PLATO - The Post-Crisis Legitimacy of the European Union

PLATO's team brings together nine university partners which will employ the 15 PhD researchers. Eleven training partners contribute to the network with professional expertise and secondment opportunities.

What PLATO offers

PLATO’s Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) will follow the same mandatory training programme. It provides a unique opportunity for internationally oriented, ambitious and team-minded early stage researchers to follow an intensive programme that pools resources from excellent European research institutions and leading scholars in the field.

The ESRs’ career perspectives and employability will also be expanded beyond academia. Each ESR will undertake one three-month stay at a partner institution and one four-week secondment to gain first-hand work experience from the policy advice, consulting and civil society sector. PLATO moreover provides a quality framework for supervision and individual career development plans offered by the global leader in the professional development of researchers, Vitae. Read more on PLATO's training programme and possible career paths.

A multidisciplinary faculty of scholars as well as professionals from other sectors will give PLATO's early stage researchers exceptional access to resources and opportunities across the network. Among PLATO’s training partners are several leading European think tanks, a consulting firm for trade associations, as well as civil society organisations promoting democracy and citizen participation.

The MSCA-ITN funding scheme offers attractive salary and working conditions, including family allowance depending on the candidates' status at the time of recruitment.

Our network

• 30 professors/senior researchers at nine university partners
• 11 training partners from the policy advice, civil society and consulting sector, media and career development

We offer

• International faculty at the forefront of research
• Tackling key policy issues for Europe
• Professional career development
• Transferrable skills
• Work experience from the policy advice, consulting and civil society sector
• 36-month work contract with generous allowances

University partners

Training partners

PLATO is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions