Three pillars used to develop skills of early stage researchers are increased mobility, cooperation among higher education institutes, and interaction with non-academic stakeholders. Experiences as a Borlaug Fellow and a doctoral candidate illustrate ways to leverage these pillars to enrich the doctoral and post-doctoral experience. The doctoral and post doctoral staff requires skills to discover, integrate, and apply knowledge as well as to teach. Mentoring, attending workshops and seminars are essential. To acquire professional competencies to meet challenges of the next decade, early stage researchers need to take up and create opportunities to observe and learn from experienced researchers, practitioners and colleagues.