TÜBİTAK will organise a comprehensive two-day Practical Proposal Development Training in Istanbul on 16-17 September 2026 to strengthen the proposal preparation capacity of stakeholders from the Turkish Research Area for the Excellence Hubs call under the Horizon Europe WIDERA – Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area Work Programme.
The training will provide an in-depth overview of the objectives, scope, eligibility conditions, evaluation criteria and application process of the Excellence Hubs call. Throughout the programme, participants will gain practical knowledge and hands-on experience in developing competitive project proposals through real proposal examples, evaluation simulations and interactive practical exercises.
The training will also cover the preparation of the Excellence, Impact and Implementation sections of a proposal, consortium-building strategies, the development of Theory of Change pathways, work package design, budget planning, and other critical aspects to be considered throughout the proposal preparation and evaluation processes.
In addition, the training will address the latest updates introduced under the 2026 Excellence Hubs call, key points requiring particular attention in the call documentation, and other topics of particular interest to prospective applicants.
By the end of the training, participants will have gained practical knowledge of:
- the overall structure and evaluation logic of the Excellence Hubs call;
- evaluators' expectations;
- the key components of successful project proposals;
- common proposal writing mistakes; and
- proposal evaluation and proposal development techniques based on real project examples.
The training is intended for stakeholders from the Turkish Research Area, including universities, research organisations, public institutions, technoparks, clusters, development agencies and other actors within regional innovation ecosystems that are planning to participate in the Excellence Hubs call either as coordinators or consortium partners.
The training will be delivered in person in Istanbul. The venue and detailed address information will be shared only with participants whose registration has been confirmed.
2026-2027 WIDERA Work Programme
European Commission Excellence Hubs Info Day
Recordings, presentations and event materials:
https://research-innovation-community.ec.europa.eu/events/6dbuTGvrBoVcyOPhJ1SxO0/overview
Mandatory Pre-registration
Pre-registration Form: https://forms.gle/1BMfn7CAKVqurd3D8
Stakeholders wishing to participate in the training are required to complete the pre-registration form. Pre-registration applications will be reviewed by the project team, and participation will be confirmed only for applicants whose profiles match the target audience and within the available capacity.
Contact
For thematic questions regarding the Excellence Hubs call and the training content: