The PRAETORIAN training programme consists of three main elements:
Local scientific skills training
All PRAETORIAN fellows will be enrolled into a PhD programme of one of the academic beneficiaries, where the fellow will work on an individual research project. The local training will include the active participation in lab meetings, journal clubs and institutional seminars available in each of the participating institutions. Local training will also include enrolment in PhD courses offered locally by each of the participating graduate schools. Each fellow will establish a Personal Career Development Plan comprising training needs and scientific/professional objectives.
Network-wide training in scientific and transferable skills
The network-wide training will include workshops, seminars, and summer schools with specialised transferable skills training
Short Scientific Courses (SSC)
SSC1 UU | Clinical Training
The clinical training (by IC experts Dr. Franzén and Dr. Lipcsey) will last 5 days for all DCs. It will include 2 days of clinical rounds at the ICU of the UU clinic. A 3-day workshop on pathogenesis and novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches will then be held to give an understanding of patient care and current needs in sepsis care.
SSC2 UMA | Immunology Training
The training will provide to all DCs a broad view on the advanced principles of human immunology and methods to interfere with the immune system.
SSC3 UP | In Silico Drug Discovery and Design Training
This training will teach students the essentials of protein structure study, how 3D structure governs function and 3D structural bioinformatics methods, focusing on protein-ligand/protein interaction.
SSC4 IIBB | Animal Models in Inflammation and Sepsis
All DCs will receive basic training in opportunities and limitations of animal models in inflammation and sepsis.
Short Courses on Transferable Skills (SCT)
SCT1 Online | Innovation Management , Project management I and Gender Equality
In a 1.5-day workshop, DCs will learn to navigate an entrepreneurial journey from idea generation to starting and managing a business.
SCT2 Online | Scientific Communication, Data Management and Fundraising
The first part of the course (1,5 days) will focus on the different scientific communication skills that a researcher should acquire, depending on the situation and target audience. The second part (1 day) will focus on the skills needed for scientists in order to ensure funds for their own research and principles of how to write a grant application in the context of academic research or private business development.
SCT3 Online | Ethical aspects of research
Ethical issues and alternative approaches to animal experimentation will explicitly be detailed by lectures from local experts at IIBB. Topics will include good scientific practice, avoiding unconscious gender bias in research and similarities and differences in ethical aspects of human and animal studies.
SCT4 Online | Project Management II and Intellectual Property Rights
The first two days of the course will be dedicated to advanced project management techniques and procedures to be implemented to ensure a smooth running of projects.
Annual Network Meetings (ANM)
The PRAETORIAN DCs will attend four "Annual Network Meetings" (ANMs) during the course of their PhDs (one annually). During these meetings, the DCs will have a chance to present and discuss their research findings- and network among themselves and with researchers from around the world. The first ANM will be the 44th International Symposium on Intensive Care & Emergency Medicine (ISICEM) in March 2025 (Brussels).
Secondments
Mandatory secondments have been designed and planned to complement scientific and professional training through the knowledge, technology, and workplace perspectives.
