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EUTOPIA TRAIN


 

EUTOPIA TRAIN sponsors academic innovation with societal impact: it aims to integrate pan-EUTOPIA research and innovation communities and structures and open them to society, businesses, students, and policymakers. On July 24, 2020, the EUTOPIA TRAIN initiative was awarded funding under the Horizon 2020 call Support for the Research and Innovation Dimension of European Universities (SwafS). The project was launched by the six initial EUTOPIA European Universities. It is an ambitious research initiative committed to the creation of a challenge-driven knowledge-creation community that capitalises on the EUTOPIA partners' joint potential to promote innovation and societal impact. This programme, which  aims to extend EUTOPIA's challenge-led model to the development of its Research and Innovation (R&I) activities, tackles two main challenges :

  • Integrate pan-EUTOPIA R&I Communities.
  • Open up EUTOPIA research communities to society, businesses, students, and policy-makers.

To this end, three cross-cutting objectives will be targeted:

  • Developing R&I synergies and delivering a joint Research Strategy
  • Mutualising resources and tools
  • Defining a shared R&I policy.

These objectives are implemented across six working packages.

EUTOPIA TRAIN builds up EUTOPIA research capacity in human and technical resources, disseminates and co-creates policies for European Universities and contributes to developing EU R&I performance. On July 24, 2020, the EUTOPIA-TRAIN initiative was awarded funding under the Horizon 2020 call Support for the Research and Innovation Dimension of European Universities (SwafS).

EUTOPIA-TRAIN sponsors academic innovation with societal impact: it aims to integrate pan-EUTOPIA research and innovation communities and structures and open them to society, businesses, students, and policymakers. The project intends to link the research communities of EUTOPIA with the local and international needs of multiple stakeholders at the three levels of the formulation of research agendas, their execution, and the dissemination of results.

EUTOPIA-TRAIN gives today a clear frame to the goal set by the EUTOPIA universities to mutualize resources and tools and to define a shared Research and Innovation Policy. Objectives are to boost the research capacity of the six universities of the Alliance in both human and technical resources and contribute to the development of the EU R&I performance. The idea is to generate a cross-institutional strategy based on joint governance and common management structures. Among other actions, the project includes an Open Access metadata portal, a common Human Resources strategy and roadmap, and the creation of an EUTOPIA grants, legal, and innovation office.

As a project within the larger EUTOPIA alliance of European Universities, TRAIN (TRAnsforming Innovation & Research) has multiple work axes. They comprise the following work initiatives.


1&2. TRAIN - Research and Innovation


The first one focuses on a Research & Innovation Agenda, and R&I Strategies, while the second one focuses on "Innovation for the 21st Century". The integration of research communities will be supported by developing a common research agenda consisting of several components. Firstly, this will include the setting out of a framework of the societal challenge areas that will be a common trademark for the EUTOPIA alliance. Secondly, this WP will scope the potential for sharing supporting research resources and infrastructures across the alliance. Lastly, bringing all these issues together, this WP will receive input from the other five WPs in order to evaluate the results of EUTOPIA-TRAIN through a cost-benefit analysis of all the activities and deliver a common EUTOPIA R&I strategy for taking forward EUTOPIA beyond the pilot project.
 

  3. Open Science


Open Science is the only way to perform science and advance knowledge in the 21st century. The approaches of the scientific community in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic clearly illustrate this need. However, it will require a paradigm shift from the current scientific modus operandi with closed and inaccessible knowledge and networks to a new way of working with open knowledge and collaborative networks. Importantly, this is the best guarantee to have science as a ‘public good’, which is necessary to address the big challenges of our 21st century.

Zenodo helps researchers receive credit by making the research results citable and through OpenAIRE integrates them into existing reporting lines to funding agencies like the European Commission. Citation information is also passed to DataCite and onto the scholarly aggregators.

EUTOPIA opened a Zenodo community and an OpenAire network account thanks to the EUTOPIA TRAIN initiative. 


4. TRAIN - Human Capital and Digital Tools
 

The fourth one is focused on Human Capital and Digital Tools. In the bid of the project, the stated objective of this work package is to share best practices for, and to develop strategies to, strengthen human capital. In the kick-off meeting of this WP, its main goal was described as follows: to develop a Human Resource strategy to support the emergence of a challenge-driven knowledge-creation community across the EUTOPIA Alliance​". 


5. GLENN Office

The fifth and final one is focused on the Grant, Legal Support, and Innovation Office (GLENN Office).  The purpose of the EUTOPIA TRAIN GLENN office is to be a transversal tool capable of:

  • Creating synergies among our universities' research and innovation offices
  • contributing to the development of the EUTOPIA common agenda
  • Strengthening the alliance.

TRAIN Management Board
  • Carina Mallard, University of Gothenburg (GU), Vice-Rector for Research, Coordinator
  • Frédéric Vidal, CY Cergy Paris Universiy (CY), Vice-Rector for Research, Co-Coordinator
  • Kerry Kirwan, University of Warwick, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research
  • Enric Vallduví, Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona (UPF), Vice-Rector for Research
  • Mauro Cannone, EUTOPIA, Secretary General a.i.
  • Sigridur Beck, GU, WP1 Lead
  • Wendy Coy, UW, WP2 Lead
  • Elisa Maes, Vrije Universitet Brussel (VUB), WP3 Lead
  • Sylvie Niessen, CY, WP4 Lead
  • Eva Martín, UPF, WP5 Lead
  • Henrik Lindskog, GU, WP6 Lead
  • Simona Rataj, University of Ljubljana (UL)
  • Polona Juvančič, UL
  • Maria Gil, UPF
  • Magdalena Petersson, GU, Project Manager
  • Dalila Kurtalija Sabanic, GU, Project Manager
  • Armando Uribe-Echeverría, EUTOPIA, Head of the Impact and Communications Unit
  • Carmen Mazijn, VUB, Student Representative


TRAIN Contacts

Vrije Universitet Brussel
Christina Macovei
Tania Van Loon

University of Gothenburg
Magdalena Petersson McIntyre

Pompeu Fabra University-Barcelona
Maria Gil

CY Cergy Paris University
Isabelle Hoefkens

University of Ljubljana 
Tjasa Nabergoj

University of Warwick
Kerry Kirwan
Gillian Olivieri

Access the  EUTOPIA TRAIN Website

More details here on TRAIN R&I and TRAIN Citizen Science Clinic