Enriching the Green and Blue Transition Research and Training Network by Working Together through the New European Research Area

Project Information

ENRICH-TOGETHER

Grant agreement ID: 101081645

DOI

10.3030/101081645

EC signature date 5 October 2022

Start date 16 October 2023

End date 15 October 2028

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 1 910 400,00

Coordinated by

MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Türkiye

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ENRICH-TOGETHER (Enriching the Green and Blue Transition Research and Training Network by Working Together through the New European Research Area)

Reporting period: 2023-10-16 to 2025-10-15

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Middle East Technical University (METU), Türkiye’s leading research university, is promoting research in Green and Blue Transition via an international postdoctoral fellowship programme with incoming mobility to Türkiye. ENRICH-TOGETHER provides a timely opportunity for METU to enhance the international mobility element of its national programme by offering 20 researchers prospects to diversify their individual competence with advanced research facilities; international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility opportunities; and tailor-made training (13 compulsory cross-cutting, 15 elective transferrable skills courses) and career development, all enriched with the capacities of implementing and associated partners. Selection is based on 3 open calls, bottom-up proposal development, 90+ supervisors to choose from and open, transparent and merit-based principles. Attractive working conditions are provided for 24 months in a work/life balanced campus. Fellows deepen their knowledge and expand their network via secondments, CoCreation events, an International Green and Blue Transition World Congress; all of which unite the ENRICH-TOGETHER community. The tailor-made dissemination and exploitation plans of researchers will exploit the vast array of opportunities provided by the support offices of METU. ENRICH-TOGETHER (i) provides a unique experience for next generation Green and Blue Transition researchers able to translate scientific breakthroughs to benefit European society and economy; (ii) reinforce METU’s and partner organizations’ position and visibility at a global level; and (iii) strengthen Europe's human capital base in research and innovation. The co-creative environment of ENRICH-TOGETHER supports METU’s vision to better align the Turkish research and innovation landscape to the core values of the EU HR Excellence in Research Award, of which the first recipient in Türkiye is METU.

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

Objective 1: Bring together Green and Blue Transition research areas under a competitive international postdoctoral fellowship scheme. The programme has operationalised a unified Green and Blue Transition platform through the launch and completion of Call-1, activating a pool of 60+ supervisors and enabling interdisciplinary proposal development across the defined thematic scope.
Objective 2: Organise three open, transparent and merit-based international calls aligned with EU HR Excellence in Research principles. Call-1, which attracted 44 applications, was successfully completed in full compliance with HR Excellence in Research principles. Call-2, attracting 41 applications, is in progress with significant operational enhancements built on lessons learned from Call-1.
Objective 3: Recruit 20 high-skilled post-doctoral researchers under a structured 24-month programme. Six candidates were selected in Call-1, four recruited within this reporting period. Following recruitment, Cohort-1 fellows were actively supported in relocation, visa procedures, onboarding (including childcare and family reunification), research budget management, secondment planning and day-to-day administrative and academic integration, ensuring smooth and inclusive implementation of their fellowship activities. Recruitment will continue through Call-2. Call-3 might be required after assessing the Call-2 results.
Objective 4: Implement tailor-made training, career development, dissemination and exploitation and Open Science and data management frameworks. Programme-level structures were established and operationalised, with tailor-made individual-level implementation initiated for Cohort-1.
Objective 5: Strengthen METU’s institutional capacity and visibility, while contributing to the European Research Area. Governance, ethical compliance, structured supervision and dissemination frameworks were fully founded, reinforcing institutional alignment with European Research Area and HR Excellence in Research principles.

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 project remains on track with its objectives as defined in Annex 1. Scientific publications, datasets or exploitable outputs are in progress and the foundations for future scientific impact are fully operational.