The EU-CONEXUS partner universities will once again be offering free online courses in English for doctoral candidates and postdocs in 2026. The courses teach key research, digital, and communication skills while also enabling participants to expand their international network. Participants benefit from practical content, international instructors, and the opportunity to learn about interdisciplinary perspectives.
Courses on offer include research planning, data collection and analysis, university teaching, data processing, EU funding, and GIS & GeoAI (2–5 ECTS credits depending on the course).
The courses are particularly suitable for early-career researchers who want to expand their skill set in a targeted manner and are looking to network internationally.
- Application deadline: December 15, 2025
- Courses start: mid-January/early February
- Further information: https://www.eu-conexus.eu/en/for-students/studies/phd-courses/
Detailed list of courses offered:
Research Planning and Project Management
Learn to manage research projects effectively, master project planning, and improve your ability to write successful funding proposals.
- Institution: South East Technological University
- Period: 12.02.2026 – 26.03.2026| Credits: 5 ECTS
Collection and Analysis of Research Data
Acquire essential tools and techniques for research design, data collection, and analysis to strengthen your doctoral dissertation process.
- Institution: Frederick University
- Start Date: 11.02.2026 – 18.03.2026 | Credits: 5 ECTS
Introduction to University Teaching
Institution: University of Rostock
Period: 21.01.2026 – 18.03.2026| Credits: NA
This course introduces early-career lectures to the fundamentals of effective teaching. It covers key principles such as didactic course design, constructive alignment, and backward design.
Data Processing for Researchers
This course provides a practical introduction to data processing and analysis for doctoral candidates from all fields, using accessible tools such as Excel, SQL, R and Python. Participants will learn the complete data workflow—from cleaning and structuring information to applying statistical methods and presenting results clearly through tables and visualizations—without needing any prior programming experience.
- Institution: Catholic University of Valencia
- Period: 23.01.2026 – 06.03.2026| Credits: NA
European Funding: understanding the context & identifying opportunities
This course offers an introduction to the landscape of EU funding, with a focus on competitive research calls and the opportunities they provide for emerging researchers. Participants will gain essential knowledge on the context, objectives and mechanisms of EU-funded projects, developing the skills needed to contribute effectively to funding applications in line with the European Competence Framework for Researchers.
- Institution: La Rochelle University
- Period: 12.01.2026 – 02.02.2026| Credits: NA
This interactive course is designed for doctoral candidates who work with geospatial data but have limited experience with GIS and earth observation. It provides practical skills for visualizing and exploiting geospatial information online, linking statistical and spatial data, using real-time data services, working with WebApps and applying GeoAI within an online GIS environment, supported by access to the ESRI ArcGIS platform through UTCB’s Doctoral School.
- Institution: Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest
- Period: 02.02.2026 – 16.02.2026| Credits: 2 ECTS