Young researchers and international experts at UPT to strengthen cooperation in European research
Published: May 29, 2025 Reading time: 3 minutes Share: Share an articleThe Support Center for Climate Actions, established through the ELCA EUKI project at the Polytechnic University of Timișoara (UPT), organised the “Strengthening Institutional Capacity through International Cooperation” international workshop. This event was dedicated to young researchers interested in active involvement in European research and innovation programs.
The event brought together international experts with experience in programmes such as Horizon Europe, ERC, JPI, and EEA Grants, allowing participants to discover best practices in writing and developing competitive European projects, building international partnerships, and accessing European funding for research and innovation.
Throughout the day, the workshop included interactive presentations, examples of best practices, and Q&A sessions, contributing to participants' institutional capacity building and the development of sustainable collaboration networks.
The event agenda featured presentations of UPT projects such as LAND4CLIMATE (Horizon Europe project), ELCA (funded by EUKI), and 39PHE (funded by UEFISCDI).
The 40 participants also benefited from presentations from international researchers from Sweden, Portugal, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Belgium, who brought diverse perspectives and direct experience in implementing European projects. Among them were Prof. Zahra Kalantari (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden), Dr. Carla Sofia Ferreira (Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal), Dr. Peter Rico Davids (Technical University Dortmund, Germany), Prof. Lenka Slavikova (Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, Czech Republic), and Dr. Sara Giorgi (Design Entrepreneurship Institute, Belgium).
The topics addressed included nature-based solutions (NbS), stakeholder engagement, effective science communication, evaluation of Horizon Europe projects, and successful models from COST and HE programmes. These offered valuable insights and inspiration for developing their international research initiatives.
A special highlight of the event was the inclusion of research results of three Master’s students from KTH – Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden): Giulia Perissinotto, Aart Jan van Harten, and Virginia Rahmani, currently at Politehnica University of Timișoara through an Erasmus+ mobility. Their dissertation research focuses on nature-based solutions applied in Romania, emphasising reforestation, flood prevention, and the involvement of private landowners in climate actions. Their presentations offered a fresh and applied perspective on how young researchers can concretely contribute to the transition toward a climate-resilient Europe.
After the official presentation, participants could interact in an informal setting during lunch and the networking session. This moment facilitated dialogue between researchers, academic staff, and experts from several European countries, strengthening professional connections.
Graduates from the ELCA training programme for climate protection management were also in attendance.
The workshop was hosted at the Conference Center of the Polyethnic University of Timișoara and was part of the series of activities included in the “Research Week” – an initiative organised with the financial support of the 39PHE/2024 project – “The Use of Private Lands for Integrating Nature-Based Solutions in the Transition toward a Climate-Resilient Europe”, funded by UEFISCDI – Romania.
