On 23-24 February 2021, the Una Europa community met to kick off the 3-year project Una.Resin, instigating and growing pilot initiatives to build a common Una Europa eco-system of RESearch and INnovation. Lead by the University of Edinburgh, the project was selected for €2 million of funding under the EU's Horizon 2020 Programme. The project mutually enhances Una Europa’s Erasmus+ pilot project, 1Europe, which is similarly taking steps to build a university eco-system by testing Joint Innovative formats for education and mobility.
Through the 1Europe European Universities project, we are taking the first steps towards creating a single education eco-system for our students. In Una.Resin, we will take the first steps towards a common R&I eco-system for our researchers and partners. We will do this by first identifying and then breaking down both existing and potential barriers to a common R&I ecosystem. By bringing together these two projects, in synergy with a series of additional Una Europa initiatives, we will create a university of the future.
Views from the community
Una Europa will engage a multitude of stakeholders, from the Una Europa universities and beyond:
Olli Peltoniemi, Professor for Animal Reproduction and Lead of Una Europa One Health, is looking forward to the research strategy dimension of Una.Resin: “Una.Resin will provide the key ingredients to help us build a joint strategy for research collaboration in OneHealth. The pandemic has demonstrated why One Health approaches are vital, and Una.Resin is an excellent forum to test and pilot new ways of collaborating.”
Isidora Stankovic, postdoc in Cultural Heritage at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, strongly believes in the professional and personal benefits of a common Una Europa R&I ecosystem for early-career researchers: “Not only will this environment introduce them to a plethora of different scientific approaches, enhance their career prospects, and help them develop a transnational network of (future) collaborators, but it will also make them more aware of how their work helps tackling societal challenges.”
Alessia Franchini, Research Advisor at Università di Bologna, is “personally very much looking forward to the work of Work Package 2 on developing a common strategy to share infrastructures. Through Una.Resin, we will have a structured exchange on best practice and lots of opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences.”
How to get involved
Una.Resin will be running a programme of workshops, consultations, surveys, pilots and events, actively seeking the input of Una Europa researchers as well as Una Europa partners’ experts in research management, research and innovation strategy, research partnerships, research infrastructure, open research, citizen engagement, industry and business collaboration, and researcher development. Una.Resin will also seek the input of citizens and other collaborators in the non-academic sectors. Sign up to the Una Europa newsletter and follow us on Twitter @Una_Europa, Linked In, or Instagram.