Croatian and Spanish PhD students learn how to write competitive research proposals

Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek (Croatia) and the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) organized an online workshop on September 19, 2025. "How to prepare a research proposal for a funding application?". Two universities, partners in the European University Alliance project Colors, They joined forces to strengthen training and collaboration in doctoral research.

The interactive 3.5-hour session, held via Microsoft Teams, included 16 doctoral students from UNIOS (PEntrepreneurship and innovation) and UCLM (Economy and businessWorking in teams, the students developed research proposals under the guidance of academic instructors and two distinguished experts:

• Professor Estrella Díaz Sánchez (UCLM, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Ciudad Real), Marie Sklodowska-Curie Senior Global Fellow and leading marketing scientist, delivered a lecture on the topic. Developing competitive project proposals.
• Dr. Lex van Teeŭelen (HU Business School, Utrecht), a professor of entrepreneurial finance and an experienced EU grant applicant, shared insights on in directing financing opportunities European Union.

The workshop helped doctoral candidates acquire practical tools for designing competitive funding applications, postdoctoral opportunities, and international research grants. This EU-funded initiative highlights the benefits of cross-border collaboration in building research excellence within the COLOURS alliance.

Workshop Program