Each priority area was addressed through a separate work package. All five packages used a consistent methodology, with a strong focus on improving conditions for partners in Widening countries. Each package included a set of activities targeting a priority area for improvement, as follows:
1. Developing strategic planning capacities: A survey gathered partner universities’ strategic planning experience and good practices, focusing on overall strategic management and strategies for social and technological change. Two study visits and two seminars on strategic planning were organised, allowing partners to meet and discuss more directly their strategies in the areas of sustainable development, digital transition, human resources, internationalization, open science and EDI. The data collected was summarised in the ‘Strategic Planning Seminars and Good Practice Document’ and informed the ‘Position paper on the Universities and the EHEA/ERA and SDG challenges’ providing a roadmap for universities, particularly those in Widening countries, to navigate and respond to challenges in: governance, digitalization, EDI and sustainability.
2. Strengthening governance and institutional capacities for institutional transformation – A survey of partner universities was carried out to identify barriers to institutional transformation and collect governance best practices. The findings informed the report ‘Good practices in HEI governance and institutional transformation’, highlighting key improvement in areas including: open science, funding, research excellence, digital and green transition, gender balance, and local cooperation. Two study visits and an online seminar on fundraising supported knowledge exchange. The data analysis led to the development of ‘Guidelines for better governance institutional transformation’ offering practical recommendations for HEIs, especially in Widening countries, to improve governance and resource management for institutional change.
3. Excellence and cooperation in research - Partners established criteria to identify top researchers and research groups in their universities, gathered best practices in research across the Consortium through interviews, and compiled the ‘List of emerging and highly performing research groups and key research areas in the partner Universities’. They held a ‘Research integrity workshop’ to deliver practical guidance on how to translate European recommendations into concrete actions within their own research environment, and ran a survey on research support policies, which informed the development of the ‘Best practices in research support policies’ guide to serve as a strategic resource that can be adapted and implemented within BI4E universities, ensuring a unified approach to research excellence. They built an AI-driven matchmaking tool (CONNECT platform) to efficiently connect researchers and enable interdisciplinary, multinational collaborations.
4. Enhancing social and economic impact: a stronger University ecosystem - Partners were surveyed on technology transfer issues and contributed success stories and best practices on innovation, entrepreneurship, and spin-off support. These inputs informed the creation of the document ‘Good practices in entrepreneurship in the university environment’. Training sessions were held for staff and researchers to encourage entrepreneurial skills and spin-off creation. Additional outputs included: the ‘Catalogue of services associated with innovation’, the ‘Report on Fast-tracking the development of sectoral Industry associations’, and a study mapping the scope of Technology Transfer Office (TTO) services which led to the’ Report of Technology Transfer Office’s giving an overview of partner TTOs. Finally, the ‘Network of Technology Transfer Offices across the INGENIUM Alliance’ was established to boost collaboration, knowledge exchange, and shared best practices among the 10 partners.
5. Fostering research careers and talent attraction and growth - The project conducted a comprehensive survey among BI4E partner universities, examining academic career aspects such as work satisfaction, recruitment, equity, work-life balance, career development, networking, and mobility. Results informed the ‘Study on incentives and obstacles to teachers’ and researchers’ careers’, highlighting academic staff expectations and challenges. Additionally, a survey on talent acquisition and retention gathered insights from HR departments and leadership of the partner universities and best practices in attracting and retaining talent were provided by the partners. Based on these findings, a ‘Comparative study on challenges and policies for academic talent attraction’ was developed, and the ‘Guidelines and Good Practice in Human Resources Strategies’ were produced to improve talent acquisition and retention strategies. Finally, a set of targeted ‘Training programs for research/academic staff’ were created to strengthen institutional capacity in supporting and retaining academic talent.
