Jelena Šarac and Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, both from the Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb and Ioannis Drivas from DBC during a presentation by Ioannis Xanthoulis on DIADIKASIA Business Consultants’ (DBC) ongoing Horizon projects and the roles DBC undertakes in them.
We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the third secondment activity within the NextAIRE project — another important step in the project’s commitment to mobility, collaboration, and knowledge exchange across Europe.
Building Skills Through International Collaboration
The third secondment involved Jelena Šarac, Senior Research Associate, and Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, Research Associate, both from the Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia, who visited DIADIKASIA Business Consultants (DBC) in Athens, Greece, from 4 to 15 May 2026.
The visit focused on strengthening practical skills in EU project management, administration, monitoring, evaluation, and exploitation of results, through structured training and hands-on work with one of the consortium’s most experienced partners in Horizon Europe project coordination.
Session with the DBC legal team on ethics and compliance in research and innovation activities.
Practical Work and Technical Experience
During the secondment, training and knowledge-exchange activities were organised across two weeks, each with a distinct focus.
Week 1 centred on the foundations of Horizon Europe project coordination. The week opened with a presentation by Ioannis Xanthoulis, Project Manager, on DBC’s ongoing Horizon projects and the roles DBC undertakes within them, giving Jelena and Dubravka a clear picture of the host institution’s work before moving into hands-on training. Sessions were then held with members of DBC’s Horizon team — Ioannis Xanthoulis, Nektarios Hatzichristodoulou, Project Manager — alongside representatives of the legal team, Dafni Giakoumaki, Legal Counsel | Privacy & Data Protection Specialist | Certified DPO and Ifigeneia Papadatou, Legal Counsel | Privacy & Data Protection Specialist | Certified DPO. The training covered project management methodologies, risk tracking and monitoring tools, ethics requirements and compliance standards in research and innovation activities, and an introduction to dissemination and communication approaches for EU-funded projects.
Training session with the DBC Dissemination Team on communication tools and strategies.
Week 2 shifted focus to dissemination, communication, and project coordination in practice. Sessions with Ioannis Xanthoulis, Project Manager, and the Dissemination Team — Rena Krokida, Marketing & Communication Director, Konstantina E. Zouni, Digital & Social Media Manager, and Anna-Maria Pikoula, Marketing Assistant — covered digital communication tools, stakeholder engagement, project branding, social media management, and ways to increase the visibility of EU-funded project results.
A dedicated session with Nektarios Hatzichristodoulou, Project Manager, addressed European Commission audit procedures, drawing on real-world audit experience to offer practical guidance on timely preparation.
Session on project coordination led by Panayiota Agkoli-Sevvas, Project Manager at DBC.
A further session on project coordination, led by Panayiota Agkoli-Sevvas, Project Manager, covered effective planning, communication, and monitoring practices — including the use of tracking tools to follow project progress and maintain financial oversight throughout the project lifecycle.
From Research to Real Applications
The secondment offered Jelena and Dubravka direct insight into how a Horizon Europe project is coordinated, monitored, and communicated in practice — from risk tracking and audit preparation to the day-to-day work of turning research results into visible, well-disseminated project outcomes.
This practical experience complements their work at the Institute for Anthropological Research, where both are involved in EU-funded research, including the NextAIRE project itself. The knowledge gained on project coordination, monitoring, and dissemination is expected to directly strengthen their institution’s capacity for ongoing and future participation in Horizon Europe and other EU-funded initiatives.
Strengthening European Networks
Secondments are a key pillar of NextAIRE, enabling researchers to gain practical experience, exchange expertise, and build long-term professional networks across sectors and countries. This third exchange reinforced the connection between the Institute for Anthropological Research and DIADIKASIA Business Consultants, bringing together academic researchers and an experienced project-management and consulting partner — exactly the kind of cross-sector, cross-border network NextAIRE is designed to build.
This third successful exchange builds on the strong foundation set by the previous NextAIRE secondments, further confirming the value of mobility activities for both sending and host institutions.
We warmly thank DIADIKASIA Business Consultants (DBC) for hosting the third secondment, and especially Ioannis Xanthoulis, Ioannis Drivas, and Nektarios Hatzichristodoulou (Project Managers), Ifigeneia Papadatou and Dafni Giakoumaki (Legal Counsel | Privacy & Data Protection Specialists | Certified DPOs), Rena Krokida (Marketing & Communication Director), Konstantina E. Zouni (Digital & Social Media Manager), Anna-Maria Pikoula (Marketing Assistant), and Panayiota Agkoli-Sevvas (Project Manager) for their valuable training, guidance, and hospitality throughout the visit. We also thank all consortium partners who contributed to the successful implementation of this mobility activity.
We sincerely thank Jelena Šarac and Dubravka Havaš Auguštin for their valuable participation and contribution.
Stay tuned for more upcoming NextAIRE secondments, training activities, workshops, and project achievements.
Funded by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-03-01; Project number: 101217310). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.