early stages of their studies, by raising questions about the purpose, scope and methods of research.
G. Impact and Behavioural Change
Impact and Behavioural Change Training Resource supports reflection on these under-examined aspects of research. It covers scenario building, forecasting and visualising various methods and strategies for effective behavioural change. Themes such as sustainability, social innovation and participatory strategies, diversity and inclusion, will be discussed in terms of impact and how to achieve it.
H. Project Management and Implementation
Project Management and Implementation Training Resource is about getting it done. Once your intercultural team has come together with a brilliant idea, designed a project that evaluates well, with maximum impact, this TR will focus on how to manage an efficient and effective project. It will draw both on academic experience of project management and from enterprise methods and tools, helping to keeps things running smoothly, on time and within budget. This will help with practical aspects of the proposal writing process.
I. Entrepreneurship, Exploitation and Career Development
Entrepreneurship, Exploitation and Career Development Training Resource will cover issues around business creation, entrepreneurial social innovation or “intrapreneurship” in academia. Explaining how you will exploit your idea, or making a business case for an activity, are vital career skills.
J. Communication and Dissemination
Communication and Dissemination Training Resource builds on the extensive experience of METEOR partners in the field of research communication and dissemination, and will enable participants to use state of the art techniques to communicate and disseminate to target audiences, including social media, policy briefs and other non-traditional channels.
