It is our greatest pleasure to announce that the Aurora Alliance application for research and innovation has been honoured with a grant within the SWAFS program of Horizon 2020.
With the acceptance of this proposal, the alliance will further develop the Aurora European University Alliance program’s research and innovation dimension. The University of Iceland will coordinate the Aurora RI SWAFS project.
The focus of the Aurora Alliance – Research and Innovation for Societal Impact project is to strengthen and empower research support by sharing research infrastructure, strengthening and aligning Open Science policies in line with EU frameworks, and cooperation with other actors and empowering staff and students. This will complement the Aurora Learning for Societal Impact strategy with a long-term Aurora strategy towards research and innovation (R&I) for Societal Impact, aiming to support the achievement of the SDGs related to the four priority domains of the Aurora Alliance programme: i) Sustainability and Climate Change, ii) Digital Society and Global Citizenship, iii) Health and Wellbeing, and iv) Culture, Diversity and Identity.
In line with the overall objective, the project will develop and achieve seven specific objectives that provide the necessary stepping stones for the Aurora Alliance structural and sustainable change. The seven objectives are:
- Objective 1: Development of an Aurora support plan for research and innovation
- Objective 2: Develop best practices for pooling research infrastructures, expertise, data and resources
- Objective 3: Strengthen cooperation on entrepreneurial activity and creating an Aurora innovation ecosystem
- Objective 4: Develop the capacities and capabilities of Aurora researchers and support staff
- Objective 5: Sharing best practices on Open Science
- Objective 6: Embedding Citizens and societal engagement further into our research activities
- Objective 7: Maximise impact through collaboration with other European Universities
By matching the educational and institutional focus on support with a research and innovation aspect, the Aurora RI project will further complement the goals of the Erasmus+ project and intensify and deepen the links between the universities on several levels. This, in turn, will help to build a common identity as part of the European knowledge system, which combines education with research and innovation. We are glad that we are part of such an innovative programme and look forward to realising our first objectives.
For further information on the research and innovation project contact: Úlfar Kristinn Gíslason at ulfarg@hi.is
