INESC TEC boosts European presence and early-career researcher community through YEAR and BEAR

The Institute created BEAR – Boosting EArly-stage Researchers to provide a dedicated space for early-career researchers. Bringing together professionals from different fields who share common challenges, the network aims to give this community a stronger voice, foster collaboration and professional development, and connect researchers with the opportunities offered by YEAR – Young European Associated Researchers.

With this goal in mind, Romão Santos, Miguel Guimarães and João Fontoura represented both BEAR and INESC TEC at the YEAR Annual Conference 2026, organised by VITO from 15 to 17 June in Brussels (under the theme Science to Society: From Knowledge to Impact). Romão Santos also attended in his capacity as a member of the YEAR Board and the network’s Mobility Manager.

The conference programme featured keynote talks, hands-on training, networking opportunities and a visit to the European Parliament, reinforcing the connections between research, society and public policy. Speakers included Inge Neven, CEO of VITO, Nils Wuytens, also from VITO, and Giorgia Diomede from EARTO, who discussed turning knowledge into impact, creating ventures and spin-offs, and the role of Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) within Europe’s research and innovation ecosystem.

The programme also included the Science for Policy training course, delivered by Sven Retoré and Lene Topp, which focused on communicating science to policymakers. Participants explored topics such as developing key messages, storytelling, visual communication, policy briefs, managing uncertainty and adapting scientific language for non-expert audiences.

“Our participation was important in consolidating INESC TEC’s presence within the YEAR network, raising the profile of BEAR, exchanging experiences with researchers from other European organisations and gathering best practices for future internal initiatives,” said Romão Santos.

From Europe to Braga

The knowledge gained and connections established in Brussels continued on 10 July with the first in-person BEAR workshop, held at HASLab (Braga); the event was coordinated by Romão Santos and Carla Gonçalves, who are responsible for leading the network.

The workshop brought together early-career researchers from different INESC TEC Centres to reinforce the community, encourage networking and discuss upcoming initiatives. Throughout the day, participants were introduced to the activities of BEAR and YEAR, explored opportunities for mobility and participation in European initiatives, and took part in collaborative sessions on career development, AI tools for research, and the community’s regulations.

Participation in the YEAR Annual Conference and the organisation of the workshop in Braga marked two complementary milestones: setting INESC TEC’s European presence while turning that engagement into tangible opportunities for the internal research community.

BEAR – Boosting EArly-stage Researchers remains open to new members: early-career researchers at INESC TEC who are interested in joining the community can contact bear@inesctec.pt.