INSIGHT workshop: new career pathways for early-stage researchers

On 16 July 2026, the INSIGHT project, in which ANNT is the partner for Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted the online workshop “Bridging Research and Industry: New Career Pathways for Early-Stage Researchers”. It brought together researchers, practitioners and other actors from academia, industry and the wider research and innovation ecosystem.

The workshop was led by the RAPIV Bulgaria team, and Suad Krilašević and Harun Muhić took part for ANNT. Participants mapped challenges, looked for opportunities to cooperate and exchanged practical ideas on how academia, industry and other actors can support early-stage researchers together.

Three conclusions stood out: bridging academia and industry needs an ecosystem approach rather than one-off initiatives; early-stage researchers need visibility, mentoring and clearer guidance on careers outside academia; and the most promising ideas are practical formats such as company visits and internships.