1st Central and Eastern European Congress for Research Managers – a new regional forum for the RMA community

4 &5 November 2025, Brussels –The first CEE Congress for Research Managers and Administrators will gather the region’s RMA community for two days of keynotes, panels, parallel workshops, focused sessions and networking. The programme walks through the full project lifecycle, i.e. from developing RMA talent, shaping proposals and budgets to implementation, impact and reporting.

How did the Congress come about?

The Congress grows out of a decade of V4 Trainings for Research Project Managers, organised by the Brussels liaison offices of the Czech Republic (CZELO), Hungary (NRDIO), Poland (PolSCA) and Slovakia (SLORD). This long-standing practical cooperation has naturally evolved into a pan-European platform for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) aimed at strengthening the visibility of the RMA profession, exchanging good practices and co-creating standards. It marks a shift from a training series to a flagship event that builds durable networks, policy dialogue and institutional partnerships.

Why now? Because the RMA community in CEE needs a dedicated space to join forces across institutions and countries, accelerate skills development across the whole project cycle, and do so in a way aligned with ERA priorities and open to partners from all over Europe.

What’s in the programme?

Day 1. Setting the Stage for Research Management Excellence

• Opening & Keynote: Advancing research excellence in CEE through professional research management.
• Plenary: Building a stronger ERA; panel on “Unlocking CEE’s Research Potential” with a spotlight on institutional cooperation and national support systems for RMAs.
• Parallel sessions:
  • Pre-pre-award — talent development and RMA career pathways
  • Pre-award — from idea to proposal, alignment with EU priorities
  • Post-award — compliant, efficient project delivery
• Focused Session 1: Digital collaboration and management tools — demos and user-to-user exchange.
• Evening reception for informal networking.

Day 2. Deep Dives into Research Management Phases

• Parallel sessions:
  • Pre-pre-award — soft skills (communication, leadership, negotiation)
  • Pre-award — budgeting and financial planning
  • Post-award — impact and reporting
• Plenary: Best practices in research management — translating proven models into the CEE context; roundtable on cross-border collaboration, regional support and joint solutions.
• Focused Session 2: AI in research management — practical tools, institutional readiness, ethics and governance.
• Closing: A shared vision for RMA development in CEE and next steps for professionalisation.

See the full PROGRAMME

Media contact: Łukasz Pieczonka (PolSCA): lukasz.pieczonka@polsca.pan.pl

The event is aimed at research managers and administrators from universities, research institutions and innovation centres in Central and Eastern Europe who have participated in previous editions of the V4 Training for Research Managers, organised periodically in Brussels by the PolSCA Office and partners from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

For the summary of event, please click: HERE