RurAction is an integrated research and doctorate programme funded by the European Union in the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN Action. RurAction recognizes a lack of knowledge and cross-sectoral trainings at the intersection of rural development, social innovation and social entrepreneurship research. It addresses this gap by systematically integrating these three fields of research. RurAction offers a unique opportunity to 10 Early Stage Researchers to investigate highly relevant topics about social innovations and social entrepreneurship in rural regions. The 10 Early Stage Researchers will benefit from transnational high quality trainings, bringing together both academic education and practical skills trainings provided by social enterprises with great expertise in innovative rural development. The enrolment as PhD students in the contributing universities enables the ESRs to contribute to their institutionalized PhD courses, complementary to the RurAction trainings.