The Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Coordinators' Day, organised by TÜBİTAK under the Technical Assistance for Türkiye in Horizon Europe Project, brought together project coordinators from a wide range of thematic areas, TÜBİTAK National Contact Points (NCPs), and programme support experts. The event provided a valuable platform to address the administrative, financial and managerial aspects of coordinating Horizon projects through a comprehensive and practice-oriented approach.
Held on 26 June 2026 at the TÜBİTAK Headquarters in Ankara, the event opened with remarks by Mr Çağrı Yıldırım, Head of the EU Framework Programmes Department at TÜBİTAK and Horizon Europe National Coordinator. In his opening speech, Mr Yıldırım highlighted the strategic importance of strengthening Türkiye's coordination capacity in order to enhance the country's visibility and success within the European research and innovation landscape. Throughout the day, the programme extended beyond knowledge sharing by fostering collaboration, peer learning and stronger networking among Horizon coordinators.
The programme, coordinated by Ms Tuğçe Çağlayan Solak and Mr Hüseyin Arif Sayılı, TÜBİTAK National Contact Points for Legal and Financial Issues, began with the presentation of the results of a needs assessment survey conducted among project coordinators. The findings identified the main administrative and financial challenges encountered during project implementation while also highlighting the areas in which coordinators require further support. These results provided the basis for the discussions and practical sessions held throughout the event.
During the experience-sharing panel, invited speakers with extensive coordination experience across different Horizon Europe thematic areas shared first-hand insights into consortium management, project implementation, risk management, communication with the European Commission, coordination among project partners and approaches to addressing unforeseen challenges. Discussions built around real project examples provided participants with practical perspectives and facilitated the exchange of solutions to common coordination challenges.
The afternoon programme continued with presentations showcasing good practices by experienced Horizon project coordinators from different thematic fields. Drawing on their own coordination experience, the speakers shared practical lessons covering the entire project lifecycle, from proposal preparation and implementation to reporting, consortium management and interaction with the European Commission. These sessions created an open forum for discussing common challenges across different project types and exchanging practical approaches to addressing them.
The programme was followed by a comprehensive presentation of the TÜBİTAK Coordinator Support Programme, delivered by Ms F. Gökçe Emil, Programme Officer responsible for the scheme. Participants received detailed information on the support mechanisms available for consortium-building travel, networking events, proposal preparation training and proposal writing services. The session also provided an opportunity for participants to discuss existing support mechanisms directly with experts. The feedback and recommendations collected throughout the discussions offered valuable input for further improving current support services while also contributing to future capacity-building measures and coordinator support policies in preparation for FP10.
The final session of the day consisted of an interactive training focusing on the administrative and financial issues most frequently encountered by project coordinators. Topics such as personnel costs, reporting requirements, grant agreement amendments, VAT exemption, audits and institutional procedures were examined through practical examples, helping participants gain a clearer understanding of the challenges that may arise during project implementation.
A key message echoed throughout the event was that successful project coordination depends not only on scientific excellence but also on effective project management, sound administrative and financial practices, strong communication and a sustainable culture of knowledge exchange among coordinators.
As Horizon Europe enters its final years, the Coordinators' Day served as an important platform for strengthening Türkiye's community of project coordinators, better understanding their evolving needs and supporting the further development of the country's coordination capacity in preparation for the FP10 framework programme.
The presentations delivered during the event available on the Project's Digital Resources page.