Project description
A path towards sustainable growth while preserving Europe’s rich cultural tapestry
Preserving cultural heritage is crucial to safeguarding European values and fostering a sense of shared identity. However, many regions struggle to capitalise on their heritage for economic and social development, particularly in rural and urban areas of Greece, Poland, and Romania. In this context, the EU-funded HI-EURECA-PRO project aims to harness heritage for sustainable development in these areas. Specifically, universities from widening and non-widening countries collaborate to develop innovative methods for heritage-based innovation. By integrating industrial, cultural, and mining heritage, the project fosters regional innovation ecosystems and upskills knowledge for societal benefit. This initiative strengthens research excellence and bridges academia with industry and government, paving the way for a greener and more digitally adept future.
Objective
Heritage as a source of identity, sharing, cohesion and history safeguards European values and cultivates broad European mentality of inclusiveness. This project aims to investigate the potential of heritage-based innovation for sustainable economic and social development in rural and urban communities in Poland, Greece and Romania and to identify best practices for fostering heritage-based innovation across the region and beyond (in pan-European and international collaborations). An Alliance of universities of widening (Poland, Greece and Romania) and non-widening countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Spain) will develop specific measurable methods, tools and procedures for material sustainability in heritage.
The main goal of the HI-EURECA-PRO project is to reach research excellence based on the heritage of regions in HEIs of three widening countries through targeted innovations supported by EURECA-PRO Alliance partners. To implement the above general goal, industrial, cultural, and mining heritage demos are planned to become Demos pilots in the actions of the project.
Therefore, in accordance with the priorities and objectives of the call, the development of innovative methods, tools and processes for material sustainability in heritage will:
• Create a robust regional innovation ecosystem including all parameters of the innovation quintuple helix: environmental, social, economic, political and academic
• Introduce new and upskilled knowledge, which will be available to all interested parties.
• Contribute to new research careers in HE with hands-on experience in involving the industry, the society and the government
• open new roads for collaboration between the HEI and the market sector in the testing and application of sustainable materials, tools and methods
• Will support the knowledge creation and transfer in the green and digital transition by upskilling the educational tools and methods in the green transition era
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support ActionsCoordinator
731 00 Chania
Greece