ENHANCERIA aims to strengthen the research and innovation dimensions of the ENHANCE Alliance. The project brings together seven member universities from the ENHANCE Alliance: Chalmers, NTNU, Polimi, RWTH Aachen, TU Berlin, UPV and WUT.
The ENHANCE Alliance and the project take as a starting point the ambition of universities to become and act as drivers and enablers of sustainable development, in line with the vision of the European Commission for the modern universities in the European Strategy for Universities. The ENHANCE Alliance brings together technology-focused universities with different backgrounds, ranging from more comprehensive universities with technological and natural science main profiles to more specialised polytechnic universities. Common to all partners is a close collaboration with private companies and other societal institutions and stakeholders.
Interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research collaboration is becoming a natural approach to tackling societal challenges, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the energy crisis, environmental crisis and the climate crisis. This requires understanding and exchange around new ways of working with research and innovation, around entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems, around human resources and career development in higher education, and also around the role of research infrastructures.
Based on this, four focus areas have been selected for the collaborative effort in ENHANCERIA:
- Sustainable development through transdisciplinary research (FA1)
- Sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems (FA2)
- Human resources and researcher career development (FA3)
- Research infrastructures (FA4)
The main objective of ENHANCERIA is to combine insights developed with respect to these focus areas in developing a transformation agenda for the Alliance on the role of universities as drivers and enablers of sustainable development. The sub-objectives of the project are to:
- Explore practices, ways of working and structures across the Alliance
- Establish and widen international networks of employees within research and innovation
- Develop models for collaboration and recommendations for implementation
- Disseminate and exchange models and practices
- Increase the internationalisation of research and innovation activities
- Identify challenges and barriers at institutional, national and European level
- Develop new initiatives to be funded through internal, national and international sources
Through broad activities and inclusive approaches, the project has enabled joint activities and new connections between the universities. The project has initiated and contributed to institutional changes that can be further developed and implemented by the universities individually and jointly.
This includes connection of researchers and professionals within the ENHANCE Alliance and beyond, and the continued ENHANCE Vice President for Research meeting arena.
In sum, the ENHANCERIA project has contributed to strengthen the research and innovation dimensions of the ENHANCE Alliance. The ENHANCERIA project has contributed to a richer and more diverse European collegial environment.
