Three major aspects can be distinguished:

Training through research

The aims of the Joint Research Unit in terms of training through research are to:

• Strengthen the visibility and appeal of training through research in the Agap joint research unit for training organizations, students, or international partners.
• Improve hosting, working conditions and training of students and partners receiving training through research.
• Anticipate and keep track of what becomes of students after their course (thesis research, post-doctorate, career follow-up).
• Improve the procurement of doctorate and post-doctorate grants by the Unit’s teams.
• Improve supervision capacity, by supporting qualified scientists in obtaining “Accreditation to Supervise Research” (HDR) status.

Ongoing skills development: continuous or further training

The Unit has to ensure that it maintains a match between the skills of its staff members (permanent and temporary) and its scientific policy.  In addition to recruiting (permanent and temporary) new skills, this match also means ensuring that the individual skills of staff members evolve.

Depending on how the Unit’s subject matter evolves, the specific missions are to: 

• Identify training requirements, by consulting staff (including PhD students) and their line managers.
• Provide the necessary collective training in-house if possible, or guide towards existing possibilities, such as researcher-schools.
• For more specific skills, and in liaison with the institutes’ training services, assist Agap’s permanent and temporary staff in their own individual training projects through training – leading to a diploma or not – that best suits their wish to develop, and is of future benefit.

Teaching strategy (training leading to a diploma, or not, excluding the statutory activities of researcher-schools)

The statutory teaching activities of researcher-teachers are not covered here. The scientific skills and experience acquired in the Unit, working on original and internationally acknowledged research, are intended to be passed on in the form or academic teaching, in close liaison with training organizations and the heads of training modules. The teaching objectives are to:

• Define the identity of the unit as regards proposing training (skills, strong points).
• Be able to provide a relevant response adapted to local or external training requests, by organizing training modules or sessions, where appropriate.
• Ensure that the training proposed is visible and quantifiable.
• Increase resources devoted to training.

An in-house “Teaching and Training” cell has been set up to help the Unit’s management in these teaching and training operations and listen to the Unit’s staff on such matters.