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_HEALTH Task Forces


 

The EUTOPIA_HEALTH project promotes synergies among different health-related fields (e.g., biomedical areas, medicinal chemistry, public health, mental health, health economics, environmental health), with a special focus on capacity building in Widening countries of the EUTOPIA Alliance (Portugal, Slovenia, Romania). Since health-related research topics are scattered across Life Sciences, Social Sciences, and even Humanities, establishment of transdisciplinary collaborations is seemingly hard, ultimately scarce. Furthermore, several newly emerging fields/topics of Health request the development of appropriate academic frameworks. Integration of knowledge coming from different fields could offer the most appropriate solutions to health-related challenges. Medical scientists need public health specialists and health economists, and the individual and societal challenges cannot be tackled without involving experts dealing with mental health. Health-related challenges cannot be dealt with efficiently if knowledge is closed in silos and communication among different fields is sparse and not supported in a meaningful manner institutionally and societally. 

The concept of the project is to provide a novel, integrative institutional mindset promoting health-related R&I excellence, thus creating the platform for true value creation and meaningful societal impact. Through embedding these transformations in the cooperative network of EUTOPIA_HEALTH, and incorporating the prior experience accumulated in other projects of the alliance, the overall increase of R&I capacity of Widening universities and of other institutions will be reached. 

The project also aims to validate its assumption that integrative, transdisciplinary approaches can surpass the apparent chaos of multitude, and open pathways to novel and innovative solutions. For this purpose, different institutional strategies will be implemented in Widening countries, promoting transdisciplinary thinking in health-related R&I activities relying on the principles of the European research assessment reforms (WP2). Implementation of flexible academic career pathways in the Widening universities of the project consortium is also envisaged. Institutional R&I capacity building will be completed by support programs aimed at researchers and research managers (WP3). The novel academic frameworks will allow for a better connectedness of different research groups and infrastructures leading to the development of Connected Health Research Communities across EUTOPIA_HEALTH (WP4). Further, by providing skills for the efficient transfer of innovation/research knowledge, a higher level of outreach towards society and industry will be fostered. All changes will be conducted in strong and dynamic partnership with society, while the project, by creating a Health innovation ecosystem built around universities, allows these changes to become later testbeds for further innovation (WP5). Special emphasis will be laid on the inter- and transdisciplinary upskilling/reskilling of researchers, to increase and/or to provide competencies in different research fields, enabling them to deal with the highly transdisciplinary health-related research challenges, while newly built R&I capacities will be strengthened in their excellence by seed-funding of clusters and researcher mobilities (WP6). Best practices will be shared with the Global Partners of EUTOPIA Alliance and other partners, while the results achieved can be used to further facilitate transformation in academic and/or economic, societal fields (WP7). 

Ultimately, by increasing the capacity and connectedness of the Widening members of EUTOPIA_HEALTH, the project will strengthen the whole EUTOPIA Alliance.

 
WP1 Project management

  • Ethics and Gender equality guidelines

  • Data Management Plan

WP2 Frameworks for common transformation in Health

  • A map of common and specific challenges in Health

  • Survey of focal points of R&I agendas/roadmaps in Health

  • Policy paper on institutional strategies for modernizing career pathways in Health

WP3 Strengthening research & innovation management capacity in health
 
  • 18 Research Managers of EUTOPIA_HEALTH institutions trained and taking part in the mentorship mobility programme
  • 8 webinars on EU funding, technology transfer and value creation
  • 30 researchers of EUTOPIA_HEALTH consortium trained in EU funding (Pillar I, II, III) and at least 50% of them realized a submitted proposal
  • Feedback regarding mentorship mobility program, training workshops and support programme
WP4 Connecting Health Research Communities

  • EUTOPIA Health Research Map

  • Researchers Mobility Portal

  • Report on the accomplishment of 30 short term mobilities within and for EUTOPIA_HEALTH

WP5 Building innovation ecosystems in Health

  • Inventory list of stakeholders supporting innovation in Health

  • EUTOPIA Health meta-ecosystem Platform

  • Report on assessment of current landscape of science – citizens relationship

  • Online catalogue with courses, best practices

  • Report on citizen’s experience in citizens science

  • Report on co-creative EUTOPIA_HEALTH consortium events

  • Report on experimental learning through “virtual enterprises”

WP6 Fostering excellence in transdisciplinary research

  • Providing short-term research mobilities for young researchers from Widening universities of EUTOPIA_HEALTH consortium, focusing on transdisciplinary research topics correlating to health-related challenges;

  • Transdisciplinary trainings for researchers of EUTOPIA_HEALTH consortium supporting their professional reskilling/upskilling, which will enable them to develop a  transdisciplinary mindset in Health;

  • Promotion of joint health-related research collaborations for and at the Widening universities of the EUTOPIA_HEALTH consortium by seed-funding.

WP7 Mainstreaming best practices and tools for Open and Inclusive Science

  • Newsletter (M1-M60, CY): A new section (E-Health News) (D7.2) will be added to the existing EUTOPIA UPDATE online newsletter with information about EUTOPIA_HEALTH.

  • EUTOPIA Health Day. The event will be promoted on EUTOPIA alliance media channels and using consortium universities’ social media. Promotional materials, such as flyers, and social media posts etc. will be created to engage with citizens, and other non-academic actors.

  • Science Café (M1-M60, CY, UBB, UL, UNL): will be created in form of annual on-site events/per each Widening partner: foster a dialogue between scientists and the wider public, stakeholders, in a relaxed and open atmosphere, encouraging people to ask questions, share their own experiences and learn about the latest scientific advances in Health. 

  • Health Researchers’ Night (M1-M60, CY, UBB, UL, UNL): annual events organized in Widening partners in line with the European Researchers' Night