European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 2025 Program for Early Career Investigators:...

Early Career Investigators (ECIs) often have limited access to structured, comprehensive training in the development and conduct of interventional clinical trials. EORTC supports ECIs through dedicated educational and professional growth initiatives. We report the design and outcomes of the 2025 EORTC multi-session program for ECIs.

The program consisted of an introductory prerecorded session and nine live sessions, including seven virtual sessions and two in-person meetings. Using the fully virtual EORTC program delivered in 2023 as a benchmark, the 2025 program introduced a hybrid format, strong integration of EORTC Task Forces, structured training in clinical trial proposal development, and stricter participant selection. Outcome measures included attendance and completion rates, research proposal outputs, and participant evaluation of the course.

Between May and November 2025, 40 ECIs (predominantly medical oncologists) from 12 European countries participated. Overall attendance across the nine live sessions significantly increased from 71.7% in 2023-96.4% in 2025, and the completion rate increased from 33.3% to 92.5%. Seventeen research proposals were developed and refined throughout the program. Participant evaluations were highly positive, highlighting perceived benefits in networking and clinical research knowledge and skills and increased motivation and inspiration for future research activities.

The 2025 EORTC ECI program addressed an unmet need among ECIs for structured clinical trial training and achieved high attendance, completion, and participant satisfaction, while supporting the development of new research proposals. Dedicated support from funders, governments, and policymakers is essential for future improvement and continuation of such initiatives.