1. Reviewers are actually concerned about what in one sentence.

They would like to find that you can educate doctoral researchers of the finest grade in a manner that is organized, intersectoral, and practical to the society. Great science means much, however, when training plan is lack-lustre you have problems.

2. What can I do to be doing the heavy lifting on the first page?

It is also known as an elevator pitch to your project. Begin with the social issue, and then point out the knowledge gap, your answer, why this discipline is ideal in training the next generation, and a general overview of how you plan to do it. A little diagram would be a long way to go. When a reviewer is unable to give a summary of your project at the end of the first page, you are already losing momentum.

3. Training beats science, the truth?

Yes, but don’t get it wrong. The DN is the research employed around the firm training programme. Write down the technical sections, transferable capabilities (writing, communication, project management, entrepreneurship) and the manner in which you will evaluate the latter. What, and how long, and to whom, teach it, say it distinctly. General information such as workshops will be organized will not suffice.

4. What is interdisciplinary, international, intersectoral in the real life?

Interdisciplinary: the skills must not only co-exist but also be complementary.

International: they select partners based on expertise, and not nationality.

Intersectoral: non-academic partners literally work – co-supervising, teaching sessions, and hosting secondments with definite learning objectives. A good rule of thumb: two supervisors in each sector and country of the ESR.

5. What is the interaction between ESR projects?

Reason like being chained. Find common data sets, common protocols or common benchmarks, but do not have dependencies such that one ESR cannot begin until another one is complete. Secondments must not be in vain, but must be sufficiently few: preferably less than a third of every ESR project time.

6. How shall we write?

Front-load your key messages. Introduction paragraphs should have a point and a conclusion. Deliver tangible, measurable results: publish curated datasets, release a prototype within 12 months, organise summer schools consisting of 25 or more trainees, submit a position paper to a standards organisation.

7. What does it mean to demonstrate that your consortium is outstanding?

Track records that support what you say: previous supervision experience, intersectoral secondments which have brought into employment, laboratory access and instrumentation. Label what you already manage cleanrooms, microfabrication cycles, imaging time, SOPs, safety schemes. Declarations of being day-one ready sound better.

8. What is the reason why powerful ideas fail?

Since the scheme does not agree with the story. A Doctoral Network is not a research project that has a training attachment. When training, supervision and mobility are merely seen as ancillary concerns you will fall behind to a slightly less dominant science plan, which has an airtight pedagogical strategy.

9. Part B: relatively fast structural advice?

Make no more than 2-3 promises on every page with a metric.

Each aspect of training must have an owner, audience, hours and evaluation.

Go ahead and have a practical mitigation on each risk: backup lab, alternative material or pre-agreed reallocation not just empty assurances.

10. But what is the real difference of MIC?

MIC turns plans into reality. We create complete experimental systems (chips, flow control, sensors, automation), develop equipment and construct proof-of-concept instruments to train on. Having MIC onboard is a typical driver of your success in Europe consortia – reviewers can actually see the prototypes, believable Gantt pathways, and plausible training paths. In addition, we assist in co-writing proposals and strategising valorisation in such a way that your outputs are utilised.