Greece is still suffering repercussions from the financial crisis of recent years with an overall economic downturn, notably in research and innovation (R&I). The ensuing lag has cleaved a widening gap in the scientific arena between Greece and leading European countries. Limited funding resources and corresponding low prospects for young researchers has intensified this impeding situation. The Breath Research Interactions and Development via Guidance and Exchanges (BRIDGE) twinning project represents an opportunity to reverse this scenario and increase the excellence capacity of the Foundation for Research & Technology-Hellas (FORTH) in Greece by sharing infrastructure, skills, and methodologies, and via a dedicated training programme, with the Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Technologia in Italy and the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany.
BRIDGE is a three-year R&I venture that seeks to develop and implement advanced tools and complementary mechanisms to establish FORTH as a leading performer in cutting-edge R&I through training and networking activities with the leading partners. This will be achieved via a common vision that focusses on the development of novel perovskite-based materials and their directed engineering to detect selected volatile compounds that are of relevance to continuing standardization endeavours in breath research.
Through a planned series of training and mobility initiatives, BRIDGE will lead to closer links between the partners and will thereby enhance the excellence capacity of FORTH. Moreover, this initiative will support the postdoctoral researchers to improve their research and management skills and to explore new avenues to share ideas, solve scientific and technological challenges, and increase the impact of their discoveries and innovations. The comprehensive dissemination and exploitation strategy will promote the R&I capacity, visibility, and profiles of FORTH and its academic staff.
