In the past, academic success was measured mostly by how much deep technical knowledge a researcher had and how many papers they published. Today, this is changing completely. European funding programs now want researchers to stop working alone in labs. Instead, they must collaborate with different business sectors and show how their work helps society and the economy.
A recent training session by ReSkillSpan, led by Carles Miñambres (a research manager at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, or UPC), highlighted this new reality. The session showed that good science is still necessary, but transversal skills (general, transferable skills) are the real tools that turn good science into real-world results. Today, only 14% of research proposals get funding. Because competition is so high, these non-technical skills give researchers a big advantage.
The New Focus on Results: Horizon Europe and Future Funding
The main change in European funding is that it no longer just pays for research activities; it pays for real results. Horizon Europe (2021–2027) has a large budget of €95.5 billion, and it focuses strictly on how research creates social and economic value. Looking ahead, the European Commission is already preparing the next funding program (2028–2034) with double the budget (€175 billion). This shows an even stronger commitment to science that solves real problems.
Now, the European Commission requires researchers to explain clearly who will benefit from their project and exactly how it will happen. No matter which part of the program you apply to, Excellent Science (Pillar I), Global Challenges (Pillar II), or Innovative Europe (Pillar III), proposals must show real-world use.
This change has revealed a big skills gap. Most researchers are trained to create knowledge, but not to share or use it. This is why projects like ReSkillSpan are important. They train researchers to be flexible so they can move easily between universities, industry, and public society.
Beyond “Soft Skills”: An Essential Toolkit for Success
To succeed today, we should stop using the term “soft skills.” These abilities are actually strategic tools for professional survival and success. Researchers who want to connect abstract science to real life must master four main areas highlighted in the UPC training:
- Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation: The European Commission views these three concepts differently. Communication means explaining the project generally to the public. Dissemination means sharing the scientific results with specific groups, like other experts or policymakers. Exploitation means actually using the results to make commercial products, create new laws, or start future projects. Evaluators often give low scores if a project only talks to other scientists and ignores regular citizens.
- Collaboration and Working Together: Under many European programs, a project must include different types of people. Researchers must work together with universities, regular citizens, end-users, and businesses to create solutions together.
- Project Management and Planning for Risks: Turning a great idea into a successful proposal requires good organization. Researchers must break their project into organized “Work Packages” (like management, technical tasks, and communication), set clear deadlines, and explain how they will fix problems if things go wrong. Proposals often fail if the risk plan is weak or if the budget is not well explained.
- Adaptability and the Market Journey: Moving an idea from basic lab theories to a real product ready for the market requires business agility. Specific European funding schemes exist to help with this transition, forcing researchers to think like entrepreneurs.
The Key to Winning the Proposal (“Part B”)
These general skills directly affect the score of “Part B,” which is the main scientific part of a Horizon Europe proposal (usually 45 to 70 pages long). To pass the strict evaluation, a proposal must get high marks in three areas: Excellence, Impact, and Implementation.
Under Excellence, evaluators check if the scientific method is correct and if it includes open science and different study fields. Under Impact, the text must tell a clear story showing how project results will lead to short-term outcomes and long-term benefits for society. Finally, under Implementation, researchers must prove that their team has the capacity to do the work using a logical plan. Without good transversal skills, even the best scientific discovery will fail because you cannot show impact without talking to stakeholders, and you cannot pass implementation without good management.
The Future of European Research
The future of science depends on connecting universities, industry, and society. Think of a scientific discovery like a single drop of water: without the right environment, it stays isolated and cannot create waves. Transversal skills are what allow that single discovery to spread out and create meaningful change in the world.
Building a successful research career today requires two investments: keeping your technical skills sharp, and growing your professional skills in communication, management, and business thinking. Programs like ReSkillSpan are creating a new research culture in Europe, one where excellent science and real-world impact always go together.
Author: Jesús Alcober, UPC