From February 25 to 28, the Unite! community will meet in person once again for an edition dedicated to students and their role in shaping the future of the alliance. “Unite! students: our soul, our core” is the theme of this exciting event, packed with activities, interactive workshops, community work sessions, and high-level meetings with university leaders.
December marked a highly productive and dynamic period for the teams working on Work Package 2 (WP2), as they successfully delivered three key reports on schedule. These documents provide valuable insights into various aspects of the Unite! alliance’s initiatives, with a strong emphasis on supporting Widening countries.
The Unite.WIDENING project, part of the transformative Unite! European University Alliance, is at the forefront of efforts to advance a collaborative, egalitarian, free, diverse, and inclusive European Open Science and Innovation Area among widening and non-widening countries. This October, two landmark events took place—the Open Science Policy Forums in Wrocław, Poland, and Lisbon, Portugal. These forums brought together students, researchers, staff, companies, university managers, funders, and national, regional, and EU policymakers to advance strategies and actions for adopting open science practices and principles in Universities in European widening countries.
The Made in Wrocław event, a flagship initiative organized annually by the Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency (ARAW), this year integrated the Unite.WIDENING project. As part of the broader European University Alliance Unite!, this project, entitled “Raise Excellence in R&S&I in HEI for Widening Countries”, aims to enhance research and innovation excellence across Europe. The event brought together academia, international corporations, local businesses, and governmental institutions to foster collaboration and innovation.
At Made in Wroclaw 2024, we invite you to help redefine Wroclaw’s value proposition, guiding our shift from nearshoring to becoming a knowledge-driven hub. As Wroclaw evolves from a low-cost destination to a center of innovation and quality, we must navigate global shifts, set new standards, and reshape the city’s narrative. Success today isn’t about cutting costs but embracing innovation, knowledge, and sustainable value. This transformation spans technology, energy, sustainability, and supply chains, impacting businesses worldwide.
The University of Lisbon will host the second Unite!Widening Open Science Policy Forum, centred on the topic of enabling European Open Science and Innovation Universities.
The Unite! Widening Project will allow ULisboa and Wroclaw Tech to progress towards the development of open science strategies, programmes, and incentives for becoming Unite! Hubs of Excellence on Open Science and Innovation Management.
The pressing societal challenges together climate change, along with the goal of achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), calls for fostering new levels of integration, adopting innovative scientific practices, and enhancing global collaboration. Sustainable solutions can only be achieved through the joint efforts of research communities of researchers, students, staff, faculty, citizens, companies, municipalities, citizens and international organizations (e.g., European Commission, the United Nations, and the World Bank).
The EU-funded Unite.WIDENING project recently hosted a workshop to present the possibilities of participating in programmes and calls taking place under the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. Launched in January 2024, the project is working to enhance scientific excellence and maximise knowledge impact by promoting collaboration between universities and partners from diverse regions across Europe.
Lispolis, in partnership with HealthTech Lisboa, has launched the 2nd edition of the Lispolis Ignite accelerator programme, focusing on HealthTech. The programme targets startups in digital health, biotechnology, and medical devices, offering intensive training and specialized mentoring to scale their businesses. This edition will run in October and aims to support 20 startups through tailored sessions on key industry topics.