While education lies at the heart of the ECIU University, research and innovation has been a core activity since its foundation in 1997. In fact, the ECIU has a lot to offer to scientists - from access to a large network, incentives for collaboration to niche funding opportunities. ‘We strongly believe in fostering joint research and try to promote tools for all our researchers,’ stresses Laura Paternoster, EU Funding Advisor from the Central Office.
Text: Michaela Nesvarova
Photo: Forum
Implementing new things in existing systems is rarely easy…
‘Education represents the biggest part of the ECIU University, which means research can seem a bit hidden, but it is a very important part since 1997, not in the least because all teachers are researchers as well,’ says Paternoster.
She and her colleagues from the Central Office and the Strategic European Project Office (that brings together the EU Funding Experts from all ECIU member universities) are dedicated to advancing the ECIU research community. One of the main tools at their disposal is the Research & Innovation (R&I) Hub, a digital platform where researchers can network, collaborate and connect.
Currently functioning as a Teams page with various channels, the R&I Hub includes over 1200 members – ‘a huge number which shows how potentially powerful this tool is’, highlights Paternoster.
The Hub doesn’t only serve as a meeting place, but also as a space where scientists can find unique funding opportunities, which they might otherwise not be aware of. ‘Our partners already have strong grant offices, and so – in order to avoid duplication of efforts – we mostly share very niche funding sources, such as funding from foundations or bilateral agreements,’ clarifies Paternoster.
International collaboration
To promote interactions and strengthen collaboration, researchers can make use of the Researchers Mobility Fund, allowing them to spend time at ECIU partner universities. Moreover, they are welcome to apply for the Seed Programme, which has in 2024 funded 14 proposals in five different research fields, spanning various partners and covering topics such as sustainability, transport, citizen science and AI. In both cases, there is a dedicated funding via the involved institutions.
In the spirit of cross-disciplinary cooperation, ECIU also organises digital and hybrid events such as online networking events or this year’s Research Labs initiative (see page 22). The research conference in Barcelona in 2023 was a great success, and hopefully, a similar physical event can be repeated in the near future as ‘this would help create a stronger research community’, adds Paternoster.
As she emphasises, regardless of the initiative, the goal has always been the same: to help all researchers utilize the network. ‘Researchers should make use of the ECIU community,’ says Paternoster. ‘Some scientists believe that they already have a good network, so they don’t feel the need to expand, but with ECIU you gain additional partners you can trust, as well as additional support from the Central Office. We are dedicated to helping you find the right opportunities.’
