{"id":111499,"date":"2026-04-01T14:04:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/arise\/?p=111499"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:04:30","slug":"a-story-of-success-from-launch-and-development-to-future-vision-for-the-arise-programmes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/arise\/blog\/2026\/04\/a-story-of-success-from-launch-and-development-to-future-vision-for-the-arise-programmes\/","title":{"rendered":"A story of success: from launch and development to future vision for the ARISE programmes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Perspectives and views from the ARISE management team and community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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ARISE programme manager Edward Avenell and programme consultant Tanja Ninkovi\u0107. Credit: Stuart Ingham\/EMBL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Article author(s): Daniela Ramos (ARISE Administrative Trainee), Edward Avenell (Project Officer), and Tanja <\/em>Ninkovi\u0107 (RIcapacity)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contributor(s): Arina Rybnia (former ARISE2 Programme Officer), ARISE Fellows – Anton Popov, Alessandro Barenghi and Fabio Domenico De Marco <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research infrastructures (RIs) play a key role in scientific progress and innovation, especially in today’s rapidly evolving world. Maintaining and developing such infrastructures requires professionals skilled in both RI management and technology development. Unfortunately, this combination of skills is often underrepresented among scientists, and the career paths leading to these roles are frequently overlooked, partly because they are unclear and indirect. Additionally, the diverse nature of these roles, including differences in job responsibilities, hierarchy, and the level of scientific freedom, can make them less attractive to the best talent, as they may appear to limit career progression. Yet successful RIs require professionals who possess a blend of scientific knowledge, technological expertise, and business management skills. To tackle this issue, scientists at EMBL<\/a> created the Career Accelerator for Research Infrastructure Scientists (ARISE<\/a>) programme. This programme is the first of its kind in Europe and worldwide, aimed at training the next generation of RI scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Origins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ARISE programme originated in 2019 when Tanja Ninkovi\u0107, SCB infrastructure officer; Christoph M\u00fcller, and Peer Bork, Joint Heads of the Structural and Computational biology unit at EMBL Heidelberg<\/a>; Rainer Pepperkok, Director of Scientific Services and Core Facilities and Services, convened to address the growing need for technology developers to support cutting-edge science at EMBL. Tanja explained, “Science and technology progress hand in hand. We needed a way at EMBL to attract and fund more technology developers who would create new instruments, methods, software, and data tools to enable innovative research for EMBL scientists and enhance EMBL services.” At the time, they considered addressing this challenge through a grant, but ultimately envisioned a systematic, sustainable programme open to technology developers from science or engineering, with or without a PhD. That was the very beginning of ARISE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the decision was made to write a grant application, the entire institute supported the project. Heads of units coordinated communication and involvement from their teams to identify the interests of all EMBL groups. Additionally, the training team, which has been running the course at EBI on \u201cHow to manage your bioinformatics facility,\u201d  provided valuable advice on training concepts, while the strategy team gathered information on past outputs in technology development at EMBL. Meanwhile, the finance, grants, and human resources teams all played a role in finding effective solutions for developing a comprehensive new program. As Tanja remarked, “This collaborative spirit has always been a hallmark of EMBL, making innovation possible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some of EMBL colleagues supporting ARISE preparation and operation. Credit: EMBL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To develop the grant proposal, Tanja drew on her years of experience designing training programs at the Max Planck doctoral school, her work with Research Infrastructures across Europe in Euro-BioImaging, and her experience developing technologies at Imperial College. She recalled, “One of the most rewarding experiences while developing the programme was to realize that by following my interests, the time had come when I could combine my different skills and knowledge to create something entirely new.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARISE was established in 2020, laying the groundwork for professionalizing careers in research infrastructures at EMBL. The programme received co-funding from the  European Commission<\/a> (EU) as part of the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie <\/strong>Actions (MSCA grant agreement No 945405) and EMBL\u2019s internal budget.  In the same year, the first cohort of fellows was recruited, and recruitment continued over the next three years, resulting in a total of 40 fellows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the program continues at EMBL, with continued co-funding from the EU Horizon Europe\u2019s research and innovation programme (ARISE2<\/a> – MSCA grant agreement No. 101178241), along with support from EMBL.\u00a0 ARISE2 is integrated in the main portfolio of EMBL training, led by Monika Lachner, Head of EMBL\u2019s International Centre of Advanced Training (EICAT<\/a>), with co-scientific direction from Misha Savitski and Julio Saez Rodriguez. Tanja left EMBL to establish RIcapacity <\/a>to spread expertise to other institutions to establish similar training programs for their RI staff and future staff, and remains a partner in both ARISE and ARISE2 programmes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A training curriculum that supports RI scientists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For its fellows, ARISE provides both practical training by EMBL and external experts, and theoretical courses that teach them what it means to work as a RI scientist, run service teams, and support users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practically, fellows work on technology development projects, collaborating with scientists at EMBL and other institutions through secondments. Edward Avenell, ARISE programme manager, highlights: \u201cA unique aspect of ARISE that differentiates it from traditional training programmes is the secondments.\u201d He explained, \u201cThese are short and long stays in internal facilities or external institutions where fellows can further develop their projects, build collaborations, and learn about service provision.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Internal secondments expose fellows to various aspects of managing a core facility. Here, they can learn about the user experience by shadowing a facility of their interest and witnessing how services operate at EMBL. Anton Popov, ARISE fellow in McCarthy\u2019s group at EMBL Grenoble<\/a>, shared his experience on his internal secondment in Kristina Haase\u2019s group at EMBL Barcelona<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n \u201cDuring my internal secondment, I visited the <\/span>\u03bc<\/b>FabLab<\/span><\/a>, which is a \u201cmaker space\u201d resource at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) where scientists can develop their own new devices and technologies. This experience showed me how diverse disciplines can intersect and complement one another. It highlighted the importance of integrating diverse perspectives to develop a more holistic, systematic approach, which is essential for capturing the complexity and interconnectedness of local and global processes. Additionally, I made new connections that can open opportunities for future collaborations, service exchange, or career progression after ARISE.\u00a0<\/span> <\/div>\n \n