The Unite!Widening project, launched in January 2024, has been designed to become an integral part of the European University Alliance Unite!’s ecosystem. One of the project’s specific objectives is to strengthen the international visibility of the universities, while emphasizing and giving voice to key areas such as the green transition, digitalization, and the Mission areas of Horizon Europe.
To support the identification of the strategic main areas and domains of RD&I (Research, Development, and Innovation), the Unite!Widening project analyzes relevant EU policies and documents, including the 5 Missions of the EU Horizon 2030 (specifically Mission Cities, Mission Adaptation, and Mission Ocean). This analysis led to the organization of a three-part event by different universities belonging to the European University Alliance. The first conference was hosted by ULisboa’s Técnico Lisboa in Portugal on March 22nd, followed by a workshop held on May 17th at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy. The final event was a workshop organized by Wroclaw Tech in Poland on June 18th.
“Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters” conference held at Ulisboa Técnico Lisboa on March 22nd
The “Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” Annual Forum is an important milestone addressed by the European Commission to evaluate the progress and achievements of this mission, which aims to protect and restore the health of oceans and waters in Europe. Portugal’s exclusive economic zone is the 3rd largest in the European Union, corresponding to 11% of the European Union’s EEZ and the 20th largest in the world. Portugal’s EZZ is 40 times greater than its terrestrial dimension.
Inspired by these elements, the conference titled “Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters” emphasized the Blue Economy’s significance to Portugal’s socio-economic context and the necessity of collaborative research in marine ecosystems, coastal monitoring, climate change impacts, marine exploration, robotics, naval economics, and pollution control.
The role of universities and other partners in innovation has been considered strategic, supported by joint efforts from both private and public sectors. The ocean and the Blue Economy are integral to PT2030, offering promising new research and innovation opportunities. Additionally, Portugal’s involvement in European partnerships, such as the Ocean Clusters network, was highlighted.
The EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ aims to protect and restore ocean sustainability through research, innovation, citizen participation and blue investments, contributing to climate neutrality and nature recovery. Its goals include:
- Protecting and restoring marine / freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030;
- Preventing and eliminating pollution of oceans, seas, and waters, in line with the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan for Air, Water, and Soil;
- Making the blue economy sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular, in line with the proposed European Climate Law and the holistic vision enshrined in the Strategy for a Sustainable Blue Economy.
“ Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities European EU Mission ” workshop held at Politecnico di Torino on May 17th
Unite!Widening workshop: “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities European EU Mission” was conceived in the framework of the “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities” Horizon EU Mission, aiming to reach 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The ultimate goal is to turn those cities into experimentation and innovation hubs, leading all European cities to become climate neutral by 2050.
The workshop brought together speakers and audience members both online and on-site, fostering a vibrant discussion among institutional representatives, policy makers, researchers, experts, and administrative staff. Key topics included:
- Current EU policies alongside with regional and local policies, focusing on the city of Turin and the active involvement of research groups, hubs, and networks in promoting greener urban restructuring,
- Programs and open calls, along with outcomes from the “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities” Mission and related budget challenges,
- Necessity of well-structured, multi-level cooperation among cities, universities, institutions, networks, and research initiatives to achieve the mission’s objectives,
- Pivotal strategies toward creating fairer, more equitable, and transformative urban spaces, including the importance of peer learning processes and community engagement.
- The importance of cities in shaping the future and advocating for collaborative efforts that integrate research, strategic planning, and policy-making.
“ EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change” workshop held at Wroclaw Tech on June 18th
The goal of that workshop was to present the main assumptions and current calls under the Mission Adaptation to Climate Change, particularly addressing the Widening countries. The event was planned as hybrid workshop, aiming at identifying strategic research priorities to increase participation in research and development projects driving the green transformation, with an emphasis on climate change adaptation.
The program included a roundtable on the Mission Adaptation in Widening countries, covering calls, projects, support, and strategies, followed by the workshop designed to identify key research areas and present their results, contributing to policy recommendations. It resulted in the following proposed actions:
- Raising societal awareness about climate change,
- Reducing fossil fuel usage in the economy,
- Increasing climate adaptations in buildings,
- Engaging companies from specific sectors, such as biotech, including start-ups
Additionally, several recommendations were specified. These included: the need for cross-cutting calls for all Missions, combining different sources of funding, including national and regional levels, support for the preparation of applications and implementation in other countries a solution used already in Spain: vouchers for consulting services, including pre-screening, exchanging information and best practices for supporting applications with Unite! partners, especially those from Widening countries (Portugal) and increasing the amount of grants (“grants for grants”) available for the preparation of project applications.
The three events promoted collaboration and innovative thinking, setting the stage for impactful climate action throughout Europe. In line with the collaborative spirit initiated during that time, Professor Roberto Zanino, PoliTO Key Liaison Officer for Unite!, emphasized the active involvement of Unite!Widening partners in the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. He highlighted that “seven out of the nine Unite! cities are among the 100 selected cities, providing a framework for sharing experiences as the mission progresses.” Consequently, a proposal has been made to plan an event on the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission at the first 2025 Dialogue in Barcelona.
The events featured three interconnected segments highlighting the significance of the EU Horizon Europe Missions, aiming to address major challenges and support Europe’s transformation into a greener, healthier, more inclusive, and resilient continent by 2030.
