Introduced at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, the mandatory training programme for scientific staff at the University of Liège has delivered a positive first assessment. Since September 2025, nearly 500 researchers have taken part in the programme. This initiative is part of the institution’s HRS4R strategy (Human Resources Strategy for Researchers), which aims to align human resources management practices with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers.
As research careers continue to evolve, the skills expected of researchers now go far beyond scientific expertise alone. Scientific ethics and integrity, open science, sustainability, data management, supervision, teaching, knowledge transfer and career development are now an integral part of research careers.
In this context, the University of Liège has introduced this new mandatory programme for new members of its scientific staff. Also open on a voluntary basis to staff already in post, it offers a structured training pathway designed to support researchers according to their profile, missions and career stage.
“This programme reflects a strong ambition: to provide each researcher with the guidance, tools and skills they need to evolve in a responsible, demanding and international research environment. It also sends an important institutional message: continuing training for scientific staff is an essential lever for quality, integrity and attractiveness at the University of Liège,” explains Véronique Larosa, Executive Officer for Research at the University of Liège.
The programme is structured around two complementary components. The first, which is common to all relevant scientific staff, comprises a half-day institutional induction, a full day devoted to ethics and scientific integrity —including issues relating to open science— and a module dedicated to sustainability and the transition.
The second component is divided into six categories: PhD student, research assistant, PhD research assistant, postdoctoral researcher, tenured research staff, and tenured teaching staff. Depending on the category, it combines mandatory and recommended training modules to take account of the diversity of roles and career stages.
Particular attention is given to PhD students at the beginning of their studies, particularly through the seminar “Pars-en-thèse”, as well as to those involved in teaching, through the training courses offered by IFRES.
During this first academic year of implementation, nearly 500 researchers took part in the mandatory programme, qith a total of over 1,400 registrations for the various training activities offered :
Beyond the mandatory program, the training offerings for researchers continue to expand. This year, 145 training courses were offered, attracting over 1,000 researchers participating, for a total of more than 3,400 registrations. These courses cover a wide range of cross-disciplinary skills useful throughout a scientific career and beyond.
Beyond the figures, this first assessment confirms the value of a clear framework to support research careers. The pathway helps new researchers better understand their working environment, identify the support services available, and develop the skills essential to contemporary research practice.
It also helps to foster a shared culture on the University’s core values: scientific integrity, responsibility, openness, quality, sustainability and professional development.
“The pathway helps make the range of training opportunities clearer, more coherent and more accessible. It also provides researchers with concrete entry points to identify the resources, services and training programmes that can support them at every stage of their career,” says Evelyne Favart, coordinator of the Skills Development and Doctorate unit at ULiège-RISE.
With this training programme, the University of Liège istrenghtens its commitment to an attractive, responsible, and sustainable research environment, in line with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and its HRS4R action plan.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE MANDATORY TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR RESEARCH STAFF
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