RMIT European Doctoral Innovators (REDI) Programme

Project Information

REDI

Grant agreement ID: 101034328

DOI

10.3030/101034328

EC signature date 20 May 2021

Start date 1 March 2022

End date 28 February 2027

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 8 895 360,00

EU contribution

€ 4 447 680,00

Coordinated by

ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SPAIN SL
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REDI (RMIT European Doctoral Innovators (REDI) Programme)

Reporting period: 2022-03-01 to 2024-02-29

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The RMIT European Doctoral Innovators (REDI) Program is a global PhD program that seeks to significantly boost research links between Europe and Australia via an international, multidisciplinary network of academic and non-academic partners offering unique intercontinental and intersectoral doctoral training opportunities for 42 MSCA Fellows recruited all across Europe.
All 42 research projects were carefully selected and elaborated further considering current global economic and societal challenges and needs and as such they are all aiming to deliver innovative methods, concepts and solutions in response to the actual needs of society and world’s economies. Research topics include but are not limited to: climate change and adaptation, cultural heritage conservation, migration and inclusion, business innovation, digital heath, healthy ageing and personalised healthcare, performance and safety in aviation, new materials for industry, among others.

REDI’s main objectives are to:
1. Offer a world-class training for international doctoral students; and
2. Consolidate RMIT University’s collaborative research activities with European academic and research institutions.

These will be achieved via providing international doctoral research training opportunities for an extremely diverse cohort of 42 MSCA Fellows, early in their research career. Most of them are enrolled in a dual PhD degree between Europe and Australia with the prospect of obtaining a dual PhD degree upon successful completion of their doctoral research training. With one leg in Europe and another in Australia, and supported by at least two highest calibre academics (supervisors), all 42 MSCA Fellows are exposed to an environment that is international, multidisciplinary, multicultural and offers plenty of opportunities for community building, networking, as well as industry exposure. For the most part of their PhD based in Europe, MSCA Fellows have the possibility to spend up to 12 months at RMIT University in Australia.
REDI is the first doctoral training programme of this kind implemented by RMIT University and is expected to open the door for increased research collaboration between Europe and Australia with RMIT University leading the way via its established network of European academic and research organisations. Building on good practices, lessons learnt and experiences shared within the REDI Community and our broader networks, we expect to continue and constantly improve our collaboration with European partners in the fields of doctoral training and research.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

We have been dedicating our efforts to the preparatory activities since mid-2021 starting well before the official launch of the programme (March 2022). All management, legal and financial aspects needed to be settled and agreed upon before officially launching the first call for applications in October 2021, with the first cohort expected to start in early 2022. Up until the end of 2022, we were working to prepare, launch and manage 3 selection processes which was supported by a strong dissemination campaign aimed at attracting early stage researchers of any age, nationality and of diverse scientific backgrounds. The selected 42 MSCA Fellows were offered flexibility to take up their positions at their European hosting academic and/or research institutions. As such, they started gradually their research projects between May 2022 and December 2023 (the latter being selected later in 2023 following a resignation in mid-2023).

Starting from the second half of 2022, the main focus shifted towards welcoming MSCA Fellows, induction and onboarding by their hosting institutions and we made a start on their career development planning. 2023 was an even more intensive period, with all 42 MSCA Fellows on board, we organised the first REDI Annual Symposium in Barcelona bringing together MSCA Fellows and their supervisors in person for the first time since the programme’s start. The five-day event was not only an excellent opportunity for getting to know each other and build the community, but also provided possibilities for networking, site visits, cultural and social activities, dissemination possibilities and transferrable skills training. In 2023, we also made a start on the necessary administrative issues so that MSCA Fellows could prepare for their secondment to RMIT University starting early 2024.

Key achievements so far include:
• At programme level, we managed to conclude all 3 calls and an extraordinary call allowing to recruit and enrol 42 MSCA Fellows in (mostly) dual PhD programmes between Europe and Australia.
• At individual research project level, most MSCA Fellows are about to start the second year of doctoral research training after having met the first year’s requirements. Dedicating their efforts mostly to plan their research and training, roughly half of them had the opportunity to present their research at international conferences and events, initiate collaboration with industry partners and 6 papers have been published as well.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The REDI Program brings together 42 MSCA Fellows, early in their research career and who are working under the supervision of at least two academics (one from Europe and one from Australia). The REDI Program is very diverse: not only the research project topics cover a wide range of scientific areas (science, business and arts), but also the background (educational, cultural) of the MSCA Fellows is also very diverse.

They all work on socially and economically relevant research projects which were carefully selected in alignment with today’s challenges and needs. The following scientific areas are represented across the 42 research projects, all of them expecting to deliver innovative methods, concepts, knowledge or solutions in benefit of a huge diversity of stakeholders (i.e. local, national and EU-level policy and decision makers, industry and private sector, enterprises and business decision makers, health providers, hospitals, etc.).

These include:
• Architecture and urban design: new planning frameworks and urban planning policies in response to challenges such as climate change and adaptation, cultural heritage conservation and migration.
• Biotechnology: improved diagnostics and personalised medicine.
• Business (innovation and management): artificial intelligence (AI) for decision making in business processes, innovation practices in health management and healthcare innovation, circular economy and circular business models, etc.
• Data science and AI: new solutions for improved disease monitoring, big data for industry applications (applied to the ship industry)
• Engineering (automotive, aerospace, mechanical, materials, etc.): improved performance and safety measures in aviation, improved manufacturing procedures and materials
• Science (chemistry, health, physics): better understanding of healthy ageing, new clip-off chemistry methods for new material creation, developing novel integrated photonic architecture, etc. among others.

REDI fellows at the REDI event 2023