The Horizon Europe Programme Cancer Mission Focus Group Training, held on 17–18 June 2025 in Ankara, aimed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of participants in preparing competitive proposals under one of the European Union’s key health research priorities on Cancer Mission. The training was organized under the Technical Assistance for Türkiye in Horizon Europe Project, coordinated by TÜBİTAK Cluster 1: Health National Contact Points Assoc. Prof. Dr. N. Selcan Türker, Cansu Alanbay, and Gürkan Bozkurt.
Marc Masa Alvarez, an experienced expert from the Leitat Technological Center in Spain, served as the thematic trainer for the programme. Throughout the two-day training, participants took part in practical sessions covering a wide range of topics including the scope of Cancer Mission calls, project development, consortium building, policy alignment, evaluation criteria, work plan design, and budgeting.
Two-Day Intensive Training Programme Featuring Practical Content
On the first day, participants learned how to decode Horizon Europe Cancer Mission call topics—particularly understanding the Scope, Expected Outcomes, and Expected Impacts—and engaged in group work on developing well-structured consortium. Subsequently, group exercises focused on strategies for building effective project consortium, including discussions on the involvement and contributions of patient organizations within consortium. Researcher Dr. Gökçe Banu Laleci Ertürkmen from SRDC Company, as a success story, shared the key steps on her path to success and the experiences she gained throughout the process with the participants.
The second day focused on drafting the Impact section, aligning with key EU policy documents and designing the Implementation Plan including work packages, timelines, risk management, and budgeting. Participants were also introduced to strategic proposal resources and Horizon Dashboard, CORDIS, EHDS, and the FAIR Data Principles. In addition, the critical role of artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and data management in the field of cancer was emphasized, and participants were provided with fundamental knowledge and relevant legal regulations in these areas.
Throughout the training, participants enhanced their proposal development capacity through peer learning, applied writing sessions, and real-world case examples.
This training supports Türkiye’s goal to increase the quality and impact of its applications under the EU Cancer Mission. Further focused group trainings on other Horizon Europe thematic areas will continue to be implemented under the Technical Assistance for Türkiye in Horizon Europe Project.
