Content and quality of the training and transfer
of knowledge programme

The main training objective of the network is to play a decisive role in the education of highly-talented young researchers with the potential to become leading scientists in an academic environment, competent project managers in industry or successfull educators. The network aspires to provide young researchers with a training experience that goes well beyond the training experience that a single institution or research group can provide. It will make an important contribution to the personal and scientific development of young researchers that will improve their chances for access to the career of their choosing, be it in science, industry or in education. More specifically the network will provide training addressing three objectives:

1)      The network will train the young researchers in general personal skills such as management, communication and educational skills. Training in these skills is already inherent in the concept of having an international network (through the formative experience of living in a different cultural environment), but will be further stimulated by the network through dedicated actions like tutorials & courses.

2)      The network will train the young researchers in general research skills that will increase their access to a career in science. Shortly after completing their training young researchers enter one of the most challenging periods in their scientific career, where they have to make the transition from being trained in a (generally protective) research environment to becoming an independent researcher. In the course of this process they have to face many challenging questions:

• how do I choose the field of research that I want to apply my efforts to and the scientific environment where I will carry out my research?
• how do I write research papers, present my work within the scientific community and write a research proposal?
• how do I interact with my scientific peers, become a recognized member of  a scientific community and build up my own network?
• how do I manage my own team and provide training to junior researchers?

Being part of the network will make it transparent to the young researchers how these questions are addressed in the research environment where their training takes place, and will give them hands-on experience whenever possible (e.g. asking them to take part in writing a research proposal and by involving them in the research policy of the network).

3)   The network will train the young researchers specific research skills in ultrafast laser physics by involving them in state-of-the-art research, both on the development of ultrafast optical techniques and in important applications of these techniques in atomic physics, molecular physics and solid state physics. This is an ideal preparation for a career in science or industry. The latter, particularly hi-tech companies, requires a knowledgeable and highly-trained workforce and people with an ability to take on challenges. The research program of the network is extremely demanding, requiring dedication and significant technical ability. The work is also technologically intensive, requiring a good understanding of instrumentation, electronics, and good IT skills. The network will develop these skills by providing a stimulating and active research environment.

Generally, all the training activities provided by the network will facilitate access for the young researchers to the career landscape that they encounter at end of their education. This landscape has a horizontal infrastructure (research environment at universities, institutions and industry, laboratory-scale research versus research at large-scale facilities, the existence of different cultures and nationalities) and a vertical infrastructure (a hierarchical structure with an expected career path and ‘rules of conduct’, a stratification of levels where policy aspects are/are not discussed) that is difficult to penetrate.

Therefore, training in general and specific scientific skills, in personal development, and in networking skills is stimulated by the network by a number of mandatory provisions (and by facilitating student-driven provisions!):

• Upon entry into the network, every young researcher will set up a career development plan together with his/her host where individualized training objectives will be identified, taking into account the specific needs of the early stage or experienced researcher. These individualized objectives will naturally include the scientific activities of the young researcher, but will also adress the possibility for local training in management skills (enrollment in courses on project management; objectives 1&2), educational skills (involvement in the supervision of junior students; objectives 1&2), presentation skills (specific training in writing scientific papers and proposals, as well as making oral presentations; objectives 1&2), and language skills (objective 1). Also, a plan will be made at this point for the partner visits that the young researchers are expected to undertake (objectives 2&3). In the case of an early stage researcher who will be employed for at least one year, the host will take it upon him/herself to provide at least three practical possibilities for these partner visits that the early stage researcher can choose from, the aim being that every early stage researchers spends on average at least one out of every twelve months of their employment by the network in a different laboratory, with special attention to research that lies outside the main task that the early stage researcher is involved in him/herself. In case of an experienced researcher, the career development plan will be used to assess the implementation of the knowledge transfer aspects that the employment of this researcher is expected to facilitate.

The career development plan is re-assessed every 12 months. In the case of young researchers whose employment ends within 18 months from the time that the career development plan is formulated, the practical implementation of their career development after the termination of the network employment will be an important aspect of the career development plan.

The network coordinator has appointed a network training coordinator, who will ensure that a career development plan is formulated for each young researcher employed by the network, who will monitor that the plans written down in the career development plan are implemented, and who will consult with the coordinator, the young researcher and the scientific supervisor of the young researcher to determine an appropriate course of action in case of deviations from the plan.

• Network meetings play an important role in the training of the young researchers, the communication between the network partners and the interactions of the network with the larger scientific community. A total of 8 network meetings will be held (see next page) with a specific target or theme each time, and accordingly, a specific implementation. The young researchers will participate fully in these meetings. They will make oral presentations on their research (objectives 1&2) and will have the opportunity to interact with both the senior scientific staff in the network and their peers (objectives 2&3), the latter giving them the opportunity to form their own network (objective 2). The meetings will be held at different laboratories within the network and laboratory visits will be arranged on each occasion, providing the young researchers with an opportunity to sample a wide range of different research environments (objectives 2&3).
• The 1^st network meeting will be held shortly after the start of the network activities and will be a joint meeting with the ATTO network, where the XTRA network partners inform each other in detail about their plans. This 1^st network meeting should expand the currently existing links and collaborations between different teams in the network. From then on, a series of four network meetings are planned (interrupted by the Midterm Review) where the program includes a half-day session dedicated to one of the specific tasks of the network (Tasks A-D, see B1). Specialists outside the network will be invited to present overview lectures/tutorials on their field (reflecting  on the importance of the network activities for their field) and thematically relevant Marie-Curie networks will be invited to join the proceedings. For example, when discussing the Atomic Physics Task, the COCOMO network (Coherence and Control in Atomic and Molecular Systems and Processes, including IESL and AMOLF) will be invited, whereas the PICNIC (Product Imaging and Correlation, Non-adiabatic Interactions in Chemistry, including Saclay and AMOLF) will be invited for the discussion of the Molecular Physics Task. The discussion of the Development Task for the network will be coordinated with the Integrated Infrastructure Initiative (I3) that is currently being prepared by members of the current LASERNET cluster (including Lund, Vienna, CELIA, IESL, MPQ, Milano, LOA and Saclay), while the network invitations relevant to the Solid State Physics Task will depend on which other networks are established in the 6^th Framework programme. The joint meetings with the other networks will allow the young researchers to interact with their peers in these networks, will be used for knowledge transfer in the relevant research area and to learn about useful training practices in the other networks. The 7^th network meeting will be a joint meeting with the synchrotron/FEL community and will address the implications of the accomplishments of the network to the ongoing developments in this community, like the development of XUV FEL’s. Finally, the 8^th network meeting will be used to promote the accomplishments of the network to the wider scientific community and will be organized in combination with a large international conference, giving the young researchers an opportunity to present their results to the larger scientific community.

 

Network Meeting	Approximate Schedule (months)	Central theme	Knowledge transfer
1	2	Start-up meeting: internal training	n.a.
2	6	The Development Task	Integrated Infrastructure Initiative
3	14	The Atomic Physics Task	COCOMO-network
4	20	The Molecular Physics Task	PICNIC-network
5	26	Midterm Review
6	33	The Solid State Physics Task	6th framework network
7	40	New frontiers in XUV Physics	Synchrotron/FEL community
8	47	Network Accomplishments	Large international conference

 

• At every network meeting a young researcher business meeting will be organized, where the young researchers can discuss any aspects relevant to their participation in the network. It will be the responsibility of the young researchers to set the agenda for this meeting. However, the agenda will always contain: 1) an assessment of the training provided by their respective hosts, trying to identify aspects of the training that can be further improved; 2) an assessment of the implementation of the career development plan, including the non-scientific training that the young researchers receive at their host organization; and 3) an assessment of the progress of and opportunities for laboratory exchanges as defined in the career development plan.
• The business meeting of the network partners that is to be held during each network meeting will be open to all young researchers.  The young researchers will be asked to appoint a junior coordinator, who will report on the outcome of the young researcher business meeting. At the start of the network activities the coordinator and the network training coordinator will assist in the selection of an experienced researcher as junior coordinator, while in the later stages this selection will be left to the young researchers themselves.
• A summer/winter school will be organized as soon as 8-10 young researchers have been employed by the network. This school will train the young researchers in a wide range of topics related to the tasks that the network has defined (development of specialized optical techniques, high harmonic generation, time-resolved measurements, etc.), but will also supplement the training in personal development and management skills provided at a local level. For example, on the last day of this summer school the young researchers will be asked to take on the organization of the next network meeting following the school. They will be asked to set up the scientific program for this meeting (including choosing and inviting the speakers from outside the network) and take care of the practical organisation (choice of the venue, reservations, etc.). Of course, the network coordinator and the network training coordinator will be available to advice them, where necessary. At the time of preparation of this proposal four of the partners in the network have already indicated their availability for the joint organization of the summer school.
• Beyond these planned activities the network will operate on the basis that any valuable additions to the training programme suggested by the young researchers themselves will be strongly encouraged. In fact, it should be pointed out that several of the new elements that are implemented in the training of the network (like the organization of a young researcher business meeting and the organization of a summer school) are the result of specific suggestions by young researchers in earlier research training networks in the 5^th framework programme.

Training on specialized scientific skills in their field of interest will also receive a lot of attention in the network. Several instruments are used to train the young researchers on their specific research projects and to broaden their scientific scope.

• The young researcher will work under close supervision of the network partner, with room for independence in accordance with the experience of the young researcher. All of the partners participating in this network are highly-respected scientists with an excellent track record, that work on the forefront of their field using state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical techniques. Each host can provide the young researchers with an excellent environment for carrying out challenging and innovative research.
• The composition of the network has been chosen to ensure that the young researchers are provided with a broad view of the possibilities in this field, and the different ways to do research on this topic. Within the network there is a balance between teams that are pushing the technology of the generation and characterization of ultrashort XUV pulses, while other teams address fundamental questions in atomic physics, molecular physics and solid state physics using these technologies. Several of the teams work in a university environment, whereas others operate at national laboratories. And the inclusion of two nodes from North-America provides the young researchers with a unique opportunity not only to interact with the world-leading scientists in these nodes, but also to get a flavor of the scientific world outside Europe. Through frequent visits the young researchers will have the opportunity to extensively sample these different environments.

 

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XTRA Network page	March 2004
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